Toxic red sludge reaches the Danube

KOLONTAR (Hungary): The toxic red sludge that burst out of a Hungarian factory's reservoir reached the mighty Danube on Thursday after wreaking havoc on smaller rivers and creeks, said an emergency official.

The European Union and environmental officials both fear an environmental catastrophe affecting half a dozen nations if the red sludge, a waste product of making aluminum, contaminates the Danube, Europe's second-longest river.

It is still not known why part of the reservoir collapsed and allowed the toxic torrent estimated at one million cubic metres of waste to sweep through villages, killing at least four people and leaving three people missing. Disaster officials said over 150 people had been treated at hospitals, and 11 were still in serious condition Thursday.Officials from several nations downstream — Croatia, Serbia and Romania — were testing the river every few hours on Thursday but hoping that the Danube's huge water volume would blunt the impact of the spill.

The reservoir break on Monday disgorged a toxic torrent through three villages and creeks that flow into waterways connected to the Danube. Creeks in Kolontar, the western Hungarian village closest to the spill site, were swollen ochre red days later and villagers said they were devoid of fish. Kolontar is 70 km south of the Danube.

The red sludge reached the western branch of the Danube early Thursday and its broad, main stretch by noon, Hungarian rescue agency spokesman Tibor Dobson told the state MTI news agency. He said up to now there were “no heavy metals in the drinking water” of the affected region but did not address concerns that the caustic slurry might contain toxic heavy metals.

Mr. Dobson said the pH content of the red sludge entering the Danube had been reduced to the point where it was unlikely to cause further environmental damage. It had been tested earlier at a pH level of 13 and now was down under 10, he said.

A neutral pH level for water is 7, with normal readings ranging from 6.5 to 8.5. Each pH number is 10 times the previous level, so a pH of 13 is 1,000 times more alkaline than a pH of 10. — AP

Source:The Hindu,8-10-2010