ENGINEERS RUSHED to erect an emergency dam to prevent a further toxic spill at an alumina plant in western Hungary amid fears that part of the reservoir could collapse for a second time this week, unleashing another tide of red sludge.
Rescue teams warned that the reservoir – which lies in Ajka, 160km (100 miles) southwest of Budapest – could soon give way as recently discovered cracks began to widen. About 1,000 residents from the nearby village of Kolontar were evacuated on Saturday, and others in the area put on alert.
Volunteers joined emergency crews who operated cranes and bulldozers in a frantic race to build a 5m-high protective dam to contain the potential spill.
“In two or three days there is going to be rain and we are trying to speed things up so that we can finish off the dam before the rain comes,” Zoltan Illes, state secretary for environmental protection, said yesterday, according to news agency AFP. “Once the rain is here, the remaining sludge will be washed out and the dam’s northern section is going to break away. This is imminent. Once the wall breaks down, the sludge will start flowing again.”
About 800,000 cubic metres of red sludge spilt from the reservoir last Monday. At least seven people were killed and about 150 were injured.
So far the alkaline spill has had little impact on life in the Danube river, one of Europe’s most important waterways, and is thought unlikely to affect countries downstream as acidity levels return to normal.
But there are fears that ecology and communities in the vicinity of the plant could be devastated further if more sludge escaped.
Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban warned that at least another 500,000 cubic metres of sludge could spill if the dam fails.
However, news wires, citing Hungarian officials, said the material, a byproduct of refining bauxite, was now less liquid and therefore expected to move more slowly if released.
Mr Orban said there would be “very severe” consequences for anyone found responsible.
MAL Rt, the Hungarian Aluminium Production and Trade Company, has pledged funds to aid the clean-up but insists it could not have detected or averted the disaster. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010)