Heavy metal contamination caused by mining activities in the Mar Menor lagoon (SE Spain)

The Mar Menor lagoon is one of the most unusual ecosystems in the Mediterranean area. Many economic and industrial activities concur in the zone and the combined impacts of mining, agriculture and urban development in the surroundings of the lagoon during recent decades have affected the ecosystem. In this chapter we review the impacts of mining activities on the lagoon, and report data on contamination levels and the effects generated in the lagoon ecosystem. The discharge of wastewaters from mineral refining processes appears to be the most important source of heavy metal inputs to the lagoon. Efforts to decrease these inputs must be made at the headwaters of streams where hundred of hectares of tailings remain unprotected against erosion. © 2012 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.