Results from environmental research and monitoring programs in Greenland have been used to establish environmentally safe threshold levels for regulation of mining activities during the permitting stage and for continuous evaluation, and in some cases also regulation, of ongoing activities in order to minimise environmental impact. A new study provides an overview and status of environmental research and monitoring practices near mine sites in Greenland and how the results of research and monitoring have been applied to regulate mining activities and minimise the associated environmental impact. The most significant mines in Greenland’s mining history are described together with research results and monitoring practices for assessing dispersion, bioaccumulation and toxicological effects of pollutants.
Results show that environmental monitoring at Greenland mine sites is most adequately conducted using a combination of non-biota (water, sediment, soil and dust) and biota (i.e. biological monitoring organisms). We highlight the need to take temporal variations unique to the Arctic into account with respect to the discharge of pollutants (such as the typical flush of pollutants during spring associated with snowmelt). Biological monitoring organisms need to be selected from a diverse suite depending on abundance, pollutants of concern, speciation of pollutants etc. Typically, blue mussels, seaweed, sculpins, lichens and Arctic char are used as key monitoring organisms.
Read the full report "Environmental monitoring at mine sites in Greenland" here.