Many of the world's most useful materials, including metals and minerals with no available substitutes, can only be collected by mining. But mining also produces a huge amount of waste, including toxic byproducts, fine particles that pollute air and water, and sometimes even radioactive materials.
Now, after a years-long court battle, Norway plans to dump its mining waste into its fjords — bodies of water that connect directly to the sea, the Guardian reports.
What happened?
For 15 years, the private company Nordic Mining has been locked in a legal dispute with environmental groups Friends of the Earth Norway and Nature and Youth. The issue: whether Nordic Mining should be allowed to dump 187 million tons of mining waste in the Førde fjord.
In January, the court not only decided in Nordic Mining's favor — it also ordered the environmental groups to pay the mining company's legal fees, about $140,000, the Guardian reveals.
Why does some dirt in the ocean matter?
Mining waste, also called "tailings," is extremely toxic. One Brazilian community that was accidentally exposed when a dam burst is currently experiencing high rates of disease related to the disaster.
For this reason, only two other countries — Papua New Guinea and Turkey — allow mining waste to be deposited in the ocean, the Guardian claims. But Norwegian residents now have to worry about what they're being exposed to in their own water.
The problem is also likely to spread beyond Norway, as the fjords are inlets of the sea. There's no telling how far currents might carry the pollution.
Not only could the pollution affect people, but the Guardian reports that Norway's advisory body, the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, predicts a major impact on fish in the region.
The Førde fjord is a vital breeding ground for cod and a migration route for salmon — both are fish that many people rely on for food, and they are already struggling due to overfishing and climate change.
What are the next steps to stop this pollution?
It's still possible for the environmental organizations that brought this lawsuit to appeal the decision. Doing so would be costly, though.
Truls Gulowsen, the head of Friends of the Earth Norway, told the Guardian: "This contravenes the Aarhus convention, which states that access to justice in environmental matters should not be financially prohibitive. We just don't have the money to pursue the case at this moment in time."
However, the Guardian reports that there is some hope the organizations may receive outside funding to continue the fight.
"It's frightening that the judicial system shows so little understanding for environmental rights," Gulowsen added.
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