On Monday, Oct. 4, a containment reservoir containing toxic red sludge ruptured, releasing its contents into Western Hungary. Three of the nineteen counties in Hungary have declared a state of emergency. This sludge, containing heavy metals such as aluminum, nickel, and lead, is a byproduct of a process performed at a nearby aluminum plant. Due to its chemical makeup, this sludge is highly toxic and has already taken at least eight lives. In addition to these, approximately one hundred and twenty were injured with chemical burns, eleven of which are in critical condition.
However, the main concern with this great flood of chemical sludge is its effect on the Danube River – the second-largest river in Europe. The Danube flows through ten countries including Germany, Austria, Hungary and Ukraine, but the water in its streams is used as drinking water for much of Europe. The toxic leak has already wrought environmental havoc on the Marcal River and the Raba River - western tributaries of the Danube - killing all plant and animal life.
However “upon entering the Danube, the sludge has been diluted such that its alkalinity has fallen from 13 to around 10 on the Ph scale,” the Associate Press reports. Due to this decline in alkalinity, the effects on life in the Danube have not been as severe as those seen in the smaller branches of the river. Further efforts are being made to lower the toxicity of the sludge by pouring plaster into the river. Officials are constantly monitoring the river and taking PH tests to deduce whether the treatments are working.
The long-term effects of the toxic flood could go on for years. Some of the Hungarian villages which were closest to the dam were written off by the country’s Prime Minister as unable to be refurbished. Military forces are aiding with disaster relief and repair, but the process is still projected to take months, if not years, to fully repair the devastated country.
This has been the worst chemical disaster in all of Hungary’s history.
By: Anne Lehan
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