Scrutiny for Norwegian fjord rock disposal (BBC)

By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News, Salt Lake City

Out of sight, out of mind - but not for much longer.

The practice of dumping millions of tonnes of waste rock in deep Norwegian fjords is coming under close scrutiny from the country's scientists.

The debris, or tailings, from mining operations has been deposited on the seafloor for decades with little recognition of its likely impacts.

Now, the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (Niva) is mounting a series of studies to assess the consequences.

"The mining companies send these tailings down a long pipe, down below the euphotic zone, below 200m, and essentially smother everything on the seafloor," explained Prof Andrew Sweetman, a research scientist with Niva.
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17136821