IntroductionNowadays, resource mining is inevitable. The resources we need are valuable in everyday life. The resources exploited are coal, copper, gold, silver and sand. However, mining poses environmental risks that can degrade soil and water quality, which can ultimately impact us humans if we are not careful, and many of the Damage is irreversible once it has occurred. History and case studies of mining and its effects on the environmentMining poses a threat to the environment. They can degrade soil and water quality if left untreated. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Region 9 data assessment indicates that there are approximately 420,000 abandoned mines in the states of California, Arizona and Nevada, of which 13,242 are considered “abandoned mines presenting a potential risk to the environment” (arizona.edu, 2008). What remains is tailings, which are large piles of crushed rock left when minerals were extracted from the rocks that once contained them. These residues are then subject to wind dispersion and water erosion. This wind dispersal occurs because sandy tailings are easily swept out of the atmosphere by wind and spread through the environment as dust particles. Figure 1 shows wind erosion of a mine tailings pile being thrown into the air, creating dust. These tailings contain metal contaminants like arsenic, lead and cadmium, which creates a problem for the environment and can persist for decades due to low pH levels and can cause soil stabilization problems (arizona .edu, 2008). As a result of this process, mining sites “do not develop a normal soil structure nor promote the establishment of vegetation cover.” Many mining sites have... middle of paper ...... lawsuits related to environmental concerns related to mining and smelting, the economic issue being one of them that comes into top of the list. Something needs to be done to reduce the cost of environmental monitoring equipment. Should it be how equipment is made differently, more efficiently or created with less expensive materials. Works CitedCoil, D., McKittrick, E. and Higman, B. (2010, December 16). Acid mine drainage. Ground truth trekking. Retrieved February 12, 2011 from http://www.groundtruthtrekking.org/Issues/MetalsMining/AcidMineDrainage.htmlMine Tailings. (2008). University of Arizona Superfund Research Program (SBRP). Retrieved February 12, 2011, from http://superfund.pharmacy.arizona.edu/Mine_Tailings.phpWarhurst, A. (1999). Mining and the environment: case studies from the Americas. Ottawa, ON, Canada: International Development Research Center.