According to the UNEP there have been over 221 major tailings dam failures. These have killed hundreds of people around the world, displaced thousands and contaminated the drinking water of millions.
The resulting contaminated water is called acid mine drainage, a toxic cocktail uniquely destructive to aquatic life. According to one study: "The effects of AMD are so multifarious that community structure collapses rapidly and totally, even though very often no single pollutant on its own would have caused such a severe ecological impact."
These same "multifarious impacts" also makes recovery from such wastes much more difficult.
This environmental damage ultimately affects us -- in addition to drinking water contamination, AMD's byproducts such as mercury and heavy metals work their way into the food chain and sicken people and animals for generations.
http://nodirtygold.earthworksaction.org/impacts/water#.UuZePvv8W_o
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