Environmental risk of mining - Environmental Deterioration and Contamination: Problems and their Management - page 121

possible quantitatively. When the risk is unacceptably high, the measures should be
evaluated by comparing the potential options and make the decision on the selection
of the best fitting problem-specific preventive and remedial technologies. Risk commu-
nication is always a very important part of risk management of active or abandoned
mining sites, given that the socio-economic benefit—balancing the risks—is subject of
a subjective judgment, resulting in many disagreements among stakeholders. Assessing
and preparing inventories is discussed in detail by Younger et al. (2002) and Potter &
Johnston (2012).
The Australian National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) prepared a guideline on emis-
sion estimation techniques in mining to aid in doing the inventory of hazardous
chemicals for the assessment and estimation of the emission from mining for the cases
when measurement and control are not possible (e.g., methane emission from coal
mines) (NPI, 2013). The alternatives of sampling and direct measurement of emission
are the calculation of the mass balance, other engineering calculations and modeling,
or the application of emission factors.
The typical contaminant emissions from mining and processing are summarized
below.

- Emission into the atmosphere;

-CH 4 emission from coal mining;
-CO 2 and PM emission from spontaneous combustion in coal mines;
-

PM emission from mining, crushing, transportation, etc.;

- Contaminant and contaminated water emission into surface waters;

-

Waters from mining;

- Waters from processing;

- Surface water runoff;

- Leachate from stockpiles, waste rock, etc.;

- AMD;

- Deposition from atmosphere;

- Emission onto land;

-

Waste rocks and spoil dumps;

- Surface impoundment of liquids and slurries;

- Leaks, seepages and spills;

- Agricultural use of contaminated water and sediment, i.e., irrigation;

- Deposition from atmosphere;

- Chemicals used for mining and beneficiation;

- Coolants;

- Lead nitrates;

- Solvents;

- Xanthates;

- Ammonia;

- Hydrochloric acid;

- Cyanides;

- Copper sulfate;

- Energy sources, fuels: petrol, diesel, coal;

- Explosives.