Browsing by Author "Gayo, Eugenia M."
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Item A Cross-Cutting Approach for Relating Anthropocene, Environmental Injustice and Sacrifice Zones(2022) Gayo, Eugenia M.; Muñoz, Ariel A.; Maldonado, Antonio; Lavergne, Céline; Francois, Jean Pierre; Rodríguez-Oroz, Delia; Klock-Barría, Karin; Sheppard, Paul R.; Aguilera-Betti, Isabella; Alonso-Hernández, Carlos; Mena-Carrasco, Marcelo; Urquiza, Anahí; Gallardo, LauraThe Anthropocene is an uneven phenomenon. Accelerated shifts in the functioning of the Earth System are mainly driven by the production and consumption of wealthy economies. Social, environmental and health costs of such industrialization, however, bear on low-income communities inhabiting severely degraded territories by polluting activities (i.e., sacrifice zones). How global, national and local socioeconomic and governance processes have interacted in perpetuating socio-environmental inequalities in these territories has been rarely explored. Here, we develop an historical quantitative approach integrating a novel chemostratigraphic record, data on policy making, and socio-economic trends to evaluate the feedback relationship between environmental injustice and Anthropocene in sacrifice zones. We specifically outline a case study for the Puchuncaví valley -one of the most emblematic sacrifice zones from Chile-. We verify an ever-growing burden of heavy metals and metalloids over the past five decades paced by the staggering expansion of local industrial activities, which has ultimately been spurred by national and transnational market forces. Local poverty levels have declined concomitantly, but this path toward social equality is marginal as costs of pollution have grown through time. Indeed, national and international pollution control actions appear insufficient in mitigating the cumulative impact brought by highly toxic elements. Thus, our sub-decadal reconstruction for pollution trends over the past 136 years from a sediment record, emerges as a science-based tool for informing the discussion on Anthropocene governance. Furthermore, it helps to advance in the assessment of environmental inequality in societal models that prioritize economic growth to the detriment of socio-environmental security.Publication Blowin’ in the Wind: Mapping the Dispersion of Metal(loid)s From Atacama Mining(2024) Zanetta‐Colombo, Nicolás C.; Manzano, Carlos A.; Brombierstäudl, Dagmar; Fleming, Zoë; Gayo, Eugenia M.; Rubinos, David; Jerez, Oscar; Valdés, Jorge; Prieto, Manuel; Nüsser, MarcusThe Atacama Desert’s naturally elevated metal(loid)s pose a unique challenge for assessing the environmental impact of mining, particularly for indigenous communities residing in these areas. This study investigates how copper mining influences the dispersion of these elements in the wind-transportable fraction (<75 μm) of surface sediments across an 80 km radius. We employed a multi-pronged approach, utilizing spatial modeling to map element distributions, exponential decay analysis to quantify concentration decline with distance, regime shift modeling to identify dispersion pattern variations, and pollution assessment to evaluate impact. Our results reveal significant mining-driven increases in surface concentrations of copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), and arsenic (As). Notably, within the first 20 km, concentrations peaked at 1,016 mg kg⁻1 for Cu, 31 mg kg⁻1 for Mo, and a remarkable 165 mg kg⁻1 for As. Cu and Mo displayed significant dispersion, extending up to 50 km from the source. However, As exhibited the most extensive reach, traveling up to 70 km downwind, highlighting the far-reaching ecological footprint of mining operations. Mineralogical analyses corroborated these findings, identifying mining-related minerals in surface sediments far beyond the immediate mining area. Although pollution indices based on the proposed Local Geochemical Background reveal significant contamination across the study area, establishing accurate pre-industrial baseline values is essential for a more reliable assessment. This study challenges the concept of “natural pollution” by demonstrating that human activities exacerbate baseline metal(loid)s levels. Expanding monitoring protocols is imperative to comprehensively assess the combined effects of multiple emission sources, including mining and natural processes, in safeguarding environmental and human health for future generations.Publication Impact of mining on the metal content of dust in indigenous villages of northern Chile(2022) Zanetta-Colombo, Nicolás; Fleming, Zöe; Gayo, Eugenia M.; Manzano, Carlos A.; Panagi, Marios; Valdés, Jorge; Siegmund, AlexanderIndigenous communities from northern Chile have historically been exposed to the impacts of massive copper industrial activities conducted in the region. Some of the communities belonging to the Alto El Loa Indigenous Development Area are located less than 10 km from the “Talabre'' tailings dam, which contains residues from copper production and other metals that can be toxic to human health (e.g., As, Sb, Cd, Mo, Pb). Given the increasing demand of copper production to achieve net-zero emission scenarios and concomitant expansions of the tailings, the exposure to toxic metals is a latent risk to local communities. Despite the impact that copper production could generate on ancestral communities from northern Chile, studies and monitoring are limited and the results are often not made accessible for local communities. Here, we evaluate such risks by characterizing metal concentrations in dust collected from roofs and windows of houses from the Alto El Loa area. Our results showed that As, Sb, Cd, Cu, Mo, Ag, S, and Pb concentrations in these matrices can be connected to local copper mining activities. Additionally, air transport models indicate that high concentrations of toxic elements (As, Sb, and Cd) can be explained by the atmospheric transport of particles from the tailings in a NE direction up to 50 km away. Pollution indices and Health Risk Assessment suggested a highly contaminated region with a health risk for its inhabitants. Our analysis on a local scale seeks to make visible the case of northern Chile as a critical territory where actions should be taken to mitigate the effects of mining in the face of this new scenario of international demand for the raw materials necessary for the transition to a net-zero carbon global society.Publication When another one bites the dust: Environmental impact of global copper demand on local communities in the Atacama mining hotspot as registered by tree rings(2024) Zanetta-Colombo, Nicolás C.; Scharnweber, Tobias; Christie, Duncan A.; Manzano, Carlos A.; Blersch, Mario; Gayo, Eugenia M.; Muñoz, Ariel A.; Fleming, Zoë; Nüsser, MarcusAssessing the impact of mining activity on the availability of environmental pollutants is crucial for informing health policies in anticipation of future production scenarios of critical minerals essential for the transition to a net-zero carbon society. However, temporal and spatial monitoring is often sparse, and measurements may not extend far enough back in time. In this study, we utilize variations of chemical elements contained in tree-rings collected in local villages from an area heavily affected by copper mining in the Atacama Desert since the early 20th century to evaluate the temporal distribution of pollutants and their relationship with local drivers. By combining time-varying data on local drivers, such as copper production and the dry tailings deposit area, we show how the surge in copper production during the 1990s, fueled by trade liberalization and increased international demand, led to a significant increment in the availability of metal(loid)s related to mining activities on indigenous lands. Our findings suggest that the environmental legislation in Chile may be underestimating the environmental impact of tailing dams in neighboring populations, affecting the well-being of Indigenous Peoples from the Atacama mining hotspot region. We argue that future changes in production rates driven by international demand could have negative repercussions on the environment and local communities. Therefore, mining emissions and the management of tailing dams should be carefully considered to anticipate their potential negative effects on human and ecosystem health.