Discuss about the Environment Due to Mining Industries.
Industrialization has the major part to contribute to the economic development of a nation and its prosperity. However, it is also a major cause of environmental degradation. There are various types of industries running in a nation which includes manufacturing, packaging, refining, dye industry, industrial dump sites, nuclear industry, and mining industry which includes mining operation related to different types of metals and materials such as gold, coal, and precious metals etc. Their environmental threat includes natural resources depletion, major climate changes resulting in global warming, acid rain, and degradation of land, hazardous wastes production, pollution of air, soil, and water. There are different mining industries for the extraction of Copper, diamond, gold, coal, and iron, which produces harmful pollutants in the air, soil, and water(Bendezú-Quispe, Azañedo, and Hernández-Vásquez, 2017). Water and soil contamination secondary to acid mine drainage (AMD) are a major concern for environmental safety worldwide. AMD is an underground mining waste of coal, which can cause problems related to land-use and it can stay for ten decades after termination of the mining industry and impacts nearby environments very badly. Due to the absence of disposal of waste water of mine, the ecology is being destroyed with increasing number of days. This coal mine frequently produces metalloids, metals, and acidic substances which affect the soil fertility, moisture, microbiological content, and health. They further lower the pH of water that results in mobilization and dissolution of metals from the coal deposits and thereby damaging the life of aquatic and the nearby vegetation. The disposal water of mine is utilized for irrigation on an occasional basis, which decreases the soil fertility due to the presence of coal slurry in the water. The problem of blasting in the area of the mining industry is affecting the houses present in the surrounding area secondary to shake and disturbance caused by it. The heavy metals emitted by various mining operations such as extraction, mining and strip mining are Hg (Mercury), Zn (Zinc), Cd (Cadmium), Pb (Lead), Cr (Chromium), and Ni (Nickel) (Huisman, Schouten, and Schultz, 2006). The tailings called as solid slurry causes contamination of soil and underground water due to leaching process. Refining of ores also uses caustic chemicals such as dangerous chemical cyanide, which can cause critical environmental and health damages. The mining operation also releases asbestos during the break of the material. The burning of coal releases toxic gases that include nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, and dust particles in the air results in acid rain and air pollution. By emitting the heavy metals such as manganese (Mn2+), zinc (Zn2+) and aluminium (Al3+) from coal mines, it is impacting the climate like monsoon season variation, precipitation, and another related condition associated with meteorology and its outcomes is bad quality crops, flood, and undesirable climate changes(Dev, 2013).
The mining not only impacts the mine workers, but also the surrounding environment. The contaminants emitted from the industries include Hg, Zn, Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni and others which destroy the helpful microorganisms present in the soil. The mining of nuclear materials leads to the dissolution of strong acid fluids in the rock beds, thereby posing risk to nearby ground water resources. It also causes noise pollution, and other health problems like a headache, sleeplessness, mental disturbance, and irritation. Brine mining causes damage to the storage tanks and pipelines, causing leaks and pollution of water bodies which further results in the plant growth inhibitions and death of aquatic animals (Hasan, Rashid, and Paul, 2015).
Industrial pollutants contain toxins which result in the malfunctioning of natural purification (biological) resulting in water and soil borne diseases. Nuclear pollutants cause undesirable diseases secondary to its presence in food items taken by living beings. Lead is the reason of adult cardiovascular disease and results in the impaired neurological development. Chromium causes cancers and mercury damages the neurological function and the kidneys. Cadmium also is a cause of cancer and disease of kidneys. Asbestos results in cancers of lung and lung related illness. The chromium (Crþ6) metal after absorption reduces itself to Crp3 which binds to skin proteins strongly and thereby causes various diseases like cancer of the lung, ulcers, damage to the brain, tissue-specific necrosis, emphysema, carcinoma, organoleptic problems, and pneumoconiosis (Cha and Stow, 2015). Iron is an essential element of diet, but lethal quantities of it secondary to mine effluents can cause cognitive impairments (depression), cardiac and lung problems. Mining-related activities have caused insurmountable environmental threat which includes suffocation, sore throat, eye irritation, cough, pain in the chest, and sneezing. Deforestation is also the reason of leaching of chemicals inside the earth and its resources secondary to the erosion (Mining exposes Sudanese population to harmful pollutants, 2015).
There is evidence for the control measures taken by the mining industries to treat its wastes to minimize its environmental impact. Despite the presence of disposal systems for wastes produced by mining operations, there is still the presence of a large number of contaminants in it as the technologies and plant involved are not enough for the treatment of mine wastes. This results in the gradual increase of its concentration which changes with distance as compared to the point of generation.
There is alarming need of taking action to mitigate mining effects as if it is not corrected, then the end cost for communities and government will be dreadful. Water usage can be minimized by conducting underground gasification than surface mining, which will help in lowering the amount of hazardous evaporation in the air. Phytoremediation can also be utilized to prevent the harmful effects of mining. This method uses few specific plants to destroy contamination of soil. However, the methods of land-farming (by the use of bulk nutrients and agents), biosparging (by the use of microorganisms) are also good for prevention of mining pollution.
Buffering agents like (CO2 and HCO3–) and other chemicals like (lime, fertilizers) can be utilized to acid neutralization of water (AMD) and also of the soil.
To control pollution of air and water, the mine water, which is delivered to the sedimentation pond, should be drained using natural drain to use it for suppression of dust. Similarly, the effluent of washery should be re-circulated through the slime and thickener ponds.
To reduce air pollution, sprinkling and spraying of water are done to the roads of transport to decrease the generation of dust. The depressed surface created after mining should be rehabilitated by sealing the cracks and tree plantation which would help to reduce pollution to some extent(Pochechun, Arkhipov and Kuchin, 2017).
The mining pollution can be prevented by improving the manufacturing efficiency for reducing the new minerals demand and by focusing on the use renewable energy resources. By reducing consumption of minerals as currently 80 tons of resources are needed yearly per person and comprises mining resources also (Petrov and Tanev, 2015). The pollution in the mining can be controlled by doing a proper assessment of environmental impact and future mitigation measure and it is followed by proper planning its post and pre-mining operations. The industry should have the legal grant to start its operation. The regulatory standard defined by government must be taken into consideration. Regular monitoring should be done to check its released substances and emissions in the surrounding. Remining should be done which includes mining in the previously mined region to manage environmental problems. Mining industry should sign a legal agreement to remedy any environmental damage caused by their activities. The objective of mission 2017’s plan should be to increase greener mining, refining methods, recycling efforts, decrease the cost of damage to the environment, and increase the involvement of authority to regulate dirty mining operations(Mortensen, 2012).
References
Bendezú-Quispe, G., Azañedo, D. and Hernández-Vásquez, A. (2017). Gold mining and mercury contamination in Peru. Environmental Pollution, 220, p.752.
Cha, Y. and Stow, C. (2015). Mining web-based data to assess public response to environmental events. Environmental Pollution, 198, pp.97-99.
Dev, D. (2013). A Study on Mining Industry Pollution in Chapagaon, Nepal. Environment and Pollution, 2(4).
Hasan, M., Rashid, H. and Paul, A. (2015). Environmental Impact of Coal Mining: A case study on Barapukuria Coal Mining Industry, Dinajpur, Bangladesh. Journal of Environmental Science and Natural Resources, 6(2).
Huisman, J., Schouten, G. and Schultz, C. (2006). Biologically produced sulphide for purification of process streams, effluent treatment and recovery of metals in the metal and mining industry. Hydrometallurgy, 83(1-4), pp.106-113.
Increasing Of Mining Activities At Bintan And Its Surrounding Islands Since 1990 – 2010 And Its Impact To The Coastal Ecosystem. (2015). Jurnal Segara, 10(1).
Mining exposes Sudanese population to harmful pollutants. (2015). QScience Highlights.
Mortensen, B. (2012). Mining and Pollution: Arctic Environmental Law in Greenland and the Mining Industry. The Yearbook of Polar Law Online, 4(1), pp.673-688.
Petrov, N. and Tanev, A. (2015). Optimal control of natural resources in mining industry. International Journal of Mining Science and Technology, 25(2), pp.193-198.
Pochechun, V., Arkhipov, M. and Kuchin, V. (2017). Regulation of the Pollutants Content in Surface Waters under the Influence of Mining and Smelting Complex, Using Water Ecosystems Links. Ecology and Industry of Russia, 21(1), pp.30-35.
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