VIDEO.Comisia Internaționala pentru Protecția Dunarii se declara îngrijorată de otrăvirea cu metale toxice a fluviului .Wave of toxic sludge reaches the Danube River .

KOLONTAR, Ungaria- Reziduurile toxice de la uzina de fabricare a oxidului de aluminiu din Ajtai, Ungaria, deversate luni, din cauza avarierii unui rezervor, au ajuns in Dunare, insa oficialii maghiari afirma ca nu exista un pericol iminent.

Tibor Dobson, purtator de cuvant al agentiei de interventii care a desfasurat operatiuni de salvare in zona, nu a facut comentarii legate de continutul de metale toxice al reziduurilor – unul dintre aspectele ingrijoratoare ale dezastrului ecologic produs luni – ci s-a referit numai la alcalinitatea contaminantilor, un alt aspect care ar putea avea un impact major asupra ecosistemelor acvatice afectate.

Spill is ‘one of the top three environmental disasters in Europe in the last 20 or 30 years

Bela Szandelszky  /  AP

KOLONTAR, Hungary — Toxic red sludge that burst out of a metals plant reservoir — killing at least four people and causing serious burns to others — reached the mighty River Danube Thursday.

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 the 1,775-mile Danube, the second longest in Europe.

However an Hungarian emergency official said Thursday that no immediate damage to the river was evident.

The reservoir break Monday disgorged a toxic torrent into local creeks that flow into waterways connected to the Danube.

Creeks in Kolontar, the closest town to the spill site and about 45 miles south of the Danube, were swollen ochre red Wednesday and villagers said they were devoid of fish.

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, which officials earlier said was at a highly alkaline 13 on a scale of zero to 14, 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. Normal ph levels for surface water range from 6.5 to 8.5.

Waterways devastated
But the sludge devastated the less mighty Marcal River.

„Life in the Marcal River has been extinguished,” Dobson told The Associated Press, referring to the 25-mile stretch of the river that carried the red waste from Kolontar into the Raba River, which then flows into the Danube.

„It is difficult to find the words. Had this happened at night, everybody would be dead,” Orban told reporters.

He reiterated that the disaster could not have been due to natural causes.

„This is an unprecedented ecological catastrophe in Hungary. Human error is more than likely. The wall (of the reservoir) did not disintegrate in a minute. This should have been detected.”

He said emergency crews were pouring plaster and acetic acid — vinegar — into the Raba-Danube meeting point to lower the slurry’s pH value.

„The main effort is now being concentrated on the Raba and the Danube,” he said. „That’s what has to be saved.”

Dobson said the lack of immediate environmental damage to the Danube or Raba was „by no means a victory declaration,” cautioning that dead fish could still turn up shortly.

South of Hungary, the Danube flows through Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Moldova before emptying into the Black Sea.

Daily water tests
At the Croatian village of Batina, the first site after the Danube leaves Hungary, 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 visited the three villages coated by the red sludge Thursday and declared the worst-hit area a write-off, saying he sees „no sense” in rebuilding in the same location.

Local officials said 34 homes in Kolontar were unlivable. However, furious residents said the disaster had destroyed the whole community of 800 by making their land valueless.

‘A dead town’
Angry villagers gathered outside the mayor’s office late Wednesday and berated a senior official of MAL Rt., the Hungarian Aluminum Production and Trade Company that owns the Ajkai Timfoldgyar plant, demanding compensation.

„The whole settlement should be bulldozed into the ground,” bellowed Janos Potza. „There’s no point for anyone to go back home.”

„Those who can, will move out of Kolontar. From now on, this is a dead town,” fumed Beata Gasko Monek.

Others relived their experience in the deluge.

Surse: msnbc și descoperă.ro

Purtatorul de cuvant al agentiei maghiare de interventii ,Dobson a afirmat ca pH-ul, care initial avea valoarea 13 (foarte alcalin), a scazut sub 10, dupa ultimele masuratori, si ca nu au fost observati pesti morti in apele Dunarii.

Directia Nationala pentru Managementul Dezastrelur, din Ungaria, a anuntat o valoare de 9,3 a pH-ului in apele Dunarii si a afirmat ca valoarea este in scadere. Nivelul normal al pH-ului pentru apele de suprafata este de 6,5 – 8,5.

Comisia Internationala pentru Protectia Dunarii a declarat ca scurgerile toxice ar putea produce efecte negative pe termen lung asupra vegetatiei, faunei si oamenilor.

In Romania, agentia Apele Romane a anuntat ieri ca parametrii apei pe cursul romanesc al Dunarii erau in limitele normale.

In schimb, in raul Marcal, aflat in zona cel mai grav afectata, viata a fost exterminata.

Intreaga comunitate umana din localitatea Kolontar a fost practic distrusa, nu numai prin faptul ca multe locuinte au fost avariate de viitura, ci si pentru ca poluarea masiva a facut terenurile din jur inutilizabile pentru agricultura.

Comentariul meu:

Să ne amintim că în 2003, o întreprindere maramureșană a unor investitori australieni ,a avut un accident asemănător. Ungaria a dat România, și NU întreprinderea, în judecată pentru daune materiale (poluarea Tisei). Se pare că este timpul si luăm de urechi pe dragii noștri vecini unguri și să-i ducem la Haga !Doar așa ungurii vor putea să nu uite că Dumnezeu nu dă niciodată cu parul !Se întâmplă să  mai dea  și cu „nămolul roșu” așa,ca să se „amuze”.

 

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