| Ajka alumina plant accident | |
|---|---|
 Spill site and affected localities[1] | |
 | |
| Location | Ajka, Hungary |
| Coordinates | 47°5′19″N 17°29′45″E / 47.08861°N 17.49583°E |
| Date | 4 October 2010 |
| Cause | |
| Cause | Inconclusive |
| Casualties | 10 deaths, 406 injured (120 seriously)[2] |
| Operator | MAL Hungarian Aluminium |
| Spill characteristics | |
| Volume | ca. 1 million m3 (35 million cu. ft.) |
| Area | 40 km2 (15 sq mi) |
The Ajka alumina plant accident in October 2010 was a caustic waste reservoir chain collapse at the Ajkai Timföldgyár alumina plant in Ajka, Veszprém County, in western Hungary.[3][4]
On 4 October 2010, at 12:25 CEST (10:25 UTC),[5] the northwestern corner of the dam of reservoir number 10 collapsed, releasing approximately one million cubic metres (35 million cubic feet) of liquid waste from red mud lakes. The mud was released as a 1–2 m (3–7 ft) wave, flooding several nearby localities, including the village of Kolontár[3][4] and the town of Devecser.[3][4][6] Ten people died, and 150 people were injured.[5][6][7][8] About 40 square kilometres (15 sq mi) of land were initially affected. The spill reached the Danube on 7 October 2010.
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.[7] 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".[7] Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that the cause of the spill was presumably human error.[9]
- ^ BM Országos Katasztrófavédelmi Főigazgatóság Archived 12 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine (in Hungarian)
- ^ Tóth, János I. (2013). "Key actors of the red sludge disaster in Hungary". In Westra, Laura; Taylor, Prue; Michelot, Agnès (eds.). Confronting Ecological and Economic Collapse:: Ecological Integrity for Law, Policy and Human Rights. Routledge. p. 146. ISBN 978-0415825252.
- ^ a b c Day, Matthew (5 October 2010), Hungary threatened by 'ecological catastrophe' as toxic sludge escapes factory, Telegraph (UK)
- ^ a b c Red sludge floods towns in Hungary, Associated Press, 4 October 2010
- ^ a b Red mud spill in Veszprém County (in Hungarian), www.index.hu, 5 October 2010
- ^ a b "Hungary declares a state of emergency after sludge disaster", The Guardian, 5 October 2010.
- ^ a b c Deadly sludge escape kills three in western Hungary, BBC News, 5 October 2010.
- ^ Nyolc halott: megtalálták az utolsó eltűnt holttestét is Devecseren Archived 27 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine Hirado.hu, 11 October 2010. 15:34 (in Hungarian)
- ^ "Toxic Red Sludge Spill From Hungarian Aluminum Plant 'An Ecological Disaster'", David Gura, NPR, 5 October 2010