Historic Gold Mine Tailings
Gold mine tailings are the by-product of a mining process used in the 1800s and early 1900s in Nova Scotia and many other areas. The tailings contain arsenic and mercury. They are generally in remote locations. Some are located near people.
Most Nova Scotians are probably never exposed to tailings. People who live near them may have some exposure, depending on their activities. There is no recent evidence of Nova Scotians becoming ill from mercury or arsenic. But people should be aware that exposure may be hazardous and should avoid tailings.
Nova Scotians can avoid exposure by taking simple measures:
- Test well water (PDF) and if there's arsenic present, install treatment technology and continue testing to ensure it's working
- Don't use tailings for recreation and don't let children play on them; getting tailings or dust into your mouth may be harmful to your health
- Don't use tailings as fill for driveways, gardens or children's sandboxes
- Remove shoes after being outdoors around tailings, so soil won't be tracked into the house
- Wash hands frequently and before eating
- Wash fruits and vegetables before eating, whether they're from the grocery store or a private garden
- Follow freshwater fish advisories in the Nova Scotia Anglers' Handbook (PDF) to reduce mercury intake
There are 64 gold mining districts in Nova Scotia from Guysborough to Yarmouth County. View a provincial map of the gold mining districts (PDF). Please note that each district may have more than one tailings site as most sites are not very large.
