What are the impacts of tailing ponds?

There are several environmental concerns that are associated with the existence of tailings ponds. The main problem with the ponds is that they include toxic and harmful chemicals such as ammonia, mercury, and naphthenic acids. The water containing these chemicals is toxic to animals, particularly aquatic organisms.

Are tailings ponds toxic?

Tailings ponds include a significant number of toxic chemicals,including half of the World Health Organization’s “ten chemicals of major public concern.” Unfortunately, a significant body of research has found that these toxins are not being fully contained by the tailings ponds.

In what ways might the leaching of chemicals from tailing ponds affect the water quality in a local community?

A: When the leaching of tailings ponds occurs, it can cause a lot of issues to the animals and people around it. The chemicals left in the water leach into the ground or into other drinking water sources poisoning the water. The result is that people do not have safe groundwater to drink.

What is a tailings pond and why is it important?

Tailings ponds are engineered dam and dyke facilities used for storage of tailings materials. Tailing ponds are also used to enable water to separate from the tailings. Water from the tailings ponds is recycled back into the extraction process, reducing the use of fresh water from the Athabasca River and other sources.

What chemical are in a tailings pond?

Tailings ponds are enormous human-made reservoirs the size of lakes in which the toxic byproduct of oil extraction from tar sands are stored. They contain dangerous chemicals such as ammonia, lead, mercury, benzene and naphthenic acid.

How are tailings hazardous?

Tailings can contaminate aquatic life with toxic heavy metals and milling chemicals. Some metals, particularly mercury, may bioaccumulate up the food chain, ultimately harming humans. It causes turbidity (murkiness from suspended particles) and reduces oxygen levels which directly impacts aquatic life.

Which health and safety risk is associated with tailings dams?

Tailing dams contain liquids (toxic, hazardous, or even radioactive) which are pollutant sources of great damage risk to humans, the environment, and ecosystems [2]. Worldwide, at least 63 major tailings dam failures were reported that caused significant pollution during 1960–2014 [3].

What are the negative impact of tailings?

Tailings deposited as large piles can cause a variety of environmental problems: Slumps, landslides. Tailing piles can be unstable, and experience landslides. In 1966, in Aberfan, Wales, a hill of mining debris famously collapsed onto buildings, resulting in 144 deaths.