Hungary Battling Flow Of Aluminum Sludge Towards Danube - 3 Missing In Caustic Goo - Reuters

[hatrack]

Emergency workers in Hungary battled on Wednesday to keep a tide of toxic red sludge that spilled from an alumina plant from reaching the Raba and Danube rivers. Interior Minister Sandor Pinter told reporters the sludge -- which poured from the alumina factory's containment pond on Monday and rushed through villages, killing four people, injuring 120 and leaving 3 missing -- had so far been prevented from reaching the rivers.

EDIT

Rescue workers said many people had suffered burns and eye irritation from lead and corrosive elements in the mud. The flood, estimated at about 700,000 cubic meters (24 million cubic feet), swept cars off roads and damaged bridges and houses, forcing the evacuation of about 500 residents.

Many villagers said they were unlikely to return home. "I'm not going to take back my 3-year-old. I couldn't even if I wanted to. We need bulldozers, not a plan to return," said Roland Fekete.

Balazs Holczer, 35, standing in front of his house which was covered in sludge up to a height of 3 meters, said: "My wife and son were trapped inside during the spill. She put him on top of a cabinet, and she was seriously burned from the waist down. They are both in hospital. My son is still in a shock." The mayor of Kolontar, Karoly Tili, said 90 percent of residents were saying they would not move back because nobody could guarantee their safety.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69415O20101006?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

[thereismore]

1. We are killing this planet. nt

[GliderGuider]

2. Lucky it's such a purdy shade of red.

Who knew Hungary would turn into a "red state" so long after the fall of Communism?

[qb]

3. I bet they wish they'd had some old-style safety regulations like the USA used to have.

[hunter]

4. I haven't yet learned exactly what the stuff is...

I looked up aluminum refining on wikipedia and it seems to be mostly a mix of iron oxide and lye, possibly including fluorides, heavy metals, and other assorted nastiness.

Modern practice is to keep this "red mud" effluent contained, neutral and inert, but I imagine such environmental concerns cut into short term corporate profits.

Aluminum production releases a lot of carbon dioxide even when it's made using hydroelectricity. When coal is the refinery power source the wastes are even worse.

[GliderGuider]

5. The media reports say it's caustic with heavy metal contamination

I guess lye fills the "caustic" bill, and that explains the comments I've seen about neutralizing it. They're probably dumping acid of some sort in the rivers to neutralize it.

[phantom power]

6. I imagine we should quit using aluminum, since we don't know how to contain the deadly waste.

:popcorn:

[GliderGuider]

7. You know, you're a real aluminum-waste-disturber! n/t

[phantom power]

8. I have been trying to stop myself from typing that sentence for two days.

Oh god, I am weak.

[Nihil]

10. "kick"

Actually, after that quick :spray: it shouldn't be so much "kick" as :spank: ...

Sad how ironic truths go whizzing over the heads of certain people.

[girl gone mad]

11. We do know how to contain it.

Human laziness and greed are the limiting factors.

[wtmusic]

9. So much for the "Blue Danube"

at least downriver of Kolontar

[depakid]

12. Danube Hit By Hungary Sludge: Red Toxic Mud Reaches Famous River

The toxic red sludge that inundated three Hungarian villages reached Europe's mighty Danube River on Thursday but no immediate damage was evident, Hungary's rescue operations agency said.

The European Union and environmental officials had feared an environmental catastrophe affecting half a dozen nations if the red sludge, a waste product of making aluminum, contaminated Europe's second-longest river after bursting out of a factory's reservoir.

The spill Monday released a toxic torrent into local creeks that flow into a network of waterways connected to the Danube. Creeks in Kolontar, the closest town to the spill site, were swollen red and villagers said they were devoid of fish. Kolontar is 42 miles (70 kilometers) south of the Danube.

The red sludge reached the western branch of the Danube early Thursday, Hungarian rescue agency spokesman Tibor Dobson told the state MTI news agency. He did not address concerns that the caustic slurry might contain toxic metals but said its pH content had been reduced to the point where it was unlikely to cause further damage to the environment.

Dobson said the pH content, originally above 12, was now under 10 and no dead fish had been spotted where the slurry was entering the Danube. The National Disaster Management Directorate, in a separate statement, said the pH value was at 9.3 and constantly decreasing.

South of Hungary, the 1,775-mile (2,850-kilometer) Danube flows through Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Moldova before emptying into the Black Sea. fter Hungary, the Danube flows into the Croatian village of Batina, where experts were taking water samples Thursday which they will repeat daily for the next week, the state-run news agency HINAS reported.

In Romania, water levels were reported safe Thursday, with testing being carried out every three hours, said Romanian Waters spokeswoman Ana Maria Tanase. She said the Danube water had a PH of 8.5, which was within normal levels, but tests were being done to check for heavy metals.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday visited the three villages coated by the red sludge and declared the worst-hit area a write-off. Orban said he sees "no sense" in rebuilding in the same location.

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/07/danube-hungary-sludge_n_753756.html