Environmental Degradation by Clays from Waste Dumps

5 ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION BY CLAYS FROM WASTE DUMPS 

In any mining operation, overburden materials and tailings are disposed in the waste dumps. Many construetion works necessitate excavation and removal of soil and sediment layers from a large area and dumping them to a nearby place. Clays are the major components of these waste dumps. Clays may also be present in some types of industrial wastes. Different components of the waste dump may have different impacts on the water, soil and air of the surrounding regions. The impacts of clays of the waste dump on the environment are given below. 

Is it justified to use the terms environmental pollution, contamination and degradation interchangeably Explain with examples. 

Is it possible for a substance to act as an activating agent in a particular circumstance, and as a neutralizing substance in another Cite suitable example in support of yom answer. 

In a waste dump, metallic sulphides react with rain water to form soluble sulphates, which leach out to pollute the surrounding water bodies. The TNRM of which reactant will be the main controlling factor in this activating reaction Explain. 

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