El medio ambiente en la minería

EL MEDIO AMBIENTE EN LA MINERIA 70 The United States has becn quite active in the area oC environmental regula~ tion, particular1y over the last 20-30 years. As a result, much has becn leamed, both good and bad. The United States is, oC course, not alone in this joumey, manyother countries both large and small, industrialized and developing, have had a similar experience. Some countries, either because oC lack oC planning, or adherence to a different set of priorities are now facing major efforts to cIean up the damage that has becn a1lowed to OCCUf. Others are seeking to avoid the mistakes of the past in framing or revising their own regulatory agenda. We would like to offer some observations of our own regulatory history as an aid to the discussions now taking place here in Chile. l. THE MlNERAlS INDUSTRYAS AVILLAIN Mineral processing is an obvious target as one attemps to identify the potencial sources of environmental problems. Mining, especially surCace mining, causes an almost immediate visual impact oC scarred earth. In addition, the mini– ng/mineral preparation operation generates trem,endous quantities ofwaste. lt is estim,ated that the mineralsindustryof the U nit~ S~ates oontributes about 40 percent of the total U. S. waste that is generatedeach year. Mineral processing, especially pyrometallurgical processing, is associatedwith,airemis~ sions that can cause both immediate and long term health and enviroÍlmental effects. Further, the materials that can leach Crom the,wastes and the mines themselves can causé environmental and human health effects. ';.' .' hJ 1. ,. Whether or not the minerals industry is the "worst" enviro~enía(Óffender is, of course, dependant upon the particular situation, one's knowledge oC the true facts, and the goals to which one aspires. However, since mining is one of the few fundamental sources oCnationalwealth, and since almost everycountry contains some form oC commerciaUy viable mineralization, it is an issue into which every country must be drawn sooner or latero In the United States, the minerals industry continues to face challenges to its environmental perfor– mance. JI. THE REGULATOKY PKOCESS The environmental regulatory process employed in the United States is a somewhat confusing, and sometimesinconsistent, quilt of regulations arising from state and Federallegislation. For various reasons, most of the regulatory process related to active operations is based on the affected media - air, water and solid. There are exceptions that are based instead on the industry being regulated - at the Federallevel, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) is an example of such a piece of legislation specific lo