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Mining’s toxic legacy in the California Sierras

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 21, 2008 at 5:58 am

From the California Progress Report:

Throughout the Sierra Nevada we hear a lot about the “49ers” and the “Legacy” of mining. The iconic image of the miner and his pan is emblazoned everywhere. The stories of gold mining are fascinating tales of bravery, ingenuity, gold strikes and busts. As is often the case with history, however, only part of the story is told.

The other side of the coin is as dark and troubling as the glitter of the gold that blinded the miners to the damage they were doing to the land and its people in their pursuit of it. Cultural genocide, environmental destruction, and wide distribution of toxins are included in this dark legacy. The ongoing presence of mercury, arsenic, asbestos and other heavy metals from historic mining threaten healthy life in the Sierra more than a century after the glitter is gone.

The Sierra Fund is a nonprofit organization in Nevada City, CA, working to raise awareness of Mining’s Toxic Legacy throughout the Sierra Nevada.

The first “49ers” mined gold with pick and pan, however it was not long before industrial scale operations were built to rip gold and other minerals out of the ground in search of huge profits. Mining operations rerouted the rivers, washed away mountains, uprooted and decimated the native people through forced march and murder.

Some 26 million pounds of mercury were imported into the Sierra Nevada to use in gold mining and 13 million pounds of it was released to the environment in the process. Mercury can become highly toxic when it is in the food chain, and pollute large amounts of water, contaminate fish and poison the wildlife and humans who consume them. Since mercury affects the brain and nerves, it is especially dangerous for pregnant women and young children.