Heavy metals and the environment: An introduction

This paper identifies the objectives of SCOPE (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment, a Royal Society National Committee) in relation to other SCOPE activities, and reports on the environmental hazards of heavy metals. New Zealand environmental issues involving heavy metals are briefly outlined. These include: the discharge of heavy metals in natural geothermal systems and the problems associated with geothermal energy developments; effluent discharges from petrochemical industries in Taranaki; the effect of leachates from mine tailings and mine waste discharges in the Coromandel and the Waikato; potential lead poisoning from leaded petrol. Future directions for New Zealand research on heavy metals are suggested. There is an urgent need to establish standards so that environmental managers can make decisions on limits to concentrations of heavy metal in waste discharges.