Researcher needs mining companies to test her technique
Heather Shrimpton, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Waterloo’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, hopes to transform how mining companies manage selenium contamination. Her cutting-edge research, which uses synchrotron light and selenium isotopes, promises to improve the environmental health and safety standards of mining operations, offering an unprecedented ability to monitor and ensure long-term remediation success.
“We need mining to get certain resources out of the ground,” Shrimpton explains. “We can't just rely 100 percent on recycled materials yet. So, it's important that we have techniques that can lessen the impacts that mining has on people and the environment, and my technique can help with that.”
Selenium, a naturally occurring nutrient, is essential in small doses for human and animal health. However, when mining activities release excessive selenium into surrounding soil and water bodies, it becomes a dangerous pollutant. At higher concentrations, selenium can lead to reproductive issues in fish and wildlife, and potentially even harm humans through bioaccumulation.
“The big problem,” Shrimpton notes, “is that selenium toxicity doesn’t tend to kill adults. It affects reproduction—so you see failures in fish spawning and weird mutations in birds. It’s not an immediate crisis, but the long-term effects are severe.” This environmental impact, particularly in regions with significant mining activities, like the Elk Valley in Canada’s Rockies, has become a major transboundary concern.
Shrimpton’s research focuses on the need for more accurate monitoring of selenium remediation systems, such as the wetlands or bacterial treatment strategies currently employed by the mining industry. These systems aim to reduce selenium levels by transforming it into a less harmful state, but until now, there has been no way to measure whether the selenium is permanently removed or if it might re-enter ecosystems over time.
“Mining companies have tried several remediation systems, but often they don’t know if these methods are working long-term,” Shrimpton says. “With selenium isotopes, we can track exactly what’s happening to the selenium and see if it’s being removed for good.” By studying how selenium isotopes change during the reduction process, Shrimpton can determine whether the selenium is locked into a solid form and safely removed from the water, or if it’s still lingering in a dangerous state.
This breakthrough couldn’t come at a better time for mining industry leaders who are under increasing pressure to meet environmental health and safety standards. Environmental contamination from selenium has already led to strained relations between industries and communities, especially where fishing and wildlife are threatened. As Shrimpton explains, “if you’re a sport fisherman, you want more baby fish so that you can catch and eat them safely. Knowing that a mining company’s remediation efforts are actually working is critical to maintaining public trust.”
Her technique uses advanced technology like the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan to analyze selenium isotopes on a molecular scale. In lab settings, Shrimpton’s team replicated natural processes where sulfur-reducing bacteria are used to capture selenium. They confirmed that adding sulfur in specific amounts effectively traps selenium in solid form, preventing it from re-entering the water. “We found that if you reduce selenium to the elemental state—essentially bonding it with sulfur—it doesn’t go anywhere. And that’s what we want,” she explains.
Mining companies, health and safety professionals, and environmental managers alike stand to benefit from this innovation. Shrimpton’s work offers a reliable method to test whether selenium remediation systems are truly working, making it easier to make informed decisions about environmental safety. This has the potential to save industries significant costs while protecting wildlife and human populations from toxic exposure.
“We need a technique like mine to check if cleanup systems are working. It’s to test whether or not we need to do better,” Shrimpton emphasizes. By providing concrete data on the effectiveness of remediation strategies, her work allows mining companies to demonstrate their commitment to environmental health, not only meeting regulatory requirements but also building trust with affected communities.
Despite the clear benefits, Shrimpton is still waiting for more mining companies to adopt her technique. “I need a mining company to say, ‘Yes, come test our site and see if this works.’ The science is ready—we just need the industry to take the next step.”
For health and safety leaders in mining, Shrimpton’s research represents a vital tool for improving environmental health and safety protocols. By integrating her selenium isotope technique into existing monitoring systems, companies can gain a clearer understanding of their remediation efforts' success and contribute to a cleaner, safer future for both workers and the environment.
