Mining industry pollutants

Hilson, G. (2000) Pollution prevention and cleaner production in the mining industry an analysis of current issues. Journal of Cleaner Production, 8 119-126. 

It is used in the mining industry to recover metals such as copper and nickel. Parasite plants, based on solvent extraction, are used in the phosphate industry to recover by-product uranium from crude phosphoric acid. The uranium concentration in phosphoric acid is very low but, because of the high volume of phosphoric acid that is produced to meet agricultural needs, considerable uranium can be recovered using solvent extraction. In the nuclear industry [5], solvent extraction is used to purify uranium and plutonium [using the plutonium and uranium recovery by extraction (PUREX) process], zirconium from hafnium, and for many other applications. It is also used in environmental applications to clean soil, say, to remove polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, pesticides, and other hazardous pollutants. 

The Bureau of Mines drew a different lesson from the disaster. Louis McCabe came back to Washington in mid-1949 to head its air and water pollution programs, and under his leadership the Bureau called for a federal air pollution program that went beyond research to control. Like the mine safety expert Daniel Harrington, who had just retired, McCabe was careful to avoid open disputes. He hedged his criticisms of industrial polluters with encomiums to the goodwill of the responsible majority of industry. But the critical tone of his public statements was unmistakable. 

Industry and its allies still sought to limit the federal role. Within a year, Robert Kehoe was lobbying to have the Bureau of Mines air pollution program ended and the field made the exclusive preserve of the Public Health Service. The two agencies competed quietly for control of air pollution programs for another five years.3... 

Alkali neutralizing capacity Indicative of industrial pollution or acid mine drainage Titration... 

Mercury is. of course, a naturally occurring element. However. industrial pollution is a major source of environmental mercury. The pollution comes from many sources, such as coal-burning power plants, rclinertes. runc from factories, and industrial waste. Mercury also enters the environment from such sources as automobile exhausts, sewage treatment plants, medical and dental facilities, and water runoff from mercury and gold-mining operations. The Clean Air Act, first enacted in 1970 in the United Stales, mandated levels of air pollution, including mercury. Likewise, the EPA has set water-quality criteria for levels of mercury in both fresh and saltwater systems, The Clean Water Act requires that individual slates achieve safe concentration levels for pollutants like mercury. 

Cadmium enrichment of soil can also be associated with industrial pollution (Little and Martin, 1972). Topsoils contaminated by mine spoil showed a... 

Dewet LPD, Schoonbee HJ, Pretorius J, et al. 1990. Bioaccumulation of selected heavy metals by the water fern, Azolia filiculoides Lam. in a wetland ecosystem affected by sewage, mine and industrial pollution. Water South Africa 16(4) 281-286. 

The Department of the Interior protects and preserves public natural resources. This includes activities concerning water quality. The Bureau of Mines is a research and fact-finding agency. Areas of research include mine safety, miners health, and pollution abatement. The department also operates the National Mine Health and Safety Academy, which trains inspectors, managers, and other specialists for various safety and health positions in the mining industry. 

Iakovleva, E. Sillanpaa, M. (2013) The use of low-cost adsorbents for wastewater purification in mining industries. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 20 (11), 7878-7899. 

Mineral pollutants in the mining industry are generally of two types. 

Until recently a common perception of the Arctic was as an almost virgin land, not yet impacted by technological activity. Meanwhile a long term attitude to the Arctic as the resourceful colony of the Soviet Union resulted in an accumulation of liquid and solid waste and a heavy contamination of the environment. Official statistics indicate that total accumulation of the waste in the Arctic region is close to 100 million tonnes. 600,000 km, which constitute around 10% of the whole Russian territory, are contaminated by chemicals. Total or partial degradation of ecosystems can be observed on the territory of 80 km (Arctic, p. 47]. Only Russian Arctic includes so called "impacted zones", where the environmental situation can be defined as acute or catastrophic (Fig. 1). The main polluters are Navies and militaries, mining industry, smelters and power plants. Transport and oil industry thus far have less impact on the Arctic enviromnent. 

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