Impacts of mining on the environment; some local, regional and global issues

The mining, processing and utilisation of metals dates back to Roman times and earlier with extensive developments in many parts of the world by the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many mineralised areas are no longer worked leaving a legacy of dereliction and contaminated land and drainage. This paper discusses the sources and dispersion of metals from mining and smelting activities, factors influencing their pathways into the foodchain and potential impacts on plant, animal and human health. The importance of mineral and chemical forms of metals in soils is discussed in relation to their bioavailability. Reference is made to research in the U.K., Greece and Brazil.