Mining, mining waste and related environmental issues: problems and solutions in central and eastern European candidate countries (dedikált példány) [antikvár]

Preface Mining for resources to satisfy energy and raw material requirements can seriously alter the composition of the landscape, disrupting land use and drainage patterns, contaminating soil and water resources, and affecting habitats for wildlife, often with trans-boundary effects. Recent events have brought back to the attention of the media, public and decision-makers the problem of potential emissions from thousands of mining sites in Europe, highlighting the priority of prevention as opposed to aftercare. In this context, the European Commission has taken the initiative for the preparation of a proposal for a Directive on the management of waste resulting from prospecting, extraction, treatment, and storage of minerals. The understanding of the full range of pressures from mining sites can be first achieved through the compilation of inventories for closed and abandoned mines and quarries. Screening and ranking should be then based on impact assessment and prevention of water and soil pollution. On European level, there is a substantial gap in information on the location and management of mining and quarry wastes. The relative share of mine and quarry waste in the total solid waste generated is known to be much higher in Candidate Countries than in the EU Member States. Involvement of these countries in the development and implementation of new EU legislation is therefore very important. Country reports in this book demonstrate that relevant mining and environmental information is not lacking, but it is often scattered among different institutions and available in different formats not easily comparable. This publication is a result of the PECOMINES project, which contributes to the Enlargement Action launched by the JRC to support the implementation of the acquis communautaire through focused research initiatives. Country reports have been contributed by national experts of the PECOMINES Steering Committee. Country reports are an important tool of the PECOMINES mine waste inventory methodology: they provide a means of including expert knowledge in the inventory both at the national and site scales. The ten contributions together with the introduction and concluding chapters in this book give the reader an overview of the status of mining, mining waste and related environmental problems and solutions in Central and Eastern European Candidate Countries. Giovanni Bidoglio Head of the Soil and Waste Unit Joint Research Centre