Treatment of Mining and Mineral Processing Waters Using a Systems Approach

Details

• Personal Author:
  Isaacson, Alan E. ; Jeffers, Thomas H.
• Description:
  In response to a critical need to remove toxic metals from our Nation's streams and waterways the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) is combining innovative USBM developed water treatment techniques with existing technologies to create more effective systems for complex water. A systems approach is used to ensure that the best combination of unit operations can be tailored for a particular site. The USBM technologies include primary treatments to recover salable metals and minimize solid waste generation and secondary treatments to produce effluents meeting strict water quality criteria. Examples of primary treatments include biogenic sulfide generation, passive biological treatment liquid emulsion membranes and processes that improve alkaline neutralization. Secondary treatments include polymeric beads containing immobilized extractants biological adsorbents zeolites and ion elutriation. These technologies are currently in various stages of development and three have achieved commercial application. This strategy is applicable to contaminated waters emanating from abandoned adits and pits waste rock dumps and active workings. A significant current focus of USBM activities is application of the systems approach to remediation of waters on Federal lands administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Alkalies Environmental Exposure Environmental Pollution Metals Minerals Mining Occupational Health Safety Sulfides Water Purification
• Keywords:
  Alkaline-earth-metals Environmental-contamination Environmental-pollution Mineral-processing Mining-industry Water-analysis Water-sampling
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Publisher:
  U.S. Bureau of Mines
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings ; Abstract
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Utah
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  SLRC - Salt Lake City Research Center
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  25
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20024861
• Citation:
  Abstract Book, U.S. Department of the Interior Conference on the Environment and Safety, April 24-28, 1995. Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1995 Apr; :25
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1995
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  U.S. Bureau of Mines
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5c8ebde9777dce58bf4c8457151e4c5e903c4d67f4288ade5c37b4930712228dfbb9d1fa6835c92ba0de28a9793a9ad15903d98a050ac3c561db89055748b8c8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/220846/cdc_220846_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 307.88 KB ]