Hungarian Towns Begin Cleanup of Nightmarish Red Sludge

Felicia Jenkins
10/8/10
10:40 AM

Hungarian Towns Begin Cleanup of Nightmarish Red Sludge

In Kolontar, Hungary a portion of a sludge reservoir broke and spilled red sludge throughout the city. The sludge came from the Hungarian Aluminum Production and Trade Company and was left over waste from converting bauxite to aluminum. The sludge spread to the countryside, the city itself and a local stream. This dangerous compound has killed 4 people and sent many others to the hospital because of burns and lung irritation. An unknown number of animals and family pets have also been killed. The European Union is worried that the sludge will spread to other countries because of natural processes such as rain and wind. It is suspected that there was a breech in the safety of the retaining wall that no one had noticed. But the cause of the spill is still uncertain.The residents of Kolontar have been promised that their homes will be cleaned and decontaminated but it is unsure when this will happen or who will pay for it.

This article is interesting because no one can ever predict a malfunction in a structure. Yes there could have been other precautions taken to prevent this sort of thing but there were none. Clearly this sludge is hazardous to people because of the burn cases and lung irritations but how bad is it really? Some of the chemicals in the sludge have been linked to cancer later on, but what other affects will it have on the people and the population- maybe birth defects, higher rates of mental disabilities? Who knows at this point, it is much too early to tell. Also we have to consider what happens to the environment. This sludge is getting absorbed by the soil, it is polluting the land. How will the farming community be affected? The wildlife that eats the plants and drinks from the stream- what can do we do about them? The big issue, at least to me, is how will be decontaminate everything. This mess is not contained to a single area, so clean up will be long and hard. But hopefully the Hungarian Aluminum Production and Trade Company will put in other measures to keep this from happening again. We can’t destroy everything around us. Because we as people would have no wear to go and the land around us will be desolate and inhabitable.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/world/europe/07hungary.html?_r=2&ref=earth