Lessons Learnt from an Environmental Catastrophe in Hungary

The red mud storage cassette No.10. ruptured on October 4, 2010 in Hungary. The caustic sludge flooded the surrounding settlements and polluted the nearest Stream Torna, which flows through Rivers Marcal and Raba into the River Danube. The red mud sludge exhibits strongly alkaline properties therefore this environmental disaster resulted in an extremely serious situation and had a high impact on human beings and all environmental elements. In the emergency situation the top priority was put on the rescue of human lives and to provide first aid to the injured people. This was followed by the protection of the surface waters with special emphasize on the protection of the River Danube. Several emergency actions and measures had to be taken immediately after the catastrophe to mitigate the environmental impacts and to prevent another disaster. The red mud disposal technological process had been changed at the company and protective systems had been erected at site. It is recommended, that the emergency preparedness and procedures, the emergency response system as well as the cleanup technologies should be checked continuously and updated regularly by the national environmental authorities especially at companies dealing with hazardous materials and technologies. The revision and reconstruction of the red mud sludge containing waste disposal facilities have been commenced and completed. Keywords: Red mud catastrophe, emergency action, environmental impacts;