[size=55:6y4ulu2q]BBC news 05 October 2010

Deadly sludge escape kills three in western Hungary

Hungary has declared a state of emergency in three western counties after sludge from an alumina plant killed three people and injured 120.

The red chemical sludge flooded out of a burst dam, affecting at least seven villages and towns including Devecser, where it stood 2m (6.5ft) deep.

The sludge is said to contain caustic material and to be toxic if ingested.

While the cause of the deaths has not been established officially, it is believed the victims probably drowned.

Some 600,000-700,000 cubic metres (21m-24m cubic feet) of sludge escaped from the plant, 160km (100 miles) from the capital, Budapest.

With 7,000 people affected directly by the disaster, a state of emergency was declared in the counties of Veszprem, Gyor-Moson-Sopron and Vas.

At least 390 residents have been relocated and 110 rescued from flooded localities, Hungary's National Directorate General for Disaster Management (NDGDM) said.

Nearly 500 police officers and soldiers, including six emergency detection teams, have been deployed.

Plaster has been poured into the Marcal river in a bid to bind the sludge and stop further flooding.

Burn injuries

Six people have been reported missing in the disaster, described as the worst chemical accident in Hungary's history by Zoltan Illes, state secretary for the environment ministry, who visited Kolontar on Tuesday.

BBC map







Tamas Toldi, mayor of Devecser, told MTI news agency that between 80 and 90 people had been taken to hospital with chemical burns.

Dr Attila Nyikos, an NDGDM official, told the BBC News website the victims had probably been drowned by the sludge, which had flowed out with the speed of water.

The sludge, he explained, triggers an alkaline reaction on the skin but he effect can be neutralised by washing with plenty of fresh water.

Peter Jakabos, a doctor on duty at a hospital in Gyor where several of the injured were taken, said on state TV that some burns could take days to reveal themselves and what might seem like superficial injuries could later cause damage to deeper tissue.

One eyewitness in Devecser, Robert Kis, said his uncle had been taken to Budapest by helicopter after the sludge "
burnt him to the bone"
.

Alumina, a synthetically produced aluminium oxide, is a white or nearly colourless crystalline substance that is used as a starting material for the smelting of aluminium metal.

It also serves as the raw material for a broad range of advanced ceramic products and as an active agent in chemical processing.

No explanation

There has been no official explanation of the cause of the disaster, but weeks of heavy rain are likely to have played a role, the BBC's Nick Thorpe reports from Budapest.

The sludge escaped from a reservoir at the Ajkai Timfoldgyar plant in the town of Ajka. Police say they have confiscated documents from the company's headquarters.

The sludge flooded 19 streets in Devecser and two in Kolontar, where the three deaths occurred. Five other localities were under threat.

Rescue workers used an axe to cut through the living room door of Mr Kis's house in Devecser, to let the red liquid flow out, the Associated Press news agency reports.

"
When I heard the rumble of the flood, all the time I had was to jump out the window and run to higher ground,"
said his wife, Tunde Erdelyi.

Mr Illes said there were fears that the sludge could reach the Raba and Danube rivers.

[size=55:n23aidsq]Focus 05 October 2010

There will be an impact for Bulgaria from the ecological disaster in Hungary


About 1 million cubic meters of mud from the tailings in Icahn have poured in Hungary in ecological disaster. Daniel Popov explained that one of the very deleterious effects of this catastrophe is high levels of pH. "
It is over 13 and is very active. They tried to neutralize it by pouring acid into the river. This pH that causes burns can be reduced to a certain degree. But there is something more serious and it is the presence of heavy metals - lead, cadmium, arsenic and chromium. These are the data from our colleagues in Hungary at this stage,"
the environmentalist said.

Update

There will be an impact of ecological disaster in Hungary for Bulgaria, and they would be most likely severe we will see them in the coming days.
Popov said that this is not the first incident. "
In 2000 there was a similar incident where a wall of the tailings dam in Romania broke. There was also poured the contents of the tailings, where there was cyanide from gold processing. That substance, according to documents of the environmental ministry then reached the Bulgarian bank of Danube, there was an impact on the Bulgarian section and even years after the incident Civil Protection employees in Vidin and Lom reported that the river can not be cleared from the cyanide incident "
, he said. Popov said that even the responsible authorities can not say what will be the impact on the river from this accident.

This is not looking good at the moment I'm thinking more of the fish in the river and all the little rivers connected which Bulgarians rely on for food

[size=55:1o2rb0v9]Sofia echo 06 October 2010

Bulgaria on alert for any impact from Hungarian red sludge disaster

Opinions are divided about the possible impact of the Hungarian toxic red sludge disaster on Bulgaria, with one Bulgarian senior environmental official saying that there was "
no risk of pollution"
.

Assen Lichev, head of the Environment and Water Ministry’s water management directorate, said that there was no risk of pollution of the Bulgarian section of the Danube River, Bulgarian news agency BTA said.

Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) said that any contamination from the incident in Hungary, reported to have led to four deaths and more than 120 injuries, would reach Bulgaria’s part of the Danube by October 12 2010 at the earliest.

It was expected that the contamination would be highly diluted by the time in reached Bulgaria, because it would pass through the Iron Gate hydro power facility, BNR said, quoting the Environment Ministry.

Mayors of towns along the Danube and civil defence authorities in Bulgaria are on alert, the ministry said.

Bulgarian news website Focus quoted Daniel Popov of the Information Centre for Environmental Education as saying that there would be an impact from the Hungarian ecological disaster in Bulgaria.

Popov said that even the responsible authorities could not say what the impact on the river would be, Focus said.

International news agencies said that countries along the Danube were on alert.

The Hungarian government declared a state of emergency in three counties in the west of the country on October 5.

The BBC reported that Hungary had said that it would cost tens of millions of euro to clean up the damage and would take at least a year to do so.

Emergency workers were trying to stop the spill from flowing into major waterways, including the Danube.

In a media statement on October 6, environmental organisation WWF said that it was "
fearful"
of the long term environmental impacts of the toxic mud disaster in Hungary.

The possibly slightly radioactive and highly corrosive material contains toxic heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, arsenic and chromium and has so far covered around 40 sq km, WWF said.

A third degree alert to be called on the Marcal River, where, according to experts practically the total amount of fish stock of the upper river has already been destroyed, the media statement said. The toll of domestic animals suggests that wildlife would be similarly affected, according to WWF.

The mud has a pH level of up to 13 and acids are being poured into the Marcal to neutralise the alkaline stream before it reaches the Raba and the Danube.

Red mud was on October 6 still flooding from the reserves covering Kolontár, Devecser and Somlóvásárhely. About 500 to 600 tons of cluster have been transported to the river to collect the slightly radioactive material.

"
This is an unprecedented incident that effects deeply the ecosystem, wetlands and surface water bodies of the region as well as pointing out the fragility of our drinking water reserves,"
Gabor Figeczky, the Deputy CO of WWF-Hungary, said.

According to Zoltan Illes, Hungary’s state secretary of environmental protection, the country only in the beginning of eliminating the damage. First they have to collect the toxic mud, then neutralise it to reduce the harm before it reaches the Danube – predicted to be in about five days from now, according to WWF.

For Danube communities, the spill has reignited memories of the the Baia Mare cyanide spill in Romania In January 2000, a retaining wall failed at the Aurul gold processing plant, releasing a wave of cyanide and heavy metals that would moved quickly from one river to the next through Romania, Hungary, Serbia, and Bulgaria, killing fish and other wildlife and poisoning drinking water, WWF said.

"
I hope that the Kolontar incident will not have the same degree of far reaching consequences as the Baia Mare spill,"
Andreas Beckmann, Director, WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme, said.

"
From the information I can gather, the escaped sludge would not normally be a direct threat to the Danube River, but unfortunately we are in the midst of the rainy season and it has rained especially hard in Hungary. This means that the sludge will spread faster and further and it is likely inevitable that some sludge will escape into the Danube.

"
It’s hard for us to know how this will affect the environment. Heavy metals are known for their longevity, they don’t disappear overnight.

"
This is a good occasion to remind ourselves that such depots – some currently in use, some abandoned – are common place in the Danube region. Some contain heavy metals, some radioactive elements. None of these are safe and the current incident has shown us this."


Hungary has two other such refineries with an estimated 50 million cubic metres of similarly toxic red mud in highly sensitive areas close to rivers (like the one in Almasfuzito on the bank of the Danube), and karst water reservoirs threatening wildlife, wetlands and safe drinking water, according to WWF.

[size=55:24rr659d]novinite 07 October 2010

Hungary's Toxic Sludge Reaches Danube River

The toxic sludge that flowed after an alumina plant exploded in Hungary has reached the Danube River, officials have announced.

On Monday, about 600,000-700,000 cu m of chemical sludge escaped from the Ajkai Timfoldgyar plant, when a reservoir broke and flooded some villages with toxic red mud.

The sludge is said to contain caustic material and to be toxic if ingested, the BBC has reported.

The sludge has reached the Marcal River, which flows into the River Raba, which empties into the Danube, the CNN reported.

However, Hungarian officials have stated that the toxic sludge has been reduced to a level that is unlikely to cause damages to the environment. They have also said it would take at least a year to clean up the spill.

Bulgaria's Environment Ministry has announced that analysis of water samples from the Danube had shown typical values of active reaction, water temperature, oxygen saturation and electrical conductivity.

The Executive Environmental Agency has began monitoring the quality of the water in the Bulgarian section as part of the measures taken by the Bulgarian Environment Ministry after the sludge flood in Hungary was announced.

Two children, aged 1 and 3, an elderly woman and a 35-year-old man have died and 6 people went missing in the disaster, which occurred 160 km west of Budapest, near the town of Ajka, the CNN has reported.

Three Hungarian counties have announced state of emergency - Veszprem, Gyor-Moson-Sopron and Vas.

Troops in protected gear have been helping clean up the spill. Teams for chemical protection, firefighters and soldiers have been evacuating the area of the accident.

390 residents had to be temporarily relocated and 110 had to be rescued from the flooded villages.

Just found this update on the situation.......Why don't anyone mention that the red mud contains 22 radioactive elements ? This byproduct of aluminium is highly toxic as well as RADIOACTIVE! what are they all hiding ?

[size=150:5kekcymx]Fallout from red sludge could be worse than 2000 cyanide spill

As toxic mud polluted waters flow continues to flow towards the Danube from the breach of an alumina plant residue dam on October 4, the World Wildlife Fund Hungary (WWF) has warned that the environmental impact could be longer lasting than the 2000 cyanide spill into the Danube basin.

"
Currently it is impossible to do any sort of estimate of the magnitude of the damage done to nature,"
said Gábor Figeczky, acting CEO of WWF-Hungary from Kolontar – one of six villages flooded by around one million cubic netres of red mud and highly alkaline water when the corner-walls of the toxic waste reservoir at the Ajka Aluminia Company broke through.

"
The red sludge is going down the riverbed of Torna stream. The volume is considerable because it came through at about two meters high, this is known because all the houses and trees are red up to two meters.

"
It came with a high pressure because trees and fences have been knocked out. The sludge is going down. I have come from a house in which the red sludge is waist high. Everybody is wearing masks and gloves as they are shoveling the red sludge. The air is poisoned as well. It is very irritating to breath in,"
says Figeczky.

The red stain on Hungary’s landscape covers about 40 square kilometres. Figeczky notes that "
locals constantly collect the surviving animals, the red, opalescent eyed pets are being carried around in barrows, because their injuries unable them to move. The case is just as bad with the livestock too.

"
The damage to the wildlife cannot even be appraised – certainly hunters are collecting dead and injured animals including deers, foxes, rabbits, wild boars"
.

Experts believe that it highly likely that contaminated water could pass through the Danube, affecting large and interconnected parts of Europe’s Natura 2000 protected areas.

"
This puts the conservation related damages very substantial - even at international scale"
said Figeczky.

. "
We expect further damages to fauna and flora, as the materials used in rescue operations and to neutralise alkaline are toxic as well. Some animals and plants die instantly, some will face the consequences of serious poisoning in the longer term as the heavy metals of the red mud accumulate in their bodies, however there is still no information about the concentration of heavy metals in the red mud of this reservoir."


The WWF is comparing the present crisis to that of 2000, after cyanide contaminated gold-processing waste spilled from a Romanian waste dam into the Tisza River, a Danube tributary flowing through the other side of Hungary.

"
Ten years ago the cyanide reached Tisza in two waves, first the contaminated water broke out from the Baia Mare water basin, then the sludge full with cyanide and heavy metals flooded into the river,"
said Figeczky.

The WWF belives that the cyanide and heavy metal will have different effects. The cyanide, according to the organisation, immediately destroys the animals, and flows away with the flood. At the same time the heavy metals soak into the ground and are taken up by the plants and this has a longer-term effect on the environment.

The heavy metals could remain in the ground for decades, and can cause serious effects, like growing disorders, according to the WWF. Because of these negative attributes the heavy metal content of this red mud poison is a key issue.

In 2000 the cyanide disaster on the river Tisza, destroyed all of the aquatic animals except the vertebrates.

The river Marcal’s dead fish stock can forecast that most of the aquatic animals will die due to the pollution. Similarly to the cyanide pollution, these animals can return, and survivors can recolonise these areas. But the experts cannot forecast how much time it will take.

The toll exacted by the sludge includes four dead, six people missing and more than 100 injured and forced from their homes. Many people in the area apparently say they have no wish to return to their previous homes.

[size=55:28yqmy71]Sofia echo 08 October 2010

Toxic sludge from Hungary spill hits Danube




Toxic sludge that burst from a containment reservoir in western Hungary has reached a branch of the Danube, and experts are trying to assess the environmental impact on Europe's second largest river.

Authorities say the sludge reached the Mosoni-Danube early on October 7. A Hungarian disaster management official, Tibor Dobson, said water samples show alkalinity levels above normal, but that those are dropping as river waters dilute the caustic slurry.

European Union and environmental officials are worried that the spill could wreak havoc on the Danube's ecosystem and six downstream countries. On October 7, EU environmental spokesman Joe Hennon in Brussels said the threat has not yet been fully assessed.

Dobson said all fish and wildlife in the first-hit Marcal river are dead. Emergency crews are working to neutralize the sludge.

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban has described the spill as a "
serious ecological disaster."
On October 7 Orban visited three villages destroyed by the deluge and he declared the area a total loss.

On October 6 Hungary opened a criminal investigation into the spill, caused when a containment reservoir at a nearby metals factory burst. Four people were killed and more than 100 others injured, as a torrent of toxic red mud roared through several nearby villages.

Authorities said clean-up could take a year.

The red sludge is a byproduct of processing bauxite, a basic material for manufacturing aluminum. It is laden with caustic soda, heavy metals and other hazardous chemicals that can burn people through their clothes, and corrode metal and other materials. If the toxic sludge dries out, it could turn into dust and spread through the air.

Police are investigating to determine why a reservoir wall broke, and whether negligence contributed to the disaster.

Village evacuated, risk of new toxic sludge spill

Hungarian authorities on Saturday ordered the evacuation of the village of Kolontar because of the risk of a new toxic sludge spill, the regional chief of disaster relief services Tibor Dobson told AFP.
"
The evacuation of Kolontar began at six in the morning (0400 GMT) after we noticed a weakening in one of the reservoir's dykes,"
Tibor Dobson said.
"
The decision to evacuate was taken by Interior Minister Sandor Pinter, who took part in the meeting of the local defence committee early Saturday."

He added that the neighbouring village of Devecser could also be evacuated.

Hungary Fears New Burst of Toxic Sludge



Hungarian PM Viktor Orban has announced it was "
very likely"
that the wall of the reservoir of the alumina plant would collapse, releasing a new wave of the red toxic sludge.

"
It is in very bad shape and our estimation is that the wall could fall down. It is very likely that it will happen. One consequence is that human lives could be in danger,"
Orban said, as cited by the BBC.

On Monday, about 700,000 cu m of chemical sludge escaped from the Ajkal Timfoldgyar plant, when a reservoir of the alumina plant broke and flooded some villages with toxic red mud.

Obran has stated that another 500,000 cu m of waste could escape if the reservoir wall collapses.

On Saturday, about 800 residents of the village of Kolontar, which is the closest village to the reservoir, were evacuated.

Police have been also advising residents of neighbouring villages to pack a single suitcase in case they need to leave quickly.

At least seven people, including two children, have died in the accident. About 150 others have been injured by the sludge, which is said to contain caustic material and to be toxic if ingested.

The spill has reached the Marcal River, which flows into the River Raba, which empties into the Danube River.

All life in the Marcal River is said to have been extinguished. Although the sludge reached the Danube River on Thursday, Hungarian officials have claimed that the pH level in the river was normal and there were no dangers of pollution.

[size=55:22oblt4m]Focus 11 October 2010

Hungary rushes to build dam in case of new toxic flood

Kolontar, Hungary. Hungary raced against time Sunday to erect a dam around a ruptured reservoir and divert a new wave of toxic sludge that threatens to overwhelm already devastated villages, AFP reported.
As hundreds of volunteers joined engineers rushing to erect the 600-metre dam, a top official said it was only a matter of days before the reservoir housing a chemical residue would begin to crumble.
"
In two or three days there is going to be rain and we are trying to speed things up so that we can finish off the dam before the rain comes,"
Zoltan Illes, the state secretary for environmental protection, told reporters at the dam construction site.
"
Once the rain is here, the remaining sludge will be washed out and the dam's northern section is going to break away. This is imminent. Once the wall breaks down, the sludge will start flowing again."

Repair work also continued on the reservoir itself where cracks have been detected, raising fears that what is already Hungary's worst environmental disaster could soon get even worse.
At least seven people were killed when the red-coloured sludge first began seeping from the reservoir next to an alumina plant before then cascading into nearby villages and tributaries of the Danube.
Kolontar was the village worst hit by the disaster and its entire population of nearly 1,000 people have been forced to evacuate while the threat of a new spill remains.
Many have been put up in a sports centre in the nearby town of Ajka although others have moved in with relatives.
Tibor Dobson, the official in charge of the disaster relief effort, said around 800 volunteers were helping 900 police, disaster relief workers and fire-fighters Sunday.
The country's public health service said all relief workers must wear breathing masks and protective glasses, as drying sludge was starting to produce dust.
"
The red sludge, if it drys, can be inhaled and could irritate the mucous membrane, and irritant effects may damage the skin and eyes,"
the service said in a statement.
A team of five experts from the European Union's civil protection unit are heading to Hungary to assess the environmental impact and issue advice on decontamination.
Half a dozen cranes and a similar number of bulldozers were at the site of the dam on Sunday, as part of the effort to build a dam which will eventually be up to five metres in height and six metres in width once completed.
"
I am not a disaster tourist,"
said local man Gyorgy Racz, who had come to inspect the damage. "
I'm doing the community a favour by seeing everything with my own eyes."

Illes said that around 2.5 million tonnes of sludge still remain inside the reservoir after around 800,000 tonnes spilled out.
But he said that the remaining sludge should be easier to deal with if it does spill out.
"
This is a different texture now, more like clay and not going to flow as far,"
he told reporters.
More than 40 people who suffered injuries from the spill were still in hospital Sunday, most treated for burns from the chemicals which also killed livestock and fish.
"
They don't have life-threatening injuries, but some will need plastic surgery,"
said Jeno Racz, director of the Veszprem county hospital.
A three-year-old boy was also transferred to a Budapest hospital because some of the sludge had entered his eyes, causing serious damage, Racz said.
Villagers evacuated to Ajka, 160 kilometres (100 miles) from the capital Budapest, were worried about their homes.
"
Unfortunately we will have to stay here for a couple of nights until they build that dam. After that we can hopefully return,"
said Peter, who like all of those who spent the night at the shelter would only give his first name. The sludge from the MAL Hungarian Aluminium Production and Trade Company plant is a residue from aluminium production that contains toxic heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, arsenic and chromium.

[size=55:2gpfk5im]novinite 12 October 2010

No Pollution of Danube from Hungary Toxic Sludge

Probes have shown that the toxic sludge spill in Hungary has not polluted the waters in the Bulgarian part of the Danube River, Bulgaria's Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Waters (RIOSV) has announced.

The probes have been analyzed Monday evening in the Regional laboratory to the Executive Agency on Environment and Water in the Bulgarian northern city of Montana.

"
The water is not polluted from the accident in Hungary,"
Denitsa Slavkova, Head of RIOSV, said, adding that more probes will be taken Tuesday and Wednesday.

In the meantime, Hungary have begun a procedure on nationalizing the alumina plant whose reservoir broke last week and spilled 700 000 cu m of toxic red sludge, which killed 8 people and injured about 150 more.

On Monday, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban announced the arrest of Zoltan Bakonyi, the chief executive of the plant. He has been taken in ofr questioning by the police.

The toxic sludge reached the Danube River on Thursday. However, Hungarian officials have stated that the pH level was normal and there was no danger of pollution.

Following Hungary's request for help, five EU experts have arrived in the sludge-flooded country to help limit the consequences of the toxic spill.

This can now be seen from space