Available online at www.sciencedirect.com APCBEE Procedia 5 ( 2013 ) 388 – 393 ICESD 2013: January 19-20, Dubai, UAE Environmental Effects of Mining Industries in Meymeh Region, North West of Isfahan Javad Tabatabaei and Fatemeh Mohammadi Islamic azad university, Meymeh branch, Departent of petroleum, Meymeh,Iran Abstract Meymeh industrial civil has been located in the vicinity of Isfahan city (100 km of NW) and along the road of Isfahan- Tehran. Meymeh industrial unit built from various stone cutting that provide its required stone from quarries around the Meymeh and Isfahan. Increasing mining activities are one of the most important economic activities in Meymeh region. These activities will cause environmental problems. Due to a variety of different activities and also the difference in the output wastes in this type of civil, purification process to remove various pollutants are not fully. Industrial output after a brief treatment, directly is poured into the soil or ground waters. We present 10 methods that result in mining progress and have the least damages to environment. ©© 2013 2013 The Published Authors. byPublished Elsevier by B.V. Elsevier Selection B.V. and/or peer review under responsibility of Asia-Pacific SelectionChemical, and Biological peer review & under Environmental responsibility Engineering of Asia-Pacific Society Chemical, Biological & Environmental Engineering Society Keywords: mining industries, environmental effects, industrial civil, wastes, Meymeh region 1. Introduction Among the various sources of pollutions , contamination with heavy metals is very important. In industrial civil ,are active most variety of industries ,including: metallic, chemical, cellulose, metal plating, food and medicine industries. Heavy metals are enter to environment from different sources. Heavy metals in the environment on one hand through natural resources include: deposition of atmospheric dry sediments and natural minerals, and the other through various sources of human include agricultural fertilizers, pesticides, Corresponding author. Tel.: + (989131066560); fax: +(983124222930). E-mail address: (tabatabaei @iaumeymeh.ac.ir). 2212-6708 © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and peer review under responsibility of Asia-Pacific Chemical, Biological & Environmental Engineering Society doi: 10.1016/j.apcbee.2013.05.067 Javad Tabatabaei and Fatemeh Mohammadi / APCBEE Procedia 5 ( 2013 ) 388 – 393 389 industrial wastes from electroplating and metal smelting operations , drilling and mine drainage, municipal sewage leaks from plumbing systems, traffic and leaching roads and leachate from municipal landfills are inter into soil and ground waters. The environment is a great complicated system containing various factors create by a process of gradual evolution of organism and earth surface components. Therefore it affects human activities and vice versa. Some parts of atmosphere and crust which are suitable for human life is called environment. Man and his economic activities are the most destructive to ecosystem and natural resources . At present it is visible that air pollution has deteriorated the life and the water pollution has caused human, animal and plant diseases and also soil contamination has made erosion, desertification, pastures and environmental damages. Therefore if it goes so, the earth will change to something like an incredible hell for the posterity. During mining activities, the land would undergo some changes so that these changes without any control will pollute the environment. Mine exploitation is mainly divided into three methods: surface, subsurface and hydraulic . Each method could have a bad effect on environment. For example surface mining not only changes the morphology of region, but also causes intense changes in primary form of nature, soil quality and the contamination of surface, the ground water is their results. Subsurface exploitation method may not have surface destruction but it may cause subsidence and ground water contamination. 2. Discussion According to some studies about 23 billion tons not burning minerals are exploited all over the world each year, if we consider the amount of waste and gangue , the total of transported materials would be more than 30 billion tons and this is two time more than of transported sediments by rivers of the world each year. According to the statistics from 4500 active mines in Iran ( with 90% in the private portion), the yearly production is about 220 million tons. Though according to the world standard this number must be 550 millions ton. Therefore the mine process is to increase mining and production. By looking at the map of Isfahan and dispersion of mining limits, including exploration activities, it will be about 22 million tons revealing a remarkable volume. The surface of natural lands are exposed to changes and this process would continue. As to the production, the waste is increasing too, therefore in most cases the mine selection and waste planning are important. The most important environmental effects of mining are as follows: 1- The destruction of the outlook of the region and changing of the position of region and its superficial situation. 2- Route changing and contaminating of surface water which are the result of mineral exploitation or which are the result of mineral displacement waste and subsurface rocks and forming of acid from waste water. 3- Destruction of landscapes, pasture and farms . 4- Contamination of water 5- Dust production 6- Acoustic contamination 7- Influence on efficiency of qanats and springs ( qanat or karez, a horizontal well or underground channel to conduct ground water by gravity from alluvial gravels and the foot of hills to an arid lowlands). 8- Destruction of mountains. 390 Javad Tabatabaei and Fatemeh Mohammadi / APCBEE Procedia 5 ( 2013 ) 388 – 393 3. Conclusion and solutions To correlate mining and stone cutter factories with environment, scientists and researchers must offer applied, executive and low expense solutions, so that with profit from natural and irrevocable resources, a perfect environment without any danger for humans and other creatures can be provided. In order to decrease or even eliminate the mining and mineral industries effects on environment, the following stages are suggested: 1. Recognizing physical and chemical characteristics of waste that may be needed as ore mineral in one region but known as gangue in another, for example, dolomite is a gangue over lead and zinc deposits , but it is applied in fireclay, industrial materials and road-bed foundation. So by the exact recognition of deposit or gangue and establishing of information center by mines organization in provinces and by using wastage in other industries . We can decrease the environmental contaminations. 2. No mixing of waste materials with each other due to physical and chemical changes is recommended , for example, mixing of schist and dolomite may decrease their application of in other industries. 3. Wastes in big cities for producing sand- granule, industrial materials and stone-pavement are used. 4. One of the most important materials in big cities is the use of wastes from industrial and decorative stone mines that can be used for producing stone- pavement, gravestone, street- tabulation, etc. Furthermore the attitude of the mayor in this connection is very important. 5. Safe mining machinery with high efficiency for reducing energy consumption is used. 6. The use of suitable machinery in different mines with the best exploitation and the least worktime. 7. Blasting operation with observing engineering and technical principles and with the best use of explosives in mineral exploitation. 8. The correct exploitation method in every type of mineral deposits, for example, in vein form deposits is used. In spit of very high cost in underground method, its environmental effect is very low so this method must be selected. 9. The selection of waste collecting method in a way to confirm with environment results in growth of plants. 10. The accumulation of waste in order to creat submergence for preventing water flooding. Javad Tabatabaei and Fatemeh Mohammadi / APCBEE Procedia 5 ( 2013 ) 388 – 393 391 Fig. 1. A stone cutter factory with solid wastes that accumulated in the region _ Fig. 2. Another stone cutter in the Meymeh industrial civil 392 Javad Tabatabaei and Fatemeh Mohammadi / APCBEE Procedia 5 ( 2013 ) 388 – 393 Fig. 3. The accumulation of solid waste in behind of stone cutter Fig. 4. 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