Mining is an important contribution to the economy of many developing tropical regions. Many sites of mining interest in the tropics have island geographies and potentially limited land area. While the limited land area may drive consideration of tailings disposal to the ocean, it is important to recognize that local communities depend on the ocean as a major supplier of dietary protein. Impact assessment of tailings disposal to the ocean is usually limited by budgets and time frames that result in a limited capacity to understand longer-term risks to food chains and marine ecosystems, including the interactions between deeper- and shallower-water ecosystems. This article reviews three factors—tailing characterization, ecotoxicology, and bioaccumulation/biomagnification—in relation to the current application of these methods to risk assessment of submarine tailings disposal (STD), and it identifies ways to improve current practices. A decision-tree approach has been developed specific to STD risk assessment for implementation at the pre-proposal stage of a project. This decision tree highlights the urgent need for development and application of suitable and relevant risk assessment tools for tropical marine environments and identifies opportunities for intergovernmental standards for risk assessment of marine disposal of mine tailings within the framework of the Coral Triangle Initiative.

Reichelt-Brushett, A. 2012. Risk assessment and ecotoxicology: Limitations and recommendations for ocean disposal of mine waste in the Coral Triangle. Oceanography 25(4):40–51, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2012.66.

Ahnert, A., and C. Borowski. 2000. Environmental risk assessment of anthropogenic activity in the deep sea. Journal of Aquatic Ecosystem Stress Recovery 7:299–315.

ANZECC and ARMCANZ (Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council and Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand). 2000. Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality. Australian Government. Available at: http://www.environment.gov.au/water/publications/quality/index.html (accessed April 30, 2012).

Adams, M.S., and J.L. Stauber. 2008. Marine whole sediment toxicity tests for use in temperature and tropical Australian environments: Current status. Australasian Journal of Ecotoxicology 14:155–167.

Ankley, G.T., M.K. Schubauer-Bergan, and R.A. Hoke. 1992. Use of toxicity identification evaluation techniques to identify dredged material disposal options: A proposed approach. Environmental Management 16(1):1–6, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02393904.

Apte, S., and Y.T. Kwong. 2004. Deep sea tailings placement: Critical review of environmental issues. Joint ACMER/CSIRO/CANMET Report. 94 pp.

Beer, T., and F. Ziolkowski. 1995. Environmental Risk Assessment: An Australian Perspective. Supervising Scientist Report 102, Commonwealth of Australia, 125 pp. Available online at http://www.environment.gov.au/ssd/publications/ssr/102.html (accessed May 1, 2012).

Brewer, D.T., D.A. Milton, G.C. Fry, D.M. Dennis, D.S. Heals, and W.N. Venables. 2007. Impacts of gold mine waste disposal on deepwater fish in pristine tropical marine systems. Marine Pollution Bulletin 54:309–321, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2006.10.011.

Carr, R.S., M. Nipper, and G.S. Plumlee. 2000. A preliminary survey of marine contamination from mining-related activities on Marinduque Island, Philippines: Pore water toxicity and chemistry results from a field trip, October 14–19, 2000. Open file report 01-411, US Department of the Interior, US Geological Survey, 127 pp. Available online at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/ofr-01-0441 (accessed May 1, 2012).

Cajaraville, M.P., M.J. Bebianno, J. Blasco, C. Porte, C. Sarasquete, and A. Viarengo. 2000. The use of biomarkers to assess the impact of pollution in coastal environments of the Iberian Peninsula: A practical approach. Science of the Total Environment 247:295–311, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(99)00499-4.

Chapman, P.M. 2008. Environmental risks of inorganic metals and metalloids: A continuing evolving scientific odyssey. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal 14(1):5–40, https://doi.org/10.1080/10807030701790272.

Chapman, P.M. 2007. Determining when contamination is pollution—Weight of evidence determinations for sediments and effluents. Environmental International 33:492–501, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2006.09.001.

Chapman, P.M., B.G. McDonald, P.E. Kickham, and S. McKinnon. 2006. Global geographic differences in marine metal toxicity. Marine Pollution Bulletin 52:1,081–1,084, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2006.05.004.

Chapman, P.M., and E.R. Long. 1983. The use of bioassays as part of a comprehensive approach to marine pollution assessment. Marine Pollution Bulletin 14(3):81–84.

Coral Triangle Initiative. 2009. Regional plan of action, 42 pp. Available online at: http://www.coraltriangleinitiative.org/library/cti-regional-plan-action (accessed May 1, 2012).

Costanza, R., R. D’Arge, R. De Groot, S. Farber, M. Grasso, B. Hannon, K. Limburg, S. Naeem, R. O’Beill, J. Paruelo, and others. 1997. The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387:253–260, https://doi.org/10.1038/387253a0.

Edinger, E.N., K. Azmy, W. Diegor, and P. Raja Siregar. 2008. Heavy metal contamination from gold mining recorded in Porties lobata skeletons, Buyat-Ratototok district, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Marine Pollution Bulletin 56:1,553–1,569, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2008.05.028.

Ellis, D. 2008. The role of deep submarine tailings placement (STP) in the mitigation of marine pollution for coastal and island mines. Pp. 23–51 in Marine Pollution: New Research. T.N. Hofer, ed., Nova Science Publishers Inc., New York.

Enesar. 2007. Tailing Assessment. Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) Limited, Ramu Nickel Project. Enesar Consulting Pty. Ltd.

Fallon, S.J., J.C. White, and M.T. McCulloch. 2002. Porites corals as recorders of mining and environmental impacts: Misima Island, Papua New Guinea. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 66(1):45–62, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7037(01)00715-3.

Fenical, W. 2006. Marine pharmaceuticals: Past, present, and future. Oceanography 19(2):110–119, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2006.74.

Geret, F., N. Rousse, R. Riso, P. Sarrandain, and R.P.M. Cossin. 1998. Metal compartmentalization and methallothionein insoforms in mussels from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Preliminary approach to the fluid-organism relationship. Cahiers de Biologie Marine 39(3–4):291–293.

Gopalakrishnan, S., H. Thilagam, and P. Vivek Raja. 2008. Comparisons of heavy metal toxicity in life stages (spermiotoxicity, egg toxicity, embryotoxicity and larval toxicity) of Hydroides elegans. Chemosphere 71(3):515–528, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2007.09.062.

Harford, A.J., A.C. Hogan, J.J. Tsang, D.L. Parry, A.P. Negri, M.S. Adams, J.L. Stauber, and R.A. van Dam. 2011. Effects of alumina refinery wastewater and signature metal constituents at the upper thermal tolerance of: 1. The tropical diatom Nitzschia closterium. Marine Pollution Bulletin 62:466–473, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.01.013.

Hughes, R., A.J. Reichelt-Brushett, and L. Newman. 2005. Identifying suitable invertebrate species from a unique habitat for ecotoxicological testing. Australasian Journal of Ecotoxicology 11:85–92.

Howe, P., A.J. Reichelt-Brushett, and M. Clark. 2011. Development of laboratory culturing and ecotoxicology testing methodologies for the tropical sea anemone Apitaisia pulchella. Paper presented at Envirotox 2011, Darwin, Australia, April 17–20, 2011, 57 pp.

Kool, J.T., C.B. Paris, P.H. Barber, and R.K. Cowen. 2011. Connectivity and the development of population genetic structure in Indo-West Pacific coral reef communities. Global Ecology and Biogeography 20:695–706, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00637.x.

Koschinsky, A., C. Borowski, and P. Halbach. 2003. Reactions of the heavy metal cycle to industrial activities in the deep sea: An ecological assessment. International Reviews of Hydrobiology 88:102–127, https://doi.org/10.1002/iroh.200390000.

Koski, R.A. 2012. Metal dispersion resulting from mining activities in coastal environments: A pathways approach. Oceanography 25(2):170–183, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2012.53.

Kwok, K., K. Leung, G. Lui, V. Chu, P. Lam, D. Morritt II, L. Maltby, T. Brock, P. Van den Brink, M. Warne, and M. Crane. 2007. Comparison of tropical and temperate freshwater animal species’ acute sensitivities to chemicals: Implications for deriving safe extrapolation factors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management 3(1):49–67, https://doi.org/10.1897/1551-3793(2007)3[49:COTATF]2.0.CO;2.

Lasut, M., and Y. Yasuda. 2008. Accumulation of mercury in marine biota of Buyat Bay, north Sulawesi, Indonesia. Coastal Marine Science 32(1):33–38.

Lasut, M.T., Y. Yasuda, E.N. Edinger, and J.M. Pangemanan. 2010. Distribution and accumulation of mercury derived from gold mining in marine environment and its impacts on residents of Buyat Bay, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Water, Air & Soil Pollution 208:153–164, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-009-0155-0.

Laznicka, P. 2010. Giant Metallic Deposits: Future Sources of Industrial Metals, 2nd ed. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 950 pp.

Lee, K.-W., S. Raisuddin, D.-S. Hwang, H.G. Park, and J.-S. Lee. 2007. Acute toxicities of trace metals and common xenobiotics to the marine copepod Tigriopus japonicas: Evaluation of its use as a benchmark species for routine ecotoxicity tests in Western Pacific coastal regions. Environmental Toxicology 22(5):532–538, https://doi.org/10.1002/tox.20289.

Lui, F.J., and W.-X. Wang. 2011. Metallothionein-like protein turnover, CD and Zn biokinetics in the dietary Cd-exposed scallop Chlamys nobilis. Aquatic Toxicology 105:361–368, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2011.07.011.

Luoma, S.N. 1996. The developing framework of marine ecotoxicology: Pollutants as a variable in marine ecosystems. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 200:29–55, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-0981(96)02679-2.

Madin, L.P, F. Grassle, F. Azam, D. Obura, M. Reaka-Kudla, M. Sibuet, G. Stone, K. Stocks, A. Walls, and G. Allen. 2004. The unknown ocean. Chapter 12 in Defying Ocean’s End: An Agenda for Action. L.K. Glover and S.A. Earle, eds, Island Press, Washington, DC, 283 pp.

McConchie, D.M., and I.M. Lawrence. 1991. The origin of high cadmium loads to some bivalve molluscs from Shark Bay, Western Australia: A new mechanisms for cadmium uptake by filter feeding organisms. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 21:1–8, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01055350.

McKinnon, E. 2002. The environmental effects of mining waste disposal at Lihir gold mine, Papua New Guinea. Journal of Rural and Remote Environmental Health 1(2):40–50.

Negri, A.P., A. Harford, D. Parry, and R.A. van Dam. 2011. Effects of an alumina refinery discharge and its key metal constituents at the upper thermal tolerance of: 2. The early life stages of the coral Acropora tenuis. Marine Pollution Bulletin 62:474–482, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.01.011.

Negri, A.P., and A.J. Heyward. 2001. Inhibition of coral fertilization and larval metamorphosis by tributyltin and copper. Marine Environmental Research 51:17–27, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0141-1136(00)00029-5.

NSR. 1999. Ramu Nickel Project Environmental Plan. Prepared by NSR Environmental Consultants, Hawthorn East, Victoria Australia, vols A and B. Pante, E., L. Corbari, J. Thubaut, T.-Y. Chan, R. Mana, M.-C. Boisselier, P. Bouchet, and S. Samadi. 2012. Exploration of the deep-sea fauna of Papua New Guinea. Oceanography 25(3), https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2012.65.

Pyle, R.L. 2000. Assessing undiscovered fish biodiversity on deep coral reefs using advanced self-contained diving technology. Marine Technology Society Journal 34(4):82–91.

Peters, E.C., N.J. Gassman, J.C. Firman, R.H. Richmond, and E.A. Power 1997. Ecotoxicology of tropical marine ecosystems. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 16(1):12–40, https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.5620160103.

Ramirez-Llodra, E., A. Brandt, R. Danovaro, B. De Mol, E. Escobar, C.R. German, L.A. Levin, P. Martinez Arbizu, L. Menot, P. Buhl-Mortensen, and others. 2010. Deep, diverse and definitely different: Unique attributes of the world’s largest ecosystem. Biogeosciences 7:2,851–2,899, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-7-2851-2010.

Reichelt-Brushett, A.J., and P.L. Harrison. 1999. The effect of copper, zinc and cadmium on fertilization success of gametes from scleractinian reef corals. Marine Pollution Bulletin 38:182–187, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-326X(98)00183-0.

Reichelt-Brushett, A.J., and P.L. Harrison. 2000. The effect of copper on the settlement success of larvae from the scleractinian coral Acropora tenuis. Marine Pollution Bulletin 41:385–391, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-326X(00)00131-4.

Reichelt-Brushett, A.J., and P.L. Harrison. 2004. Development of a sublethal test to determine the effects of copper and lead on scleractinian coral larvae. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 47(1):40–55, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-004-3080-7.

Reichelt-Brushett, A.J., and P.L. Harrison. 2005. The effect of selected trace metals on the fertilization success of several scleractinian corals species. Coral Reefs 24:524–534, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-005-0013-5.

Reichelt-Brushett, A.J., and G. McOrist. 2003. Trace metals in the living and nonliving components of scleractinian corals. Marine Pollution Bulletin 46(12):1,573–1,582, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-326X(03)00323-0.

Reichelt-Brushett, A.J., and K. Michalek-Wagner. 2005. Effects of copper on the fertilization success of the soft coral Lobophytum compactum. Aquatic Toxicology 74:280–284, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2005.05.011.

Reichelt-Brushett, A.J., H. Shiroma, and P. Howe. 2012. A potential test species to represent a new ecosystem–deep ocean ecotoxicology. Abstract for SETAC (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry) Australasia Conference, Brisbane, July 4–6, 2012.

Riethmuller, N., C. Camilleri, N. Franklin, A. Hogan, A. King, A. Koch, S. Markich, C. Turley, and R. van Dam. 2003. Ecotoxico-logical testing protocols for Australian tropical freshwater ecosystems. Supervising Scientist Report 173, Environment Australia, 140 pp.

Shimmield, T.M., K.D. Black, J.A. Howe, D.J. Highes, and T. Sherwin. 2010. Final Report: Independent Evaluation of Deep-Sea Tailings Placement (STP) in PNG. Project Number 8.ACP.PNG.18-B/15, Scottish Association of Marine Sciences Research Services Limited, 293 pp.

Simpson, S.L., G.E. Batley, A.A. Charlton, J.L. Stauber, K. King, J. Chapman, R.V. Hyne, S.A. Gales, A.C. Roach, and W.A. Maher. 2005. Handbook for Sediment Quality Assessment. CSIRO, Bangor, NSW, Australia.

Smith, D.C., and S. D’Hondt. 2006. Exploration of life in deep subseafloor sediments. Oceanography 19(4):58–70, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2006.05.

Snelgrove, P.V.R., and C.R. Smith. 2002. A riot of species in an environmental calm: The paradox of the species-rich deep sea. Oceanography and Marine Biology, An Annual Review 40:311–342.

Tse, P.-K. 2007. The mineral industry of Indonesia. Pp. 13.1–13.10 in US Geological Survey 2005 Minerals Yearbook—2005. Available online at: http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/2005/idmyb05.pdf (accessed May 1, 2012).

Tsvetnenko, Y.B., A.J. Black, and L.H. Evans. 2000. Development of marine sediment reworker tests with Western Australian species for toxicity assessment of drilling muds. Environmental Toxicology 15(5):540–548, https://doi.org/10.1002/1522-7278(2000)15:5<540::AID-TOX26>3.0.CO;2-A.

van Dam R.A., A.J. Harford, M.A. Houston, A.C. Hogan, and A.P. Negri. 2008. Tropical marine toxicity testing in Australia: A review and recommendations. Australasian Journal of Ecotoxicology 14:55–88.

Veron, J.E.N., L.M. DeVantier, E. Turak, A.L. Green, S. Kininmonth, M. Staffort-Smith, and N. Peterson. 2009. Delineating the Coral Triangle. Galaxea, Journal of Coral Reef Studies 11:91–100.

Wang, W.-E., and P.S. Rainbow. 2005. Influence of metal exposure history on trace metal uptake and accumulation by marine invertebrates. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 61:145–159.

Yoklavich, M.M., H.G. Greene, G.M. Cailliet, D.E. Sullivan, R.M. Nea, and M.S. Love. 2000. Habitat associations of deep-water rock fisheries in a submarine canyon: An example of natural refuge. Fisheries Bulletin 98:625–641.

This is an open access article made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format as long as users cite the materials appropriately, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate the changes that were made to the original content. Images, animations, videos, or other third-party material used in articles are included in the Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If the material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission directly from the license holder to reproduce the material.