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{{#Show badges: | CoalSwarm}} Heavy metal refers to any metallic chemical element that has a high density and is toxic or poisonous at low concentrations. Coal contains many heavy metals, as it is created through compressed organic matter containing virtually every element in the periodic table - mainly carbon, but also heavy metals. The heavy metal content of coal varies by coal seam and geographic region. A variety of chemicals (mostly metals) are associated with coal that are either found in the coal directly or in the layers of rock that lie above and between the seams of coal.<ref>Jeff Goodell, Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future. New York, N.Y.: Houghton-Mifflin, 2006</ref><ref name="sludge">[http://www.sludgesafety.org/what_me_worry/heavy_metal.html "Heavy Metals Naturally Present in Coal & Coal Sludge"] Sludge Safety Project, accessed November 2009</ref>
Small amounts of heavy metals can be necessary for health, but too much may cause acute or chronic toxicity (poisoning). Many of the heavy metals released in the mining and burning of coal are environmentally and biologically toxic elements, such as [[lead]], [[mercury]], [[nickel]], [[tin]], [[cadmium]], [[antimony]], and [[arsenic]], as well as [[Radioactivity and coal|radio isotopes of thorium and strontium]].<ref name="Toppin">Eilene Toppin Ording,[http://environmentalism.suite101.com/article.cfm/heavy_metals_and_coal "Heavy Metals and Coal: Carbon Footprint Aside, Coal is not Environmentally Friendly"] Suite 101, accessed November 2009</ref>
