The New York Times describes it as something out of a horror film. It’s sludge. Red, caustic, toxic sludge, and it’s terrorizing Hungary. It’s killing plants and livestock, eating into homes, and has already claimed the lives of at least four Hungarians and sent 100 more to area hospitals.
And now it’s heading for the river.
The sludge seems to have originated in a toxic reservoir containing the industrial byproducts of a factory, the Hungarian Aluminum Production and Trade Company, which converts the ore bauxite into aluminum. Hungarian officials have yet to release an official analysis of the sludge’s chemical contents.
The sludge is now on its way to the Raba River. The Raba empties into the Danube. According to The Times, the stuff has already done a number on smaller rivers, but if a significant amount of the material hits the Raba, it may become “a broad international environmental disaster.”
The level of the reservoir may have been raised due to rainfall, according to authorities. The reservoir in question is only one of several in the area, however. It’s the result of decades worth of toxic build up.
The European Commission, which is looking into the current crisis, awarded the company a permit back in 2006. it had not recorded any accidents or violations from the company.
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