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Mining Impacted Pit Lakes 2000 Workshop Proceedings: A Multimedia CD Presentation
Citation:
McCready*, J. Mining Impacted Pit Lakes 2000 Workshop Proceedings: A Multimedia CD Presentation. Workshop on the Characterization, Modeling, Remediation, & Monitoring of Mining-Impacted Pit Lakes, Reno, NV, 4/4-6/2000. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/625/C-00/004, 2001.
Description:
Anthropogenic releases of mercury to air, water and land have adversely impacted human health and the environment for many years. The USEPA Program Offices including: OPPTS, OAR, OW, OSWER, and ORD have made commitments to enhancing government, industry and public awareness of the potential hazards associated with the persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) effects of mercury in the environment. Key scientific questions have compelled the ORD to support the Agency's mission to develop a Mercury Research Strategy (1999) and to take a more proactive stance in identifying and implementing research programs designed to meet out-year goals in promoting the prevention and risk management of mercury.
In order for ORD to answer these questions, a technology transfer conference was conducted which focused on mercury in mining and ecological impacts and assessment. Two primary objectives of this workshop were to: 1) identify state-of-the-science practices and techniques for reducing the use and release of mercury at its sources, understanding fate and transport mechanisms, and assessing impacts to human health and the ecology; and 2) determine what role ORD can play in better understanding the research activities needed to fulfill the goal of the Mercury Research Strategy. The main focus of this workshop was to investigate the potential for mercury contamination from abandoned mercury and gold mines. A CD-ROM was developed to record the proceedings of this conference.