At least 23 million people around the world live on flood-plains contaminated by potentially harmful concentrations of toxic waste from metal-mining activity, according to a study.
This is particularly critical as the demand surges for metals that will support battery technology and electrification, including lithium and copper, says Prof Mark Macklin from the University of Lincoln, who led the research.
The findings, published in the journal Science, build on the team’s previous studies of exactly how pollution from mining activity moves and accumulates in the environment.
Prof Macklin and his colleagues used previously published field and laboratory analyses to work out how far this metal-contaminated sediment moves down river systems.
“We mapped the area that’s likely to be affected, which, when you combine that with population data, shows that 23 million people in the world are living on ground that would be considered ‘contaminated’,” said Chris Thomas, who is professor of water and planetary health at the University of Lincoln.
Prof Jamie Woodward from the University of Manchester, who was not involved in the study, said the research highlighted the threat posed by “silent pollution” stored in flood-plains.
The original article contains 599 words, the summary contains 188 words. Saved 69%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
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At least 23 million people around the world live on flood-plains contaminated by potentially harmful concentrations of toxic waste from metal-mining activity, according to a study.
This is particularly critical as the demand surges for metals that will support battery technology and electrification, including lithium and copper, says Prof Mark Macklin from the University of Lincoln, who led the research.
The findings, published in the journal Science, build on the team’s previous studies of exactly how pollution from mining activity moves and accumulates in the environment.
Prof Macklin and his colleagues used previously published field and laboratory analyses to work out how far this metal-contaminated sediment moves down river systems.
“We mapped the area that’s likely to be affected, which, when you combine that with population data, shows that 23 million people in the world are living on ground that would be considered ‘contaminated’,” said Chris Thomas, who is professor of water and planetary health at the University of Lincoln.
Prof Jamie Woodward from the University of Manchester, who was not involved in the study, said the research highlighted the threat posed by “silent pollution” stored in flood-plains.
The original article contains 599 words, the summary contains 188 words. Saved 69%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!