EARTHWORKS' No Dirty Gold | Troubled Waters

Troubled Waters

How Mine Waste Dumping is Poisoning Our Oceans, Rivers, and Lakes

Published: February 28, 2012

By: EARTHWORKS and MiningWatch Canada

Troubled Waters: How Mine Waste Dumping is Poisoning Our Ocean, Rivers, and Lakes is a new investigative report from Earthworks and MiningWatch Canada that documents how mining companies are using the world's waterways as dumping grounds for their toxic mine wastes.

These mine wastes, or tailings, can contain up to three dozen dangerous chemicals, including arsenic, lead, mercury, and cyanide.

Each year, mining companies dump over 180 million tonnes of these hazardous mine wastes into rivers, oceans, and lakes - that's more than 1.5 times the amount of waste that US cities send to landfills each year.

The Troubled Waters report examines the impacts of ten corporations' waste dumping practices in water bodies in 11 regions around the world, including those in Papua New Guinea, Turkey, Canada, Indonesia, United States, and Norway.

The report calls on mining companies to stop using our oceans, rivers, and lakes as dumping grounds for their toxic wastes. The report recommends additional steps that must be taken by mining companies to protect people and ecosystems from irresponsible aquatic waste disposal, including dry stacking and backfill, where safe, and adopting measures to produce less waste.

For More Information

Press release
Full report
Executive Summary
Fact sheet
Map of waters in the report
Major mining companies mentioned in the report, and the waters they threaten
Print-ready photos from the report
Contacts:
Payal Sampat, Earthworks, 202-887-1872 x110
Ramsey Hart, MiningWatch Canada, 613-569-3439

Map of mines dumping wastes in water

View Bodies of Water Most Threatened By Dumping in a larger map

Major mining companies dumping mining waste in water

	Barrick background Fly River system, Papua New Guinea
	BHP-Billiton background Canadian lakes
	Freeport background Otomina and Ajkwa Rivers, West Papua, Indonesia
	Goldcorp background Canadian lakes
	Newcrest background Luise Harbor, Papua New Guinea
	Newmont background Senunu Bay, Indonesia Canadian lakes
	Rio Tinto background Otomina and Ajkwa Rivers, West Papua, Indonesia Canadian lakes
	Teck Cominco background Canadian lakes
	Vale background Canadian lakes
	Xstrata background Canadian lakes