Nearly 293,000 kilometers of coastline face pollution risk from mines as the climate warms, researchers find

Metal mines and their waste dumps put nearly 293,000 kilometers (182,000 miles) of coastline at risk of pollution, and climate change could make the threat worse, according to a study reported Friday by Madeline Shaw in Mongabay.

Researchers led by Adam Sproson of Britain's National Oceanography Centre built the first global database of mining sites that could affect marine environments, covering 4,094 active mines, 28,563 inactive mines and 1,427 storage facilities for tailings, the toxic waste left from mining. They identified six hot spots: North America, South America, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, East Asia and Australia. The study appears in the journal Earth-Science Reviews.

Slow leakage from closed mines, which can continue for centuries, poses a bigger global problem than sudden dam collapses such as the 2015 Mariana disaster in Brazil, the researchers found. Under a high-emissions scenario, warmer summers, heavier rain, drying waste piles and rising seas could all release more contamination later this century.

"This is not just potentially an environmental pollution issue," said Tristan McKenzie, a professor of coastal hydrology at University College London who was not involved in the study. "This is also a health issue. This is a food quality issue."

The authors call for satellite and on-the-ground monitoring of the riskiest sites, cleanup of polluted sediment and stronger waste and dam practices. "We have the solutions," Sproson said.

This brief is based on an article published Oct. 16, 2026, by Madeline Shaw in Mongabay. Read the original: https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/climate-change-could-send-more-toxic-mining-waste-into-coastal-waters-study-warns/