Toxins from South African mines threaten city

Wednesday 23 February 2011 01:00 GMT

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Toxic liquids building up in defunct gold mines beneath Johannesburg could reach environmentally dangerous levels by June 2012, officials and scientists said yesterday.

Work is to begin immediately on a chain of pumping stations and treatment plants.

Water has already started leaking from abandoned mines west of Johannesburg in the so-called Western Basin.

Water accumulating in shafts dug more than a century ago has been reacting with rocks to produce sulphuric acid, heavy metals, toxins and radiation.

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Toxins from South African mines threaten city

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