Fears of More Red Sludge in Hungary

Panic spread over the weekend that another part of the wall of a reservoir filled with caustic red sludge could collapse and produce a new torrent. Citizens had to wear gas masks and brave the red mud, and a second potentially deadly deluge from the reservoir two miles away. The toxic mud is interfering with wine production, possibly making the wine too toxic to drink. Nearly 200 million gallons of red mud poured into three villages on Monday after part of the wall around the concrete-lined reservoir collapsed, killing seven people and injuring hundreds more.On Sunday, senior government officials continued to sound the alarm about the possibility of another onslaught of red sludge after discovering that cracks in the reservoir’s northern wall had widened even more overnight. A concrete barrier nearly, 1,970 feet long and some 16 feet high, was built by emergency workers to contain the sludge. 800 residents of Kolontar, in the shadow of the industrial reservoir, were evacuated over the weekend. The reservoir, owned by MAL Rt., the Hungarian Aluminum Production and Trade Company, contains an industrial waste called “red mud,” a byproduct of the process that converts bauxite to alumina, which is used to make aluminum. The government has begun a criminal investigation into the reservoir collapse. Charges may be brought up against the company.The company had already accumulated $97.3 million in fines because of water damage from the mud. An MAL Rt. spokeswoman, Andrea Nemeth, said by phone on Sunday that she was hopeful that the company could resume aluminum production soon. The company expressed condolences to the families of those killed by the sludge and said it was willing to pay compensation “in proportion to its responsibility.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/11/world/europe/11hungary.html?ref=earth