How does extracting salt affect the environment

OSLO Reuters - Almost 16, desalination plants worldwide produce bigger-than-expected flows of highly salty waste water and toxic chemicals that are damaging the environment, a U. Desalination plants pump out million cubic meters 5 billion cubic feet of salty brine every day, 50 percent more than previous estimates, to produce 95 million cubic meters of fresh water, the study said. About 55 percent of the brine is produced in desalination plants processing seawater in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, according to the study by the U.

The hyper-salty water is mostly pumped into the sea and, over a year, would be enough to cover the U. Both Gilbert and Reynolds agree that there are not many other differences between the two types of salt. There are the salt beds [on the coast] and there are salt flats, like the Salt Lake.

With sea salt beds located just off the coast in shallow water, where the salt can be trapped and the sun can evaporate the surrounding water, there may be a potential danger for serious environmental impacts. But Gardner remains moderately worried about the contamination effects the ocean plays on sea salt. Overall the choice is left up to the consumer. For people getting a lot of salt in their diet, the switch to sea salt could be beneficial.

News A. Sign in. JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it. Search Knowledge Bank. This Collection. Login Register. Occhioni Senior Thesis