Toxic metal fears after flooding
Due to the high volume of rain that most of us if not all of us have experienced lately, in some areas it could be more dangerous than others due to toxins from metals being in the water.
It is Wales that has been affected by this, and that is because of the unused mines they have, when the flooding occurred it disrupted the abandoned mines which may have contaminated the water with the metal toxins.
Mark Macklin, a professor of physical geography at Aberystwyth University, said “the force of the flood waters could have eroded river banks which stored harmful metals, including lead and zinc”.
Mr Macklin told BBC Wales: “Much of Ceredigion was affected by metal mining, but most of it finished before the start of World War One.
“As a result of the mining, rivers and river banks in the area have been contaminated from the mines themselves right the way down to the sea. We’re starting a survey of the flood plains on Tuesday.
“There are concerns that farmland has been contaminated and this could pose a risk to animals and crops.
“We’ll take fresh flood deposits, such as silt, and they will be chemically analysed. We will, hopefully, have some answers in a month or so.”
