Socially responsible mining: the relationship between mining and poverty, human health and the environment
-
Raina M. Maier
,
Fernando Díaz-Barriga
Abstract
Increasing global demand for metals is putting strain on the ability of the mining industry to physically keep up with demand (physical scarcity). Conversely, social issues including the environmental and human health consequences of mining as well as the disparity in income distribution from mining revenues are disproportionately felt at the local community level. This has created social rifts, particularly in the developing world, between affected communities and both industry and governments. Such rifts can result in a disruption of the steady supply of metals (situational scarcity). Here we discuss the importance of mining in relationship to poverty, identify steps that have been taken to create a framework for socially responsible mining, and then discuss the need for academia to work in partnership with communities, government, and industry to develop transdisciplinary research-based step change solutions to the intertwined problems of physical and situational scarcity.
Acknowledgments
This conference session summary was developed with support from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Research Program Grant 2 P42 ES04940.
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©2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
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- Environmental Exposures in Indigenous Communities
- Environmental exposure in indigenous communities: an international perspective
- Novel materials for environmental remediation of oil sands contaminants
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- Long-term health consequences of prenatal arsenic exposure: links to the genome and the epigenome
- Health hazards and mitigation of chronic poisoning from arsenic in drinking water: Taiwan experiences
- Remediation of mercury-contaminated soil – a case study
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- Hexachlorocyclohexane: persistence, toxicity and decontamination
- E-waste: impacts, issues and management strategies
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- Solar membrane distillation: desalination for the Navajo Nation
- Climate change and managing water crisis: Pakistan’s perspective
- Effective utilization of waste water through recycling, reuse, and remediation for sustainable agriculture
- Mining
- Socially responsible mining: the relationship between mining and poverty, human health and the environment
- Modeling the emission, transport and deposition of contaminated dust from a mine tailing site
- Coal mine drainage sludge and its application for treating metallic mine effluent
- Emerging Issues in the Pacific Basin
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- The Pacific Basin Consortium for Environment and Health
- Environmental Exposures in Indigenous Communities
- Environmental exposure in indigenous communities: an international perspective
- Novel materials for environmental remediation of oil sands contaminants
- Metals
- Long-term health consequences of prenatal arsenic exposure: links to the genome and the epigenome
- Health hazards and mitigation of chronic poisoning from arsenic in drinking water: Taiwan experiences
- Remediation of mercury-contaminated soil – a case study
- Bioaccessibility, release kinetics, and molecular speciation of arsenic and lead in geo-dusts from the Iron King Mine Federal Superfund site in Humboldt, Arizona
- Mercury poisoning dentistry: high-level indoor air mercury contamination at selected dental sites
- Hazardous Waste
- New approaches and insights into bioremediation of hazardous waste
- Modeling the emission sources for polychlorinated biphenyls in India: implications for human health risk assessment
- Microorganism-assisted phytoremediation of heavy metal and endosulfan contaminated soil
- Chemicals: friends and foes
- Spatial distribution of persistent organic pollutants in the surface water of River Brahmaputra and River Ganga in India
- Hexachlorocyclohexane: persistence, toxicity and decontamination
- E-waste: impacts, issues and management strategies
- Water
- Clean water and sanitation in developing areas lacking conventional power
- Striving for success in sanitation, hygiene, and water supply
- Solar membrane distillation: desalination for the Navajo Nation
- Climate change and managing water crisis: Pakistan’s perspective
- Effective utilization of waste water through recycling, reuse, and remediation for sustainable agriculture
- Mining
- Socially responsible mining: the relationship between mining and poverty, human health and the environment
- Modeling the emission, transport and deposition of contaminated dust from a mine tailing site
- Coal mine drainage sludge and its application for treating metallic mine effluent
- Emerging Issues in the Pacific Basin
- Nanotechnology and toxicology
- Nanotoxicology and nanotechnology: new findings from the NIEHS and Superfund Research Program scientific community
- Nanotechnology in environmental remediation: degradation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) over visible-light-active nanostructured materials
- Combating infectious diseases in the Pacific Islands: sentinel surveillance, environmental health, and geospatial tools
- Projected health impacts of heat events in Washington State associated with climate change
- Community-based approaches to environmental health research around the globe
- Air Pollution
- Particulate air pollution and cardiovascular disease – it is time to take it seriously
- Chemical exposure and respiratory health of children in an industrial setting
- Fine particles characterization in residential homes located in different microenvironment of India
- Respiratory health risk assessment of children living close to industrial areas in Indonesia
