Warning on impact of mining in Norway

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Scientists say they're concerned about the practice of dumping millions of tons of waste rock from mining operations into deep Norwegian fjords.

The Norwegian Institute for Water Research, which says debris from mining operations has been dumped on the seafloor for decades with little consideration of its likely impacts, is conducting studies to assess the consequences.

"The mining companies send these tailings down a long pipe, down below the euphotic zone, below 200m (650 feet), and essentially smother everything on the seafloor," institute research scientist Andrew Sweetman told BBC News. "All the animals that live in the sediments that provide food for larger invertebrates and fish, for example, will be killed off."

The euphotic zone is the layer of water that receives enough sunlight for photosynthesis to occur.

Sweetman made the remarks at the biennial Ocean Sciences Meeting in Salt Lake City.

Lisa Levin -- director of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif. -- said the Norwegian situation is a classic example of an activity being conducted without fully considering the consequences.

"Industry is moving steadily deeper," she said. "Three thousand meters (9,800 feet) is now routine, and we know what can happen."