RUNNIGN HEADER: COMMUNITY PROBLEM OF MINES POLLUTING THE WATER

Keren Sophia Soto

Community Problem of Mines Polluting the Water

The University of Texas at El Paso

RWS 1301

April 2, 2017

Professor Hernandez
 2
COMMUNITY PROBLEM OF MINES POLLUTING THE WATER

Introduction

The acid mine drainage is one of the greatest most serious threats to water. It can destroy

rivers, streams, and aquatic life for hundreds and thousands of years. As the mining releases the

sulfides to the water, and air together they react to form sulfuric acid. This acid can destroy a lot

of things around like rocks, are getting destroyed with the minute because of the acid. This acid

that the mines produced can be released anywhere. It has contaminated drinking water, aquifers,

creating health risks, destroying fish and wildlife and their habitat. The primary cause of this

lasting pollution is the acid mine drainage. Contaminated water, impacts a lot the health of living

resources along the agriculture, municipal and industrial water supplies.

Analysis

The reason that acid mine drainage can be so dangerous its because it can happened

indefinitely even after the mining had ended. At the metal mines like the ones with gold, silver,

and copper they are rich in sulfide minerals. So when the mine releases it to the water and to the

air, together becomes sulfuric acid. Acid mine drainage may be release anywhere, the acid that is

being release from the mine causes a lot of damage but the first ones to be harmed are the fish,

animal, and plants. Hardrock mines around the Western United States they require water

treatment for a couple of hundred years. Documents say that over 40 Hardrock mines generate

about 17-27 billion gallons of polluted water each year. Existing mines known to generate

perpetual water pollution modern mines operate on a massive scale, and release more
 3
COMMUNITY PROBLEM OF MINES POLLUTING THE WATER

toxics to the environment that any other industry. The process that they are using is only

contributing in making the freshwater into water pollution. Pollution of many of the mines have

already contaminated drinking water aquifers, lakes, and stream. The water treatment cost of

these mines is estimated at $57-67 billion a year, 62% of the mines are located close to public

lands.

H^+, Fe^3+, and SO4^2 where the activities occurring in the stream waters from drainage in

the USA. These analyses indicated that the main minerals were schwertmannite and ferrihydrite,

these activities indicated that the water was plotted on a logarithmic activity. These activities

indicated that the water was plotted on a logarithmic activity. The dispersion and influence of

particulate metals present in the material from the mines, grainsize mineralogical composition

and the heavy metal content. The soil was also analyze and the result was that it had great

amounts of Pb and Zn especially. Causing a lot of damage to the plantation close and next to the

water stream. So the drainage being exposed or released by the mines its not only affecting the

water but also the living organism all around the water, the plants, animals, and even the

agriculture structure.

So a lot of bacteria and archaea forms in the water, and acidophiles also known also known

as the mine drainage, also they are very toxic to most of the living organism. Emphasis on the

water quality deterioration due to the acid on the mine drainage, significant on the concentration

levels of tract also known as toxic metals. All this type of metals are causing along of damage to

all the living kind around the water. Causing it to stop reproducing and creating a permanent

damage. If theres no plants theres the animals cant feed them self, and the people that depend

on some of those animals to feed their families there wont be way for them to feed them

anymore. Causing starvation, and diseases by spending so much time around all those chemicals.
 4
COMMUNITY PROBLEM OF MINES POLLUTING THE WATER

The environmental impacts arising from coal mining activities are attributable to the exposure

of reduced earth materials. As a consequence of coal to the release of acidic waters from pyrite

oxidation, theres the air pollution, fire hazards, ground deformation, water pollution, and water

resource depletion. The water pollution has required preventative and remedial interventions.

The expose of the mines drainage its not just affecting the water, but its also damaging

everything around. So in order to stop the polluted water there theres some steps that need to be

follow in order to stop the water polluted to spread to the clean water. One treat the water acid

before pumping it into the streams or river, second the mine spoil waste be prepared and dispose

in the designated sites, and third map the water to reduce the amount of water flooding the

mines. Its important because it demonstrates that there is a way to stop the water being polluted

by the mines.

Mine drainage is not only causing a huge impact in polluting the water but also, of all the

living organism around them. Disposing the drainage is not something they could easy just

deposed into the water without expecting any kind of consequences. They are not something they

can just simply forget about because its also affecting families that leave around the area, they

also depend on those water streams, plants, animals, and the agriculture. Their lives depend on

them. Mines should definitely find a healthier way of disposing their drainage, even though it

may cause them five cents more.

Stance

New policies must be ensure to protect them against the decisions that are casing the harm to the

nations waters. The federal law must make sure that the mines dont create water pollution,

some kinds of regulations should be implied in order to protect the waterways. They shouldnt

allow the modern mines produce this type of process some of the mines argue that theres no
 5
COMMUNITY PROBLEM OF MINES POLLUTING THE WATER

funds that can be put into a long-term trust to cover the water treatment cost. There is no way to

financial assurance that will cover the cost of water treatment in perpetuity. Discharging wastes

directly into wetlands, streams, and lakes may be cheaper for the mining industry, but is not the

only way of doing business. Mines could treat their waste, dispose of it responsibility, and still

operate efficiently. The harm that this mines are causing its not only harming the environment or

the living organisms around the water like fish, plants, and animals, but the humans and the

architecture most of the people around the stream depend of that water of the children just simply

play around the stream splash water but the sulfuric acid causes health diseases. This kind of

things shouldnt be happening not because you just want to win some 100 bucks more you

shouldnt destroy everything around theres always a correct method or some kind of process in

other to keep the environment safely. As you may see in figure 1 and 2 they illustrate what its

really happening its not a joke things are actually happening and they are destroying everything

around without leaving anything behind. Every single living organism its disappearing with the

time and that shouldnt be happening. There should be laws applied for mines to dispose their

drainage correctly keeping the water safe and clean.

 6
COMMUNITY PROBLEM OF MINES POLLUTING THE WATER

Resources
Abandoned mine sites as a source of contamination by heavy metals: A case study in a semi-arid

zone. (n.d.).

Retrieve from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0375674207000519

Apparent solubilities of schwertmannite and ferrihydrite in natural stream waters polluted by

mine drainage. (n.d.).

Retrieve from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016703799002616

Ezeigbo, H.I. & Ezeanyim, B.N. Mine Water and the Environment (1993) 12: 53.

doi:10.1007/BF0291479

Singh, G. International Journal of Mine Water (1988) 7: 49. doi:10.1007/BF02504598

Retrieve from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02504598

The microbiology of acidic mine waters. (n.d.).

Retrieve from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0923250803001141

Younger, P. L. (1970, January 01). Environmental impacts of coal mining and associated wastes:

a geochemical perspective. Retrieved

Retrieve from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/236/1/169.abstract