What can the gov.do to stop acid deposition? What are the laws about tailings being released in water?

Answer 1

You have two unrelated questions. We deal with the last then the former.

The major problem with this issue is the variety of laws and regulation applied from jurisdiction. I take it you are speaking about mine tailings.

That issue falls under the mining laws. To appreciate the fine points here a person must understand the difference between a law and regulation. A law is general. A regulation is a finer rule applied by the bureaucrats in charge or the government executive branch. It is the mechanism of enforcement.

Before anyone complains about anything I strongly encourage that person to find about both. First find out the jurisdiction in charge of the mining. Often there are federal and state or provincial and sometimes municipal authority over a minesite. If one looks the law is on the books but the controlling regulations are either not strong or enforced.

Mining companies understand this. In almost every jurisdiction I know about there is some sort of law controlling the tailings dump. The dump constitutes a settling pond where mine effluent, tailings or dust is pumped into.

And worse one must also know the process of the mine's concentrator mill. In gold mining the separation process involves a dissolving solution of cyanide which separates the raw gold from the waste rock matrix. If that is the case the least of one's worries is tailings at that moment.

My first goal is to make sure you stay in contact with your local or closest university geological department. They have independent labs which can assess the nature of the tailings or effluent.

Getting to know your local university and your department of wildlife and those who people is very important. They can give you access to the biology of the water. For water courses downstream outside of private property of the tailings pond walk along the shores with a net on a long pole, a GPS, strong plastic bags, writeable tags and a notebook.

If you search the water course through private property be sure you contact the owner. Private owners are only too happy for free monitoring of their beaches downstream of a mine. Collecting samples or dead animals like fish or frogs is important and record their position.

Arrange to send the samples to a biology lab run by either the government or a reputable university for free. Thankfully the biological sciences of a government are usually not talking to the mining regulators. And vice versa. They are after all always at cross purposes.

You must also understand the geology of your area. If you're in a belt with a rock bed of Silurian sedimentation or later the limestone tends to buffer water even rain water. If you live in Northern Ontario there is little limestone like sedimentary rocks present. The lakes in that type of zone tend are prone to higher acidity than from a foundation bedrock of limestone type rocks there is no natural buffering mechanism.

To understand acidity you must be able to test it usually with a litmus test kit. Again record water temperature, alkalinity or acidity, location, time and date. But understanding the geological structure of your area and of the water course is extremely important. One exposed sedimentary rock face can effect the test downstream of that feature.

Understanding this little finesse point can prevent you from looking like an idiot before government presentations. What you are trying to do is the capability of effecting the monitoring and regulation of that water shed and mine. You must do it intelligently.

Lets review. If the basement rocks are igneous on the water course or water shed the water flow will demonstrate a tendency to be acidic. The buffering effect of limestone deposits buffer the stream, lakes or ponds.

If you find it acidic in the igneous basement rocks you have a problem since the acidity can be natural. Finding and proving a source of polluting acid can be difficult for the simple reason that it could come from rain especially if that precipitation is frequent and in the leeward of a large water body. Rain is a weak carbonic acid.

If however the litmus tests show acid, redo the sample (in case of contamination) and the water course is over a basement rock geology of limestone sediments then it is extremely likely that the sample is acidized by a facility like a mine.

Another point if you want to litmus test a water course. Do it over a period of time including the Christmas Holidays. It is a mining tradition that mines will close down for a holiday period or a period of maintenance. Test the water then because it will give a control level to see if there is any pollution.

Another rather necessary thing to do is conduct intelligence. Get to know and be friendly with some of the mine employees. Miners work hard and play hard. They have money they will drink. Learn all you can about what they do and when they do it.

Even go for a tour of the mine. Often the company won't do official tours but an individual mining supervisor often gives private tours of the mine.

And try to get employment at the mine. This is the most effective way of getting to know and understand the polluter. And earn money at the same time.

I hope this helps a bit.



If you do aim to take your litmus tests don't take any samples within twenty four hours of the last rainfall.
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Answer 2

Have a look at what is in the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, the water supply for Iraq. Acid deposits are probably in the water, where ever you are, hiding other released toxin's. That would explain why these days there are so many people sick as opposed to when I was younger. I am not old but we didn't have all the medicines and deceases back then. You are on to something big, it has always been in the water.

Answer 3

Laws are bent by lobbyists. The 'fluoride' that is put in the public water supply, is actually hydrofluosilicic acid, a hazardous industrial byproduct passed off as a good thing because it's high in sodium fluoride. The bad part is it contains arsenic as well as many other toxins.
And the worst part is that it's in over 50% of the water supplies.