Mining is essential for economic development; however, the increasing number of tailings dam failures has become a major environmental and public health concern. This review aimed to characterize mining tailings dam disasters reported worldwide between 2015 and 2025 and summarize the available evidence on their human health impacts. A scoping review was conducted using Web of Science, Scopus, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and institutional sources institutional reports from World Information Service on Energy (WISE), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), GRID-Arendal, and World Health Organization (WHO). Each identified disaster was individually investigated to compile information on disaster characteristics, released tailings, mineral commodities, potentially toxic elements (PTEs), and available epidemiological evidence. A total of 670 deaths and 112 injuries were reported, while approximately 75 people were reported missing. At least 728 displaced people and 55 displaced families were also reported. Gold, copper, and jade were the mineral commodities most frequently involved, while arsenic, lead, mercury, manganese, and zinc were the most frequently reported PTEs in the tailings associated with these disasters. Despite the large number of disasters, only two incidents (Mariana and Brumadinho) have been investigated in population-based studies evaluating human health following the events, revealing a major global knowledge gap.
Compliance with drinking-water guideline values is commonly treated as evidence of negligible health risk, yet guideline values and toxicological reference doses are revised on independent schedules. This study tested whether these two bases for judging water safety diverge in a basin-fed, geothermally influenced supply system, using paired municipal, spring, and river water samples (n = 42) from ten districts of Eskişehir Province, Türkiye. Seventeen trace elements were quantified by ICP-MS, and health risk was assessed deterministically and probabilistically using the January 2025 USEPA IRIS toxicological update for arsenic. Arsenic exceeded the WHO and Turkish national (TS266) guideline value of 10 µg/L in nearly a third of samples, yet the Water Quality Index classified almost all samples as "Excellent" under the same guideline values. Applying the updated arsenic toxicity values raised the Hazard Index and cancer risk above acceptable thresholds at most sites, whereas the legacy (1995) values flagged far fewer of the same sites as unacceptable on identical concentrations — a divergence attributable solely to the toxicological revision and confirmed robust to exposure-parameter uncertainty by Monte Carlo simulation. Arsenic, correlated with antimony, lithium, and boron, dominated cumulative risk, consistent with a geogenic, geothermally influenced source rather than treatment-related contamination; municipal and spring samples showed broadly similar trace-element profiles. These findings reveal a structural disconnect between regulatory compliance and contemporary toxicological evidence — not a flaw in the guideline values themselves — with implications for drinking-water risk assessment beyond arsenic and beyond this study area.
Springs, as critical groundwater discharge points, are highly sensitive to coupled hydrogeological and anthropogenic perturbations in rapidly transforming tropical landscapes. This six-year study (2018–2023) investigates nutrient dynamics in springs across distinct hydrogeological settings of the Western Ghats, India. Significant spatial variability in dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), dissolved silica (DSi), and physicochemical parameters (EC, TDS, DO) were observed (one-way ANOVA, p < 0.05), reflecting heterogeneous recharge pathways and land-use influences. Springs in Southern Kerala (SK), especially SK1, SK2 near Varkala Cliff, showed elevated DIN, while DIP remained low with limited interannual variability but clear spatial differences. In Southern Karnataka (DK), DK5 and DK6, exhibited comparatively higher DIP and DIN, with greater temporal variability than other springs. Elevated DIN:DIP ratios (> 26:1) indicate nitrogen enrichment and potential phosphorus limitation, although this threshold was derived from surface-water systems. Higher DIN:DSi ratios in SK contrasted with silicate weathering signatures in DK, indicating differences in subsurface flow paths, soil CO2 dynamics, and rock-water interaction. Na-normalized Cl/NO3 and NO3/Cl–Cl relationships suggest agricultural and sewage inputs, although these interpretations remain indicative without isotopic tracers. Land-use analysis showed substantial increase in built-up area ( 36
Eighteen Schlumberger Vertical Electrical Soundings were conducted to evaluate groundwater potential and aquifer vulnerability across recharge, discharge, and intermediate zones in the basement terrain of Akungba-Akoko, southwestern Nigeria. Geoelectric parameters were integrated with published data of groundwater samples and index-based models including transmissivity, hydraulic conductivity, longitudinal conductance, GLSI, GOD, and DRASTIC. Vulnerability maps were validated quantitatively against published soil and groundwater quality data. Four geoelectric layers with HA, AA, AK, and HK curve types were identified. Aquifer depth ranges 3.5–9.0 m and thickness 4.1–9.8 m. Topsoil resistivity of 87.9–405.2 Ωm indicates low corrosivity. Transmissivity ranges from 0.71–3.48 m2/day and hydraulic conductivity from 1.27 × 10−6–1.53 × 10−5 m/s, indicating low yield potential, with better prospects in intermediate zones. Longitudinal conductance < 0.1 mhos over 89
Radiocesium (r-Cs: 137Cs) from the Fukushima Daiichi accident and earlier nuclear fallout remains a long-term contaminant in agricultural soils. It poses an ongoing threat to global food safety because crops readily absorb it as a potassium analog. This review synthesizes a decade of mechanistic, agronomic, and ecological advances in suppressing r-Cs uptake and root-to-shoot translocation. First, the impact of soil mineralogy, particularly clay fixation, on initial r-Cs bioavailability is examined. At the molecular level, r-Cs influx is governed by a shared calcium-signaling hub linked to potassium status. Consequently, optimizing potassium fertilization can transcriptionally silence the principal uptake genes. Furthermore, controlling xylem loading and managing internal sodium interactions directly restrict r-Cs translocation, protecting edible plant parts. Supplementary countermeasures, including plant-microbe symbioses, porous soil amendments, and targeted genetic exclusions, are also evaluated. To ensure long-term agricultural resilience, multi-site field trials and the molecular dissection of translocation pathways must be prioritized in future research. Ultimately, sustainable crop production requires integrating biological and agronomic strategies rather than relying solely on intensive potassium fertilization.
