Since most of the elements used by the society come from mineral extrac-tion, mining of mineral resources provide essential raw material for sustain-able development. Mining however leads to severe impact on the environ-ment, including contamination by toxic metals. A recent Europe-wide survey identified wide-spread pollution problems caused by mining, abandoned mines in particular (COM, 2003). Younger et al. (2002) estimated that about 1,000 to 1,500 km of watercourses are polluted by metal mine discharges in the EU. Through mineral extraction and subsequent mineral processing huge amount of wastes are produced. Metals and metal compounds in wastes tend to become chemically more available, which can result in the generation of acid mine drainage (AMD). Due to great volumes and slow chemical proc-esses, mine waste can release toxic compound for a very long time on the scale of centuries and thousands of years (BAT, 2003). Thus, remediation of mine sites, including abandoned mines, has to consider long-term solutions and remediation technologies have to be sustainable for a long time (Sind-ing, 1999). As an alternative, passive in situ remediation methods for AMD treatment using wetlands that provide means of cheap and sustainable reme-diation has been proposed (PIRAMID, 2003). Around the mine site, soils and surface water in the receiving environment are often contaminated with harmful elements or compounds of AMD. These contaminated sites act as secondary sources for pollution, especially for historic sites (Jordan and D‟Alessandro, 2004). <...>

Progress in science in the modern world is a matter of the international cooperation and is the result of the joint efforts of many scientists from many countries. This does not mean that we do not recognize the priority and role played by individual researchers in furthering concrete scientific disciplines.

Wohl keine Gruppe von Spurenelementen hat in der Geochemie eine größere Bedeutung erlangt als die Seltenen Erden seit den sechziger Jahren des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts. Das gilt vor allem für die Geochemie der Magmatite, eingeschränkt aber auch für Metamorphite und selbst für Sedimente. Mit Hilfe der Seltenen Erden versucht man, petrogenetische Prozesse aufzuklären, z.B. für basaltische Magmen auf deren Quellregionen im Erdmantel zurückzuschließen, eine geotektonische Einordnung des Bildungsraumes basischer Magmen vorzunehmen, Fraktionierungsprozesse von Magmen zu beschreiben, auf die ehemals magmatischen Edukte von Metamorphiten zu schließen oder gar abzuschätzen, was die Seltenerdverteilung klastischer Sedimente uns über die Entwicklung der kontinentalen Erdkruste über den Verlauf der Erdgeschichte sagen kann. Die Entwicklung der vergangenen Jahre hat allerdings auch gezeigt, daß Überinterpretationen von Seltenerddaten nicht gerade selten sind.

Chemistry is familiar enough; fire and fermentation are cornerstones of human civilization, and the beaker and the test tube are readily recognizable icons in most of the world. Flow is even more familiar; everyone has seen a river, felt the wind, taken a pulse. Though they are rarely on the center stage, fluids that undergo chemical reactions as they flow also impact an astonishingly large number of human experiences. Examples of this include air purification, electro-chemical transport within the human brain, blood and air flow through lungs, flow through kidneys, catalytic converters, tooth decay, deterioration of historic objects, and nearly every large-scale manufacturing process, from semiconductors to paper. Besides the sheer number, the diversity of this list is impressive.