Spoil tip

The phrase originates from the French word espoilelier, a verb conveying the meaning: to seize by violence, to plunder, to take by force.

They trap solar heat, making it difficult (although not impossible) for vegetation to take root; this encourages erosion and creates dangerous, unstable slopes.

Existing techniques for regreening spoil tips include the use of geotextiles to control erosion as the site is resoiled and simple vegetation such as grass is seeded on the slope.

Environmental problems have included surface runoff of silt, and leaching of noxious chemical compounds from spoil banks exposed to weathering.

Sprinkling is generally ineffective and injecting water under pressure counter-productive, because it carries oxygen, bringing the risk of explosion.

The perceived weak environmental and public health effects of these fires leads generally to waiting for their natural extinction, which can take a number of decades.

[11] The wider issue of stability had been known about prior to the Aberfan disaster; for example, it was discussed in a paper by Professor George Knox in 1927,[12] but received little serious consideration by professional engineers and geologists — even to those directly concerned with mining.

[14][ja] In February 2013, a spoil tip landslip caused the temporary closure of the Scunthorpe to Doncaster railway line in England.

However, when heavy rain falls on spoil tips that are undergoing combustion, infiltrated water changes to steam; increasing pressure that may lead to a landslide.

Most commonly, old spoil tips are partially revegetated to provide valuable green spaces since they are inappropriate for building purposes.

Furthermore, on account of its dark colour, the south face of the spoil tip is significantly warmer than its surroundings, which contributes to the diverse ecology of the area.

It comprises a range of five cones, of which two reach 180 metres (590 ft), surpassing the highest peak in Flanders, Mont Cassel.

In Heringen, Hesse, Germany, is the popularly called "Monte Kali", made of spoil from potash mining and rising some 200 meters above the surrounding terrain.

[22] "La Muntanya de Sal" (The Salt Mountain), another potash mine spoil heap, lies in Cardona, Catalonia, at about 120 meters in height.

[25][26] Richard Llewellyn's novel How Green Was My Valley (1939) describes the social and environmental effects of coal mining in Wales at the turn of the 20th century.

Poor river, how beautiful you were, how gay your song, how clear your green waters, how you enjoyed your play among the sleepy rocks (102).