Residuos de la actividad minera y la incidencia en la vida acuática con referencia de estándares nacionales e internacionales.

Abstract

Mining plays a fundamental role in the economy of many countries, where Ecuador is not the exception, however, this activity has an adverse impact on the environment. Where one of the environmental problems derived from mining activities is the contamination of water resources to the detriment of aquatic life, damaging ecosystems due to the presence of heavy metals, where man takes products from sea and river beds for his food, clearly detrimental to their health. Mining can deplete surface and groundwater supplies. Groundwater withdrawals can damage or destroy habitat along streams many miles from the actual mine site. When water resources are degraded, their aquatic life is affected, so international and national organizations have developed standards that reveal the maximum levels of metals that marine waters and species must have, for greater control over the mining activities, to which is added the current legal regulations that must be observed, to preserve the quality of life of the communities and society in general. The purpose of the study is to describe the residues of mining activity and the impact on aquatic life with reference to national and international standards. Descriptive research was applied through the bibliographic technique to have an approach to the standards for the preservation of aquatic life.