Ajka alumina plant accident
Encyclopedia
The Ajka alumina sludge spill was an industrial accident at a caustic waste reservoir
chain of the Ajkai Timföldgyár alumina plant in Ajka
, Veszprém County, in western Hungary
. On 4 October 2010, at 12:25 CEST
(10:25 UTC), the northwestern corner of the dam of reservoir no. 10 collapsed, freeing about a million cubic metres (35 million cubic feet) of liquid waste from red mud
lakes. The mud was released as a 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft) wave, flooding several nearby localities, including the village of Kolontár
and the town of Devecser
. At least nine people died, and 122 people were injured. About 40 square kilometres (15.4 sq mi) of land were initially affected. The spill reached the Danube
on 7 October 2010. The ruptured and weakened wall of the reservoir which released the caustic sludge is in danger of collapsing entirely, which could release an additional 500,000 cubic metres of sludge.
It was not initially clear how the containment at the reservoir had been breached, although the accident came after a particularly wet summer
in Hungary, as in other parts of central Europe. Police have seized documents from the Ajkai Timföldgyár plant, although a spokesman for MAL Hungarian Aluminium
(MAL Magyar Alumínium Termelő és Kereskedelmi Zrt.), the company that operates the plant, said the last inspection of the pond had shown "nothing untoward". Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
claimed that the cause of the spill was presumably human error.
involved in the accident is a waste product of the Bayer process
which refines bauxite
into alumina, a form of aluminium oxide
. The mud primarily contains non-aluminium compounds present in the bauxite
ore and left as residues after its refining along with sodium hydroxide used to dissolve aluminium oxide. The characteristic red color originates from hydrated iron(III) oxide
(ferrihydrite
), which is the main component, but it also contains other compounds. The mud, which is highly alkali
ne when it is first produced, is stored in large open-air ponds; there is thought to be about 30 million tonnes of red mud stored around the Ajkai Timföldgyár plant.
According to a press release by MAL, the mud had the following chemical percentage make-up (this expresses the amounts of different elements, not necessarily the actual solids):
Unlike many other mine tailings
, red mud does not contain very high levels of heavy metals, although still about seven times the levels in normal soil. Analyses of the mud at Kolontár on behalf of Greenpeace
showed levels of chromium
660 mg/kg, arsenic
110 mg/kg and mercury
1.2 mg/kg. The Hungarian government has stated that the mud is "not poisonous", and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
stated that the heavy metal concentrations were not considered dangerous for the environment. This opinion was also supported by a paper published in the journal Science in October 2010. The main damages caused by the accident arose first from the high pH of the mud occasioning severe chemical burn
s to human and animals and killing life in the rivers and in the contaminated soils. However, after dissipation of acute effects by dilution and progressive carbonation of the sodium hydroxide by CO2
from the air, the chronic toxicity of heavy metal traces is expected to be limited by their low solubility
and high sorption
under slightly alkaline conditions.
The NDGDM said that the high pH mud was considered hazardous and would cause an alkaline
reaction on contact if not washed off with clean water. The mayor of Devecser said that 80–90 people had been taken to hospital with chemical burns. Péter Jakabos, a doctor in the hospital in Győr
where many of the injured had been taken, said on Magyar Televízió
that it might take days for the full extent of any burns to be realised. Magyar Alumínium (MAL) said that mud was not considered containing toxic elements according to EU
standards. Initial measurements by the NDGDM showed the sludge to be extremely basic
, with a pH
value of 13.
The chemicals extinguished all life in the Marcal
river, and reached the Danube
on 7 October, prompting countries located further down the river ( Slovakia
, Croatia
, Serbia
, Romania
, Bulgaria
, Ukraine
) to develop emergency plans in response.
On 11 October, the Hungarian government announced that the managing director of MAL had been arrested, to be charged with "criminal negligence leading to a public catastrophe." Also on the 11th, the government took control of MAL, appointing a commissioner to manage the company. The government planned to focus on compensation for the incident, job security, and identifying further locations at risk of accidents.
, in Vas County; the Marcal joins the Rába
river just above Győr
, in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, while the Rába itself joins the Danube
at Győr.
The day after the accident, Environmental State Secretary Zoltán Illés ordered the suspension of the alumina production at the plant and the reconstruction of the dam. The following day, the chairman of the company said in a radio interview that he would like to re-start production over the weekend (5–6 days after the Monday accident); the plant reopened on 15 October, with full production expected to resume by the 19th.
The Hungarian government initially estimated that cleanup would take at least a year and cost tens of millions of dollars.
The Hungarian Government activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism for urgent international assistance at 7:36PM on October 7. The European Union Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) communicated the request for expert assistance to the 30 participating countries (27 EU member states
, Iceland
, Liechtenstein
, Norway
).
By 12 October, a secondary dam beyond the remainder of the original had been almost entirely completed, after being built to contain additional sludge that was expected to overflow after another portion of the original dam collapsed.
On 13 October, the government nationalized
the company, the bill making this possible having been voted by the Parliament one day earlier.
Waste pond
A waste pond or chemical pond is a small impounded water body used for the disposal of water pollutants, and sometimes utilized as a method of recycling or decomposing toxic substances. Such waste ponds may be used for regular disposal of pollutant materials or may be used as upset receivers for...
chain of the Ajkai Timföldgyár alumina plant in Ajka
Ajka
Ajka is a city in Hungary with about 35,000 inhabitants. It is situated in the hills of Bakony.-History:Around 1000 BCE the area was inhabited by Celts. By the 2nd century CE the territory was conquered by the Romans...
, Veszprém County, in western Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. On 4 October 2010, at 12:25 CEST
Central European Summer Time
Central European Summer Time is one of the names of the Daylight saving time offset using the UTC offset of UTC+02:00, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a summer daylight saving time in most European countries. During the winter, Central European Time is used...
(10:25 UTC), the northwestern corner of the dam of reservoir no. 10 collapsed, freeing about a million cubic metres (35 million cubic feet) of liquid waste from red mud
Red mud
Red mud is a solid waste product of the Bayer process, the principal industrial means of refining bauxite in order to provide alumina as raw material for the electrolysis of aluminium by the Hall–Héroult process. A typical plant produces one to two times as much red mud as alumina...
lakes. The mud was released as a 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft) wave, flooding several nearby localities, including the village of Kolontár
Kolontár
Kolontár is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary.- Soil pollution disaster :On 4 October 2010 a 1.5 - 4 meters-high wave of red mud flooded the village from a plant nearby causing nine deaths and several severe chemical burn injuries. Six bodies were found in the mud and other three victims died...
and the town of Devecser
Devecser
Devecser is a town in Veszprém county, Hungary.In the Middle Ages there were five villages in the area of today's Devecser: Devecser, Kisdevecser, Szék, Meggyes and Patony. These villages expanded in the 12th and 13th century...
. At least nine people died, and 122 people were injured. About 40 square kilometres (15.4 sq mi) of land were initially affected. The spill reached the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
on 7 October 2010. The ruptured and weakened wall of the reservoir which released the caustic sludge is in danger of collapsing entirely, which could release an additional 500,000 cubic metres of sludge.
It was not initially clear how the containment at the reservoir had been breached, although the accident came after a particularly wet summer
2010 Central European floods
The 2010 Central European floods were a devastating series of weather events which occurred across several Central European countries during May, June and August 2010. Poland was the worst affected. Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia and Ukraine were also affected.At least...
in Hungary, as in other parts of central Europe. Police have seized documents from the Ajkai Timföldgyár plant, although a spokesman for MAL Hungarian Aluminium
MAL Hungarian Aluminium
MAL Hungarian Aluminium is a Hungarian company specializing in the production of aluminium and related products. It was established in 1995 on the privatization of the Hungarian aluminium industry....
(MAL Magyar Alumínium Termelő és Kereskedelmi Zrt.), the company that operates the plant, said the last inspection of the pond had shown "nothing untoward". Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
Viktor Orbán
Viktor Orbán is a Hungarian populist and conservative politician and current Prime Minister of Hungary...
claimed that the cause of the spill was presumably human error.
Origin of the mud
The red mudRed mud
Red mud is a solid waste product of the Bayer process, the principal industrial means of refining bauxite in order to provide alumina as raw material for the electrolysis of aluminium by the Hall–Héroult process. A typical plant produces one to two times as much red mud as alumina...
involved in the accident is a waste product of the Bayer process
Bayer process
The Bayer process is the principal industrial means of refining bauxite to produce alumina .Bauxite, the most important ore of aluminium, contains only 30–54% alumina, Al2O3, the rest being a mixture of silica, various iron oxides, and titanium dioxide. The alumina must be purified before it can...
which refines bauxite
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
into alumina, a form of aluminium oxide
Aluminium oxide
Aluminium oxide is an amphoteric oxide with the chemical formula 23. It is commonly referred to as alumina, or corundum in its crystalline form, as well as many other names, reflecting its widespread occurrence in nature and industry...
. The mud primarily contains non-aluminium compounds present in the bauxite
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
ore and left as residues after its refining along with sodium hydroxide used to dissolve aluminium oxide. The characteristic red color originates from hydrated iron(III) oxide
Iron(III) oxide
Iron oxide or ferric oxide is the inorganic compound with the formula Fe2O3. It is one of the three main oxides of iron, the other two being iron oxide , which is rare, and iron oxide , which also occurs naturally as the mineral magnetite. As the mineral known as hematite, Fe2O3 is the main...
(ferrihydrite
Ferrihydrite
Ferrihydrite is a widespread hydrous ferric oxyhydroxide mineral at the Earth's surface, and a likely constituent in extraterrestrial materials. It forms in several types of environments, from freshwater to marine systems, aquifers to hydrothermal hot springs and scales, soils, and areas affected...
), which is the main component, but it also contains other compounds. The mud, which is highly alkali
Alkali
In chemistry, an alkali is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal element. Some authors also define an alkali as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7. The adjective alkaline is commonly used in English as a synonym for base,...
ne when it is first produced, is stored in large open-air ponds; there is thought to be about 30 million tonnes of red mud stored around the Ajkai Timföldgyár plant.
According to a press release by MAL, the mud had the following chemical percentage make-up (this expresses the amounts of different elements, not necessarily the actual solids):
| Metal oxide | Percentage | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fe2O3 (iron(III) oxide Iron(III) oxide Iron oxide or ferric oxide is the inorganic compound with the formula Fe2O3. It is one of the three main oxides of iron, the other two being iron oxide , which is rare, and iron oxide , which also occurs naturally as the mineral magnetite. As the mineral known as hematite, Fe2O3 is the main... ) |
40–45 % | Gives the red colour of the mud |
| Al2O3 (aluminium oxide Aluminium oxide Aluminium oxide is an amphoteric oxide with the chemical formula 23. It is commonly referred to as alumina, or corundum in its crystalline form, as well as many other names, reflecting its widespread occurrence in nature and industry... ) |
10–15 % | Unextracted aluminium oxide |
| SiO2 (silicon dioxide Silicon dioxide The chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica , is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula '. It has been known for its hardness since antiquity... ) |
10–15 % | Present as sodium Sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride... - or calcium-alumino-silicate |
| CaO (calcium oxide Calcium oxide Calcium oxide , commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline crystalline solid at room temperature.... ) |
6–10 % | See also portlandite Portlandite Portlandite is a rare oxide mineral, the naturally occurring form of calcium hydroxide . It is the calcium analogue of brucite .-Occurrence:... |
| TiO2 (titanium dioxide Titanium dioxide Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium oxide or titania, is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium, chemical formula . When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6, or CI 77891. Generally it comes in two different forms, rutile and anatase. It has a wide range of... ) |
4–5 % | Impurity present in bauxite |
| Na2O (bound sodium oxide Sodium oxide Sodium oxide is a chemical compound with the formula Na2O. It is used in ceramics and glasses, though not in a raw form. Treatment with water affords sodium hydroxide.... ) |
5–6 % | Responsible for the highly (alkaline) pH PH In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline... and the chemical burn Chemical burn A chemical burn occurs when living tissue is exposed to a corrosive substance such as a strong acid or base. Chemical burns follow standard burn classification and may cause extensive tissue damage. The main types of irritant and/or corrosive products are: acids, bases, oxidizers, solvents,... s |
Unlike many other mine tailings
Tailings
Tailings, also called mine dumps, slimes, tails, leach residue, or slickens, are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction of an ore...
, red mud does not contain very high levels of heavy metals, although still about seven times the levels in normal soil. Analyses of the mud at Kolontár on behalf of Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
showed levels of chromium
Chromium
Chromium is a chemical element which has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish and has a high melting point. It is also odorless, tasteless, and malleable...
660 mg/kg, arsenic
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
110 mg/kg and mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
1.2 mg/kg. The Hungarian government has stated that the mud is "not poisonous", and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
The Hungarian Academy of Sciences is the most important and prestigious learned society of Hungary. Its seat is at the bank of the Danube in Budapest.-History:...
stated that the heavy metal concentrations were not considered dangerous for the environment. This opinion was also supported by a paper published in the journal Science in October 2010. The main damages caused by the accident arose first from the high pH of the mud occasioning severe chemical burn
Chemical burn
A chemical burn occurs when living tissue is exposed to a corrosive substance such as a strong acid or base. Chemical burns follow standard burn classification and may cause extensive tissue damage. The main types of irritant and/or corrosive products are: acids, bases, oxidizers, solvents,...
s to human and animals and killing life in the rivers and in the contaminated soils. However, after dissipation of acute effects by dilution and progressive carbonation of the sodium hydroxide by CO2
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
from the air, the chronic toxicity of heavy metal traces is expected to be limited by their low solubility
Solubility
Solubility is the property of a solid, liquid, or gaseous chemical substance called solute to dissolve in a solid, liquid, or gaseous solvent to form a homogeneous solution of the solute in the solvent. The solubility of a substance fundamentally depends on the used solvent as well as on...
and high sorption
Sorption
Sorption refers to the action of absorption* Absorption is the incorporation of a substance in one state into another of a different state ....
under slightly alkaline conditions.
Effects
The wave of mud flooded streets in Kolontár, where seven people were confirmed dead, and Devecser, where the flow was powerful enough to move cars and vans. The cause of death of the Kolontár victims has not been formally confirmed; a spokesman for the National Directorate General for Disaster Management (NDGDM, Országos Katasztrófavédelmi Főigazgatóság) said that they had probably drowned. A further six people were still missing 24 hours after the accident.The NDGDM said that the high pH mud was considered hazardous and would cause an alkaline
Alkalinity
Alkalinity or AT measures the ability of a solution to neutralize acids to the equivalence point of carbonate or bicarbonate. The alkalinity is equal to the stoichiometric sum of the bases in solution...
reaction on contact if not washed off with clean water. The mayor of Devecser said that 80–90 people had been taken to hospital with chemical burns. Péter Jakabos, a doctor in the hospital in Győr
Gyor
-Climate:-Main sights:The ancient core of the city is Káptalan Hill at the confluence of three rivers: the Danube, Rába and Rábca. Püspökvár, the residence of Győr’s bishops can be easily recognised by its incomplete tower. Győr’s oldest buildings are the 13th-century dwelling tower and the...
where many of the injured had been taken, said on Magyar Televízió
Magyar Televízió
Magyar Televízió is the Hungarian national public service television company, with three TV channels, called m1 , m2 and m3....
that it might take days for the full extent of any burns to be realised. Magyar Alumínium (MAL) said that mud was not considered containing toxic elements according to EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
standards. Initial measurements by the NDGDM showed the sludge to be extremely basic
Base (chemistry)
For the term in genetics, see base A base in chemistry is a substance that can accept hydrogen ions or more generally, donate electron pairs. A soluble base is referred to as an alkali if it contains and releases hydroxide ions quantitatively...
, with a pH
PH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
value of 13.
The chemicals extinguished all life in the Marcal
Marcal
The Marcal is a right tributary of the Rába which has its source near Sümeg in the Bakony region of western Hungary. The river flows north and reaches Ukk on the Little Hungarian Plain. It follows a path similar to the Rába, and in many places the two rivers are only a kilometer apart...
river, and reached the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
on 7 October, prompting countries located further down the river ( Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) to develop emergency plans in response.
On 11 October, the Hungarian government announced that the managing director of MAL had been arrested, to be charged with "criminal negligence leading to a public catastrophe." Also on the 11th, the government took control of MAL, appointing a commissioner to manage the company. The government planned to focus on compensation for the incident, job security, and identifying further locations at risk of accidents.
Containment and cleanup
Apart from the immediate effects of the wave of red mud, there was also concern for a possible contamination of Hungary's waterways. The Torna (ˈtoɾnɒ) river runs through the affected area, and emergency workers were pouring tonnes of plaster into the waterway to try to bind the sludge and prevent it from continuing downstream. The Torna joins the Marcal (ˈmɒɾtsɒl) river at KarakóKarakó
-References:...
, in Vas County; the Marcal joins the Rába
Rába
The Rába is a river in southeastern Austria and western Hungary and a right tributary of the Danube. Its source is in Austria, some kilometres east of Bruck an der Mur below Heubodenhöhe Hill. It flows through the Austrian states of Styria and Burgenland, and the Hungarian counties of Vas and...
river just above Győr
Gyor
-Climate:-Main sights:The ancient core of the city is Káptalan Hill at the confluence of three rivers: the Danube, Rába and Rábca. Püspökvár, the residence of Győr’s bishops can be easily recognised by its incomplete tower. Győr’s oldest buildings are the 13th-century dwelling tower and the...
, in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, while the Rába itself joins the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
at Győr.
The day after the accident, Environmental State Secretary Zoltán Illés ordered the suspension of the alumina production at the plant and the reconstruction of the dam. The following day, the chairman of the company said in a radio interview that he would like to re-start production over the weekend (5–6 days after the Monday accident); the plant reopened on 15 October, with full production expected to resume by the 19th.
The Hungarian government initially estimated that cleanup would take at least a year and cost tens of millions of dollars.
The Hungarian Government activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism for urgent international assistance at 7:36PM on October 7. The European Union Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) communicated the request for expert assistance to the 30 participating countries (27 EU member states
Member State of the European Union
A member state of the European Union is a state that is party to treaties of the European Union and has thereby undertaken the privileges and obligations that EU membership entails. Unlike membership of an international organisation, being an EU member state places a country under binding laws in...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
).
By 12 October, a secondary dam beyond the remainder of the original had been almost entirely completed, after being built to contain additional sludge that was expected to overflow after another portion of the original dam collapsed.
On 13 October, the government nationalized
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
the company, the bill making this possible having been voted by the Parliament one day earlier.
See also
- Crisis situations and protests in Europe since 2000Crisis situations and protests in Europe since 2000List of crises situations and major protests in countries of Europe since year 2000.- 2011 :*2011 England riots in August*2011 Kosovo border clashes from July onwards, involving Kosovan Police and KFOR against Kosovan Serb demonstrators*2011 E...
- 2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill2000 Baia Mare cyanide spillThe 2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill was a leak of cyanide near Baia Mare, Romania, into the Someş River by the gold mining company Aurul, a joint-venture of the Australian company Esmeralda Exploration and the Romanian government....
- 1998 Residue dam wall collapse of the Aznalcollar mineAznalcollar mineThe Doñana Disaster, also known as the Aznalcollar Disaster or Guadiamar Disaster , was an industrial accident in Andalusia, southern Spain. On 25 April 1998, a holding dam burst at the Los Frailes mine, near Aznalcóllar, Seville Province, releasing 4–5 million cubic metres of mine tailings...
- Aberfan disaster
- Boston Molasses DisasterBoston molasses disasterThe Boston Molasses Disaster, also known as the Great Molasses Flood and the Great Boston Molasses Tragedy, occurred on January 15, 1919, in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. A large molasses storage tank burst, and a wave of molasses rushed through the...
- Val di Stava dam collapseVal di Stava Dam CollapseThe Val di Stava Dam collapse occurred on 19 July 1985, when two tailings dams above the village of Stava, near Tesero, Northern Italy, failed. It resulted in one of Italy's worst disasters, killing 268 people, destroying 63 buildings and demolishing eight bridges.The upper dam broke first, leading...
- Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spillKingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spillThe TVA Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill occurred just before 1 a.m. on Monday December 22, 2008, when an ash dike ruptured at an solid waste containment area at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane County, Tennessee, USA. of coal fly ash slurry was...
- Hydrography of HungaryHydrography of HungaryThe hydrography of Hungary is mostly determined by Hungary's lying in the middle of the Carpathian Basin, half surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains. All parts of the country have some outflow. All surface water gravitates towards its southern centre, and from there, is united in the Danube, which...
External links
- Photos of the aftermath taken December 27, 2010
- Ajka alumina plant accident. Photos with the damage (Russian)
- "Redsludge" tragedy – Official Website of the Hungarian Government
- Official site of MAL Magyar Alumínium
- Google map showing the breach and the affected villages
- Photographs available under the Creative Common licence agreement 3.0
- Aerial pictures of the dam and the damages
- Photos with the damage
- Photos taken from helicopter
- Aerial photographs