Dangers Of Smelting
We Never Engage in Smelting!
WHAT IS SMELTING?
Smelting is the process of separating the metal from impurities by heating the concentrate to a high temperature to cause the metal to melt. The principal sources of pollution caused by smelting are contaminant-laden air emissions and process wastes such as wastewater and slag.
Metal smelting and refining processes generate waste that contain multiple hazardous metals such as lead, zinc, nickel, copper, cadmium, chromium, mercury, selenium, arsenic, and cobalt.
These elements may be found in the ores used or they may be added as mixed metals into the melts to produce metal alloys.
Thus, metal-containing smelter wastes have to be treated and disposed of as hazardous wastes.
The smelting of sulfide ores results in the emission of sulfur dioxide gas, which reacts chemically in the atmosphere to form a sulfuric acid mist. As this acid rain falls to the earth, it increases the acidity of soils, streams, and lakes; harming the health of vegetation, fish, and wildlife population.