Seen from above, these tailing ponds look like shimmering, blue jewels. They flow cross the barren Utah landscape, full of byproducts from industrial processes and mining. A tailing pond is basically an outdoor toxic liquid holding tank, and environmentalists have argued that they are destroying ecosystems.
Over at Environmental Graffiti, Simone Pruess has put together a gallery of beautiful but toxic tailing ponds in rural Utah.
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