Remediation of Legacy Arsenic Mining Areas in Yunnan Province, China

Background. Three villages in Yunnan Province were identified to have abandoned arsenic mines severely contaminating the local water supplies. Other villages in the Province had similar problems causing the Yunnan Environmental Protection Bureau (YEPB) to seek assistance in developing a remedial strategy. Objectives. Identify the immediate hazards, develop practical remedial approaches, with focus on human health impacts associated with contaminated drinking water. Develop a blueprint for dealing with other isolated mine pollution problems in the mountains of Yunnan. Materials & Methods. A technical team from Blacksmith Institute, TerraGraphics Environmental Engineering and Yunnan Environmental Protection Bureau (YEPB) visited the sites and conducted environmental sampling. TerraGraphics prepared a technical review of each site, a discussion of human health risks and objectives for remedial actions, using United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) guidance for waste site evaluations. From the r...