Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Environmental risk of mining
E. Vaszita
Department of Applied Biotechnology and Food Science,
Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the most important environmental risks associated with
mining from extraction, through processing to accidents. Mining of nonrenewable
resources has caused severe environmental problems all over the world. Drilling, oil
and gas production, coal, ore and nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying, and min-
eral processing all pose hazards to and often have impacts on the environment. Tailings
facilities have caused a number of serious accidents and polluted the environment as
illustrated by the examples of the Stava, Aznalcóllar, Baia Mare and Ajka accidents.
1 ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS CAUSED BY MINING:AN
INTRODUCTION
Our environment is affected by various natural impacts and human activities.
Natural damage is often caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, flood,
hurricane, drought, etc.
Misuse of renewable resources such as deforestation, over-grazing, over-fishing
and over-hunting, overuse of subsurface and surface water sources, illegal fishing and
hunting endanger the ecosystem and its services at a large scale. This became obvious in
the last few decades when economic stress and overpopulation led to extreme exploita-
tion of our renewable natural resources and spectacularly contributed to ecosystem
deterioration, endangering ecosystem and human provisions and health.
Environmental problems caused by the exploitation of nonrenewable resources
date back to about 200 years, with considerable burden in the last 60-70 years, when
industrialization demanded sufficient and reliable sources of energy and raw material.
Energy can be usually classified as renewable and nonrenewable. Over 85% of
the energy used world-wide is from nonrenewable resources. Nonrenewable energy
sources include fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas), nuclear energy and some mineral
resources. Some sources of energy are renewable or potentially renewable such as
solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, biomass and wind.
The energy sector which embraces primary energy production (mining), processing
and transmission components is a complicated structure of economic, environmental,
technological and production subsystems that have active impacts on the natural envi-
ronment. These impacts vary widely in their specific components as they usually affect
 
 
 
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