Greenpeace warns of higs levels of toxic materials in Hungarian sludge spill

Post date: Oct 9, 2010 1:05:52 PM

08.10.2010.

The activists of Greenpeace say samples taken Tuesday in the town of Kolontar showed 110 milligrams of arsenic and 1,3 milligrams of mercury per kilogram of dry matter. The result, which also show 660 milligrams of chrome per kilogram, are based on analyses carried out in two independent laboratories in Vienna and in the Hungarian capital, Budapest.

So far seven people, including two children have been killed.

Authorities said the volume of the spill from reservoir at an alumina plant dumped up to 700,000 cubic meters of sludge onto three villages, equal to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, has described the spill as a natural disaster unprecedented in Hungary.

"If this had happened at night then everyone here would have died," he said as he visited on of worst affected villages. "This is so irresponsible that it is impossible to find words!"

Alkalinity of the water at the point when the Raba River meets the Marcal River is 8.5 pH and about 8 on the Danube, "which can be termed as very good, considering the circumstances," MTI quoted Tibor Dobson, the regional disaster issues spokesman as saying.