Project ECOAL – MGT (Ecological Management of Coal Waste Piles in Combustion), with a budget of 900 thousand Euros, is co-financed by the European Union’s ERDF, as part of programme SUDOE. The project is being developed by INESC Porto together with several national and international universities.     According to the press release disseminated by INESC Porto, this project will be implemented in the form of a pilot system during the second semester of 2013. The new technology will be developing and testing, in a real environment, an integrated solution that will make it possible to know how the coal waste piles (the unused minerals around the mines) evolve. According to INESC Porto, in the north of Portugal alone there are over 20 coal piles resulting from coal mining.     Part of these coal piles is located near urban centres, which constitutes a serious environmental hazard. This happens because, according to INESC Porto, when in combustion coal wastes "release toxic gases which cause atmospheric pollution, acid rain, the destruction of the fauna and flora, and illnesses, especially respiratory illnesses".

OJE, 27 February 2013