Stamp sand is one of the many sources of water pollution, especially in the U.P. In the U.P. there have been a lot of copper mines by rivers. These mines have produced a lot of stamp sand. Once stamp sand enters the food chain it will kill off all of the small organism (those which absorb it much faster). These smaller organism such as plankton are the base of the food chain. Hence, with the decimation of these organism comes the massive declination of our aquatic life. Also land created from stamp sand is poisonous to many kinds of plant life. A toxic chemical in stamp sand called arsenic is naturally found in some places in small amounts, but mining has spread it and now there is too much to be healthy. Arsenic can also harm animals by the sudden intake of it from eating the aquatic animals.