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#.U6lv07FERE0
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