In December 2011 the United States House of Representatives introduced a new bill, the Research Works Act (H.R.3699), which if passed could threaten the public's access to US government funded research. In a digital age when professional and lay parties alike look more and more to the online environment to keep up to date with developments in their fields, does this bill serve the best interests of the community? Those in support of the Research Works Act argue that government open access mandates undermine peer-review and take intellectual property from publishers without compensation, however journals like Journal of Translational Medicine show that this is not the case. Journal of Translational Medicine in affiliation with the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer demonstrates how private and public organisations can work together for the advancement of science.

A careful test of alkaline addition combined with special handling has been performed during mining of 27 acres of coal overlain by slightly to moderately pyritic overburden at the Kauffman Mine. Overburden holes indicate alkaline deficiencies of up to I 090 tons CaC0 3 /acre. Sulfur contents for 1-to 3-foot intervals average 0.26%S and range up to 4.4%. An adjacent mine produces severe AMD. Lime kiln flue dust, a waste product, was added in amounts adequate to neutralize maximum potential acidity. High-S zones were special-handled into compacted pods up to 2 ft. thick and covered by about 30% of the total lime requirement. About half the lime was spread on the surface prior to blasting and mixed during subsequent handling; the remaining lime was spread on the pit floor and beneath the topsoil.Over the period up to 1.5 years after mining, water in backfill and monitoring wells has pH of 6 to 7, alkalinity exceeding acidity, and generally low Fe, Al and Mn, indicating that that procedure is a success.However, concurrent experiments with 400-ton test cells indicate· that prompt addition of lime, and compaction of the material may be crucial for successful results.Additional key words: Alkaline addition, acid mine drainage, surface coal mining. mtrod uctionLarge tonnages of coal in eastern U.S. and elsewhere have appreciable pyritic sulfur in the overburden and are usually not permitted for surface tnining under current regulations, because of predicted formation of acid mine drainage (AMD). Overburden with a moderate content of natural carbonate tninerals ( calcite and dolomite) generally does not produce AMD despite presence of appreciable pyrite, suggesting that alkaline amendments to pyritic surface mine spoil that lacks natural carbonate tninerals may prevent acid generation. However, past addition of limestone and lime to spoil during tnining has produced mixed results, though most such attempts were not well documented as to the amount and distribution of pyrite, the nature and amount of added alkalinity, and the result of the experiment. The intent of this paper is to describe a carefully planned and conducted experiment on alkaline addition.

Several combinations of anoxic limestone drains (ALO), vertical flow systems (VFS or SAPS), and open limestone channels with associated ponds were constructed at the Pot Ridge reclaimed surface coal mine in 1995 and 1997, and have been monitored and investigated since then. Acid mine drainage flowing into the systems is strongly acid (pH 2.5-3.5, acidity 500-1000 mg/L, Fe 100-300 mg/L, Al 20-70 mg/L).The TEST system, constructed in 1995, consists of two collection ALO's, a pond, a VFS and a final pond Flows from the ALO have decreased over time, apparently because of partial plugging by Al concentrations of 20-30 mg/L. Acidity decreases markedly in the following oxidation-settling pond, probably by precipitation of ferric hydroxysulfates. The TEST VFS reduces acidity by about 400 mg/L, to a pH of 4.5-5, but effluent generally has <50 mg/L alkalinity. During summer and fall, S0 4 decreases through the VFS due to S0 4 reduction, but in winter and spring, S0 4 is released from the VFS, indicating that the 20 cm of compost is unable to maintain reducing conditions, and that precipitated Fe sulfides are being oxidized. This unit has a retention time averaging 10 days.The C system, constructed in 1997, treats AMO by two VFS plus an open limestone channel and several ponds at a flow of 100-300 L/min. Inflow has acidity of 600-900 mg/L at pH 3.5-4, Fe of 200-300 mg/L and Al 20-40 mg/L. About 300 mg/L acidity is removed by hydroxysulfate precipitation in ponds. Effluent from the first VFS, with an average retention time of about 3 days, has acidity of 200-350 mg/L, pH 3.2-3.7, Fe 20-60 mg/L and Al 10-20 mg/L. The outflow during the first two years contained appreciable ferric iron, indicating incomplete reduction in 30 cm of compost, but recently, at somewhat lower flow, the Fe is all ferrous. The second VFS produces water with acidity 5-150 mg/L (mostly as Mn), alkalinity 30-80 mg/L, pH 4.0-6.3, Fe<30 mg/L, Al

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