feb 1, 2013 - Friends of the Earth (FOE) published a report claiming that lithium mining contaminates air and water

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The extraction of lithium has significant environmental and social impacts, especially due to water pollution and depletion.
In addition, toxic chemicals are needed to process lithium. The release of such chemicals through leaching, spills or air
emissions can harm communities, ecosystems and food production. Moreover, lithium extraction inevitably harms the soil
and also causes air contamination.13
The salt flats where lithium is found are located in arid territories. In these places, access to water is key for the local communities and their livelihoods, as well as the local flora and fauna. In Chile’s Atacama salt flats, mining consumes, contaminates
and diverts scarce water resources away from local communities.14 The extraction of lithium has caused water-related conflicts
with different communities, such as the community of Toconao in the north of Chile15. In Argentina’s Salar de Hombre Muerto,
local communities claim that lithium operations have contaminated streams used for humans, livestock and crop irrigation

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