Scientists fear thousands of tonnes of dangerous chemicals dumped in mining tunnels in Alsace may seep into an aquifer (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 18 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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They said waste, containing cyanide, arsenic, mercury, would be stored there for 30 years while new methods were developed to clean it. Now, it's clear it's here to stay, in a crumbling mine, beneath an aquifer - drinking water source for millions of people.

30 years of broken promises now poisoning future generations.

Recently, Canadian politicians in a province called Alberta have complained loudly about environmental laws. Another Canadian province called Ontario passed a law allowing mining companies to bypass environmental rules. My message to Canadians is simple. Don't make the same mistake.

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[-] [email protected] 4 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

The main problem here is not that toxic waste has been stored in mining tunnels.

The main problem is that there are tons of dangerous chemicals that need to be stored somewhere. It's all residues from incinerating waste. Once we have all these waste what do we do with it ? Is there a better option than being buried deep in mining tunnels ?

We absolutely need to reduce the waste we produce.

Also, everyone should have a look at what happens to mine tailings. The prices of mining leaves begins hundreds of millions of tons of toxic material containing heavy metals like mercury, cyanide of arsenic.

The method of dealing with it is just to build a dam and store it on the surface. It contaminates the land, the water, sometimes the dam breaks and buries entire villages under toxic waste. No one really cares because most of the mining happens in third world countries, remote communities and because it is needed to feed the global consumerism way of life.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 11 hours ago

would be stored there for 30 years while new methods were developed

Hmh, where have I heard this before? *cough* Atomic waste *cough*

[-] [email protected] 2 points 3 hours ago

where have I heard this before? *cough* Atomic waste *

They have started to relocate hundreds of thousands of barrels containing nuclear waste from nuclear plants somewhere at 3 km depth in the Atlantic to check their containment integrity. I guess more and more surprises will turn up, as a result of our past dumping solutions. I believe they have also dumped some, in or near the area of an ancient primal forrest in Poland

But you are right. How will we contain all this waste?

[-] [email protected] 17 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

Make them figure out how to deal with it BEFORE they are allowed to drill and you'll see some amazing innovations taking place overnight

this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2025

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