The potential environmental risks associated with the development of rare earth element production in Canada

Yin, Xiangbo; Martineau, Christine; Demers, Isabelle; Basiliko, Nathan; Fenton, Nicole J.

doi:10.1139/er-2020-0115

Cited by 59 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 172 publications

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“…It is a branch of system science and management science that uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods and systematic, comprehensive reasoning to solve problems in large complex systems such as society, ecology, and biology. It can fully describe the complex interactions between internal feedback and structure and functional and dynamic behaviors [35,36].…”

Section: System Dynamics Modeling Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on Evacuation Behavior of Urban Underground Complex in Fire Emergency Based on System Dynamics

Chen

Wang

et al. 2022

Sustainability

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During a fire evacuation, long lateral evacuation distances, large crowds waiting for evacuation at the same level, and easily panicked populations are common. This research aimed to look into the large-scale evacuation behavior of urban underground complexes with limited evacuation and egress during a fire. A simplified model for large-scale group evacuation of urban subsurface complexes was constructed using system dynamics theory. The Vensim software was used for quantitative simulation. The model could represent the typical phenomenon of group evacuation behaviors, such as quick or slow, under seven operating situations with total initial numbers of 350, 400, 450, 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000. The results of an analysis of critical affecting factors show “total initial number” and “panic state” during a large-scale group evacuation: a large beginning population will result in a rapid reduction in system evacuation capability, delaying the completion of the evacuation process significantly; meanwhile, if the level of panic is deficient, the system’s evacuation efficiency will remain low for an extended period, making it difficult to evacuate trapped persons promptly. According to the findings, the developed system dynamics model, which combines the advantages of a continuous model with the advantages of a discrete model, is very accurate. At the same time, we should emphasize the importance of the evacuation guide and reinforce the fire education and behavior drills for the building’s workers. This research presents a simplified model for the evacuation of large groups of people from metropolitan underground complexes. Furthermore, the findings may give theoretical support for the development of rules and safety management practices.

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Section: System Dynamics Modeling Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on Evacuation Behavior of Urban Underground Complex in Fire Emergency Based on System Dynamics

Chen

Wang

et al. 2022

Sustainability

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“…Xu et al 11 combined with economic theory to suggest that rare earth resource development and ecological environmental protection are essentially a game of interests between enterprises and governments. Yin et al 12 reviewed the toxicity levels, biochemical mechanisms, and physiological effects of REEs on different organisms from a multidisciplinary perspective to identify and discuss the potential environmental risks to Canada in future rare earth development. It is obvious that the current studies for rare earth mining sites are ltered according to rare earth and environmental themes focusing on ecological risk, bioaccumulation, bioremediation, biotoxicity, environmental pollution and quanti cation of environmental costs, as shown in Table 1.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison and Analysis of Resource and Environmental Carrying Capacity of Typical Rare Earth Mining Areas in China

Bai

Xin

Duan

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Rare earth is a non-renewable and important strategic resource, and China is rich in rare earth resources. However, the process of massive exploitation has caused the migration, diffusion transformation and accumulation of pollution sources, which in turn has a profound impact on the ecological environment of mining areas. Accurate evaluation of resource and environmental carrying capacity (RECC) is important for the green development of mining areas. In this paper, the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method based on AHP and entropy combination assignment method is used to study the RECC of mine area in terms of both support capacity and pressure. The Bayan Obo mine in Inner Mongolia; Longnan mine in Jiangxi; Weishan mine in Shandong; Mianning mine in Sichuan; Pingyuan mine in Guangdong; and Chongzuo mine in Guangxi, which have typical representatives, were selected for the horizontal comparison. The results show that, with the exception of Bayan Obo, the support index is greater than the pressure from mining and human activities in all the mining areas. The RECC index ranks for each mining area were: Bayan Obo > Longnan > Mianning > Pingyuan > Weishan > Chongzuo. In addition, an obstacle degree model was used to identify and extract the main factors affecting the ecological quality of the mine site. The ratio of investment in environmental pollution control to GDP is the most important factor limiting the improvement of the mine support index. The results of this paper were given for the different evolutionary processes and differences of RECC in typical rare earth mining areas, which could provide valuable references for achieving the green and comprehensive development of rare earth industry.

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“…The potential vulnerability of the rare earth element (REE) supply in a global context of increasing demands in recent years [1] entails important economic and political issues, and has encouraged several countries-in addition to China (the largest REE producer)to develop their own production projects [2,3]. For example, Canada has more than 50 projects in development, even though no REE mining sites are currently active [3]. This expansion of the production and use of REEs could increase human exposure and the associated adverse risks [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Production of Rare Earth Elements from Mine Waste and Geoethics

et al. 2022

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The vulnerability of the rare earth element (REE) supply in a global context of increasing demands entails important economic and political issues, and has encouraged several countries to develop their own REE production projects. This study comparatively evaluated the production of REEs from primary and secondary resources in terms of their sustainability and contribution to the achievement of the Geoethics concept as responsibility towards oneself, colleagues, society, and the Earth system. Twelve categories of potential environmental and social impacts were selected: human health toxicity, global warming or climate change, terrestrial and aquatic eutrophication, acidification potential, particulate matter, resource depletion, water consumption, fresh water ecotoxicity, ionizing radiation, fossil fuel consumption, and ozone depletion. The results showed that the environmental impact of REE production from secondary sources is much lower relative to primary sources. A comparison of conventional and non-conventional REE resources showed that significant impact categories were related to particulate matter formation, abiotic resource depletion, and fossil fuel depletion, which could result from avoiding the tailings disposal before reuse. Based on these findings, governments and stakeholders should be encouraged to increase the recycling of secondary REE sources with Geoethics in mind, in order to balance the high demand of REEs while minimizing the overexploitation of non-renewable resources.

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The potential environmental risks associated with the development of rare earth element production in Canada

Cited by 59 publications

References 172 publications

Study on Evacuation Behavior of Urban Underground Complex in Fire Emergency Based on System Dynamics

Study on Evacuation Behavior of Urban Underground Complex in Fire Emergency Based on System Dynamics

Comparison and Analysis of Resource and Environmental Carrying Capacity of Typical Rare Earth Mining Areas in China

Sustainable Production of Rare Earth Elements from Mine Waste and Geoethics

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