TOXICS & MINING

1. TOXICS & MINING Mercury, Arsenic, Cyanide

2. Mercury (Hg) • What is it? • How does it get into the environment? • What is at risk?

3. Mercury (Hg) • What is it? • Mercury (Hg) is a naturally occurring element - silvery white liquid; also found as cinnabar (HgS) • Mercury is used in the manufacture of electrical instruments, fungicides, pharmaceuticals, munitions, paper production, extraction of gold in mining

4. Mercury (Hg) • How does it get into the environment? • Natural sources: • volcanoes • volatilization from oceans • erosion of natural deposits

5. Mercury (Hg) • How does it get into the environment? • Human Activities: • estimated to be 1/3-2/3 of the total mercury released into the environment. Sources include: • stack losses from cinnabar roasting • the working and smelting of metals • coal fired power plants • discharges from mines, refineries and factories • combustion of coal and municipal wastes, industrial wastes and boilers • medical waste incinerators • pesticides • runoff from landfills/croplands

6. Mercury (Hg) • What is at risk? Persistence: • can change form, • cannot be destroyed Solubility: • Cinnabar (HgS) is insoluble (and resists weathering); • liquid Hg is slightly soluble in water.

7. Mercury (Hg) • What is at risk? Bioaccumulation: • Hg methylation forms CH3Hg+ which is easily absorbed by organisms and biomagnifies from the bottom to the top of the food chain • bioaccumulates (concentrates) in muscle and tissue of fish and other wildlife • CH3Hg+ generally increases by a factor of ten or less with each step up the food chain

10. Arsenic (As) • What is it? • How does it get into the environment? • What is at risk?

11. Arsenic (As) • What is it? • Arsenic rarely occurs in elemental form, but usually is found as a compound or dissolved ion widely distributed in earth’s crust • found in the metal sulfides (e.g. Arsenopyrite FeAsS), and as oxides, and arsenates • Persistence: cannot be destroyed; can only change its form • Bioaccumulation: by fish and shellfish

12. Arsenic (As) • What is it? • the toxicity of inorganic arsenic (As) depends on its valence state (As-3, As+3, or As+5), and also on the physical and chemical properties of the compound in which it occurs • trivalent (As+3) compounds are generally more toxic than pentavalent (As+5) compounds, but As+5 easily converts to As+3 when ingested; thus, this difference in toxicity is no longer considered that important • Organic compounds (i.e., As in compounds combined with carbon and hydrogen) are less toxic than inorganic compounds (i.e., As combined with oxygen, chlorine, and sulfur).

13. Arsenic (As) • How does it get into the environment? • Arsenopyrite (FeAsS) is the most common arsenic mineral in ores and is also a byproduct associated with copper, gold, silver, and lead/zinc mining. • Arsenic trioxide (Fe2As3) is present in flue gases from copper ore roasting • coal-fired power plants and incinerators also may release As into atmosphere. • Water: average concentration is 1 ppb, but can be > 1,000 ppb in mining areas; As+5 most prevalent; many compounds dissolve in water

14. Arsenic (As) • What is at risk? • Arsenic is a human carcinogen • In humans the primary target organs are the skin and vascular system • birds, animals, plants, and freshwater fish can become contaminated • Toxicity in water is determined by water temperature, pH, organic content, phosphate concentration, suspended soils, presence of oxidants, and speciation

16. Cyanide (CN) • What is it? • How does it get into the environment? • What is at risk?

17. Cyanide (CN) • What is it? • Cyanide (CN) is a highly toxic carbon-nitrogen chemical compound; • may be combined with various organic and inorganic compounds, • hydrogen cyanide (HCN), a colorless, flammable liquid or gas, or • sodium cyanide (NaCN) and potassium cyanide (KCN), both solids

18. Cyanide (CN) • What is it? • Cyanide has been used since the late 1800s for the recovery of gold, replacing the mercury amalgamation process. • Two processes of cyanide leach mining, vat and heap-leaching, now process greater than 90% of US gold ores. • CN is also used in small amounts to depress pyrite in the floatation processes of base metal ores (Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Mo)

19. Cyanide (CN) • What is it? • Usually stored/transported in dry, solid form Usage: • Hydrogen cyanide is used in the manufacture of other cyanides for nylon, fibers, resins • also used in herbicides, as chemical warfare agents, silver plating, dyes, and specialty products

20. Cyanide (CN) • How does it get into the environment? • Can leach from landfills and cyanide-containing road salts as well as to the atmosphere from car exhaust (hydrogen cyanide gas - HCN). • Some foods (almonds and lima beans) contain cyanides naturally • It can be produced by some bacteria, fungi, and algae

21. Cyanide (CN) • How does it get into the environment? • Spills: Cyanide and other heavy metal pollutants overflowed a dam at Baia Mare, Romania, contaminating 250 miles of rivers, and killing millions of fish • Most persistent in groundwater & at higher pH

22. Cyanide (CN) • What is at risk? • CN- oxidizes in the presence of sunlight and oxygen, forming Cyanate (CNO-), Thiocyanate (SCN-), ammonia (NH3), nitrate (NO3), and other compounds • Cyanate (CNO-) and Thiocyanate (SCN-) compounds are more persistent than CN-, and do have significant toxicity

23. Cyanide (CN) • What is at risk? • Oral lethal dose of KCN for an adult is 200 mg • Airborne concentrations of 270 ppm is fatal • Long term exposure to lower levels results in heart pains, breathing difficulties, vomiting, blood changes, headaches and thyroid gland enlargement • CN does not bioaccumulate in fish

24. Cyanide Facility Photos Cyanide “Isotainer” Cyanide Mixing Tank Impellor