Review Maps a Century of Health Risks From Old British Metal Mines

Toxic metals released by mining and smelting do not break down in the environment; they can persist in soil and water for centuries. A review led by Dr. Lisa Yon, Dr. Andrea Sartorius and Professor Malcolm Bennett of the University of Nottingham's School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, with Professor Matthew Johnson from the School of Geography, examined 255 documents published between 1874 and 2025, including peer-reviewed papers, government reports and other public evidence, to assess how historical metal contamination in England and Wales has affected animal and human health.

Lead was highlighted as a particular concern: the World Health Organization states there is no known safe level of lead exposure. The review found consistent evidence that raised metal concentrations in contaminated environments are mirrored by higher metal levels in local wildlife, livestock and people, and that chronic exposure to metals from former mines and smelters has been linked to adverse health effects in invertebrates, fish, rodents, livestock and humans.

Despite this, the researchers found relatively few studies that directly examine health risks, as opposed to just exposure levels, in animals near historic UK mining sites, and no peer-reviewed study in the past 70 years has investigated a health incident linked to historical metal mining or smelting in livestock in England or Wales, a gap the authors call important. Risk assessments at some former mining and smelting sites have identified locations where environmental metal levels may still pose a risk to human health.

"Historical metal mining has left a long-lasting environmental legacy across many parts of England and Wales," said Sartorius, one of the review's lead authors, adding that the work should help inform future research, monitoring and policy on managing the long-term impacts of historical mining.