El Salvador is known to be one of the worst places in the world in terms of access to clean water. It has been estimated that 98% of the surface water in El Salvador is polluted.
Most of this pollution is from years of mining and the waste produced processing these minerals. One of the most commonly mined minerals in El Salvador was gold (all mining in El Salvador is currently banned by the government due to the significant health concerns of the population, although The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes is currently hearing a case from a Canadian company, Pacific Rim, who is trying to sue the government of El Salvador for hundreds of millions of dollars for rejecting a possible gold mine).This gold mining caused a significant amount of cyanide pollution in country's water.
One possible solution for the cyanide pollution in the water is the addition of iron (II) sulfate and iron (III) chloride into the water. The ferrous sulfate reacts with the sodium cyanide in a three step process which can be represented by the equations:
FeSO4(aq) + 2NaCN(aq) → Fe(CN)2(aq) + Na2SO4(aq)
Fe(CN)2(aq) + 4NaCN (aq) → Na4Fe(CN)6(aq)
3Na4Fe(CN)6(aq) + 4FeCl3(aq) → Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3(s) + 12NaCl(aq)
These reactions can be classified as a double displacement, followed by a synthesis, and another double displacement. The final products of this process are sodium sulfate, an iron salt (Prussian blue, or iron (II,III) hexacyanoferrate (II,III)), and sodium chloride. Sodium sulfate is classified as non-toxic by the WHO, Prussian blue has been used in paints for hundreds of years and is only toxic in situations where the pH is extremely high and the salt dissolves, releasing cyanide ions, and sodium chloride is harmless table salt.
This is one of two common reactions to reduce the amount of cyanide in water. The other reaction is an addition of sodium hypochlorite to the polluted water. Both methods are valid and have products with low toxicity.
I personally think that the ban on mining is a good idea so to prevent the water pollution that causes the adverse health effects on the local populations, and to prevent a need or the costly cleanup measures of water pollution.
I personally think that the ban on mining is a good idea so to prevent the water pollution that causes the adverse health effects on the local populations, and to prevent a need or the costly cleanup measures of water pollution.
So, what do you think is preventing the implementation of a process like this to help clean the water of El Salvador, and is continuing the ban on mining a good idea there?
