Super Pit: Impacts On The Environment

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the process of extracting natural gas from shale rock layers deep within the earth.The dangers of fracking are the chemicals that go into fracking and how much water is used and contamination of city water. Some dangers of fracking are water usage. They use 2 to 5 million gallons of water. Not all of the chemicals are recovered from the ground. We only know of 8 out of 600 chemicals. To many chemicals are used and some a harmful. Fracking water usage is too high for instance one well can use 144,000,000million gallons of water. 50%-70% of the fracking fluid is left in the ground and isn’t biodegradable. The waste fluid that is outside in the sunlight evaporates and releases volatile organic compounds(Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at ordinary room temperature. Their high vapor pressure results from a low boiling point, which causes large numbers of molecules to evaporate or sublimate from the liquid or solid form of the compound and enter the surrounding air.) Due to the VOCs acid rain, ground level ozone and contaminated air. Ground level ozone is bad, but ozone up high in the atmosphere protects the earth from the Sun’s harmful rays.

I would have to say that from the reading that it can be very harmful for the coal mining chemicals to seep into the ground into our drinking water.

Things like mining too far into a wall that connects to an older mine, thus increasing the danger of a collapse, is common. Other practices include shoddy dams that contain the slurry, a mixture of water and fine particles of coal, which do not always meet structural regulations that can and have broken and flood nearby communities (Light and Light, 2006). There are other environmental issues that are associated with coal mining. Acid mine drainage is the result of sulfide minerals being exposed to oxygen. This produces sulfuric acid and can dissolve heavy metals from the waste rock, making it bioavailable. Without proper treatment, this will poison the water systems near that mine and will seep into the streams, creeks, and even ground and well water. The water turns orange and is impossible for anything to live off of the water or in it (Kirsch, 2014). Another issue of coal mining is airborne coal dust, which can result in Black Lung disease. This is caused by inhaling too much coal dust and is common in miners, but with surface mining becoming more prevalent, more coal dust is being released into the air and drifting down to the communities. More children and elderly people are having respiratory problems that many believe are because of

The Mining Act does a very good job at protecting certain aspects of the environment such as ensuring that over exploitation of minerals does not occur, or making it mandatory to have a plan in place for closing the mine as well as assuring that there is money to do so. Although there are many things that this Act does right, there are also areas in which there are issues and should be improved. One of the first issues pertaining to this Act is the impact that it fails to mitigate regarding water quality. In areas where mining development occurs, the water quality is drastically affected and a study found that “water from waste rock piles has an ionic profile distinct from unimpacted catchments” (Carey, Wellen, & Shatilla, 2015), meaning that in order to mitigate the impact of the runoff measures must be put in place to limit it. Secondly, the Act does not involve

Morocco is rich in mineral deposits and the third largest phosphate rock producers. Morocco has vast reserves of phosphate rocks, copper, cobalt, anthracite coal, silver, gold, iron ore, zinc, manganese etc. The quality of water in the areas surrounding mining sites is compromised during and after the mining with harmful agents such as Arsenic (As), Lead (Pb), Zinc(Zn) etc.Due to this water pollution and the fact that water resources are limited, a large number of people and livestock in villages close to the mining sites are affected with serious life threatening diseases. In such areas thirty percent of the wastewater that is untreated is discharged directly into natural water bodies. As an example, the Sebou basin that constitutes

Open pit mining creates a hole where groundwater will collect instead of flowing naturally into the watersheds. What water will flow into those watersheds will be contaminated by mercury--from the processing of the ore into taconite pellets and sulfuric acid, causing incredible damage to the ecosystem of the rivers and Lake

Frack sites can break down and cause a bundle of problems. Communities with fracking have seen decline in property values, increases in crime, and losses in local tourism. When a community loses tourism and gains an increase in crime it may not be an area where a new company would want to settle, worsening the economy. Fracking is said to have caused earthquakes when a pipe ruptures. If a pipe ruptures it damage a fault line pushing one tectonic plate closer toward the earthquake point. If a storage tank for fracking breaks it may leak out into crops and streams and poison our ecosystem. If the fracking fluid does as much as decimates on of the species in the ecosystem, then it will put the whole ecosystem out of whack causing numerous problems.

line is drilled to reach the desirable depth in which natural gases can be extracted. Once drilled,

Drilling and fracking allow greenhouse gases to be emitted into the atmosphere (Fracking is Harmful to the Environment). Some greenhouse gases exist naturally are significant in keeping the planet habitable (Fracking is Harmful to the Environment). At natural levels, greenhouse gases capture and absorb energy from solar radiation and release the remaining energy back to space (Fracking is Harmful to the Environment). Fracking requires large amounts of water mixed with sand and toxic chemicals to crack rock and release gas and oil (Fracking is Harmful to the Environment). “Increased development of shale gas may actually accelerate climate change because large amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that makes up more than 90 percent of shale gas, leak during fracking” (Fracking is Harmful to the Environment). Fracking releases greenhouse gases that impact the climate

Around our country there has been a big debate going on about a certain process used to help harvest natural gas. This process has brought about many view points and people arguing for the good and bad of it. This paper will examine views from both sides, its effects on the environment, review journal entries, and then show the conclusion reached about this process. The process you might have guessed that I am referring to is that of hydraulic fracturing or otherwise known as fracking by most people.

While researching the effects of mining I thought of 3 main reasons why mining should stop. Mining can affect water quality which may loose farmers, fishermen, and boat shops to go out of business. Plus, once all the ore is mined the miners will have nowhere to go and also lose their jobs. And finally, no one would move here because no one wants to live near polluted water

A controversial topic commonly debated among society is the construction of coal mines. Although they potentially contain great economic promise and access to more resources, they also harm the surrounding environment and increase carbon dioxide emissions.

On reviewing the state, federal documents and federal database for the Ely Copper mines representing 87% of currently operating copper Ely mines, and responsible for 89% of U.S. copper production in 2010. The Ely Copper mines were chosen based on an operating record of more than five years. These mines provide a representative view of the types of environmental impacts resulting from the development of copper porphyry deposits, focusing on pipeline spills, tailings failures and water collection and treatment failures. It was found that all of the mines (100%) experienced pipeline spills or other accidental releases. The most frequent spills were reported at the Ray Mine in Arizona, where over fifty pipelines Spills occurred from 1988 to 2012. Data shows that among 13 of the 14 mines (92%), water collection and treatment systems have failed to control contaminated mine seepage, resulting in significant water quality impacts. The development of acid mine drainage was associated with the most severe and lasting impacts.

Mines pose a threat to the environment. They can degrade soil and water quality if left untreated. The United States Environmental protection Agency (USEPA)'s Region 9 assessment of state data states that there are approximately 420,000 abandoned mines in the states of

The mining industry has seen an explosive growth from the past few decades. It has played an important role in economic growth, infrastructure development and a raise in the living standard of the whole world. According to the Australian National Accounting System, the mining sector has made contributions of 9.8% GDP growth to the Australian economy between 2008 to 2009 (Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2012). However, the mining industry has caused many environmental issues such as adverse effect to air, land and water quality and continues to affect global environment as a whole. According to the World Health Organization, it evaluated that 25% of worldwide death are directly associated with environmental pollution (Blacksmith Institute, n.d). This essay will outline the environmental issue raised by the mining industry with pinpoint focus on the effects to air, water and land. It will also provide strategies for mining companies to improve the environmental conditions.