Sebuah kecelakaan industry terjadi di Ajka, yaitu reservoir penampungan penampungan limbah

kimia di pabrik alumina, 160 kilometer sebelah barat Budapest jebol. Pada 4 Oktober 2010, dam no

10 yang terletak di bagian barat laut ambruk, membebaskan sekitar sejuta meter kubik limbah cair yang berbentuk lumpur merah. Lumpur mengakibatkan banjir bandang setinggi 1 2 meter, membanjiri daerah sekitar lokasi reservoir. Tercatat, paling sedikit 9 orang meninggal dan 122 orang terluka dan merusak area sekitar 40 kilometer persegi. Dua desa, yakni Devecser dan Kolontar
merupakan daerah yang paling parah terkena luapan lumpur beracun tersebut. Banjir lumpur tersebut terjadi setelah tempat penampungan limbah kimia di pabrik alumina di Ajka, 160 kilometer sebelah barat Budapest jebol. Akibatnya, lumpur merah beracun meluap dan membanjiri beberapa desa. Lumpur tersebut juga mengontaminasi Sungai Danube, salah satu sungai terbesar di Prancis.Retakan

pada dinding dam juga akan menambah lumpur yang meluber dengan tambahan 500.000 meter kubik.
Otoritas Hungaria kini mengkhawatirkan banjir lumpur beracun episode kedua akan kembali terjadi. Mengingat adanya retakan-retakan baru pada dinding tempat penampungan limbah. Tidak jelas apa

yang penyebab yang membuat runtuhnya dinding penahan reservoir ini. 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 Timfldgyr plant, although a spokesman for MAL Hungarian Aluminium (MAL Magyar Alumnium Termel s Kereskedelmi Zrt.), the company that operates the plant, said the last inspection of the pond had shown "nothing untoward".[7] Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn claimed that the cause of the spill was presumably human error.[10]

Contents
[hide]

1 Origin of the mud 2 Effects 3 Containment and cleanup

4 Gallery 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Origin of the mud

Asal dari Lumpur Lumpur merah yang terjadi saat kecelakaan merupakan limbah dari proses bayer,
Proses Bayer adalah suatu proses utama dalam industri pemurnian bauksit untuk menghasilkan alumina (aluminium oksida). Bauksit, merupakan bijih dari alumunium mengandung 30-54% aluminium oksida, (alumina), Al2O3, sisanya adalah campuran silika, berbagai oksida besi dan titanium dioksida. aluminium oksida harus dimurnikan sebelum dapat dijadikan logam aluminium. Lumpur secara umum terdiri dari senyawa non alumunium yang terkandung dari bijih bauksit dan meninggalkan residu setelah akibat dari proses pemurnian dengan sodium hidroksida untuk melarutkan aluminium oksida. Besi (III) oksida, merupakan senyawa yang memberikan warna merah pada lumpur, dan merupakan senyawa yang dominan dari senyawa yang lain. Lumpur merah bersifat sangat alkali ketika pertama kali diproduksi, lumpur ini disimpan dalam kolom yang kontak dengan udara terbuka. Di pabrik Ajkai Timfldgyr terdapat sekitar 30 juta ton lumpur merah yang disimpan dalam

sebuah kolam. Berdasarkan press release dari MAL (perusahaan yang memproduksi alumina), komposisi kimia dari lumpur itu adalah: According to a press release by MAL, the mud had the following chemical percentage make-up (which expresses the amounts of different elements, not necessarily the actual solids).[12] Oksida Metal Fe2O3 (iron(III) oxide) Al2O3 (aluminium oxide) SiO2 (silicon dioxide) Persentase 4045 % 1015 % 1015 % Catatan Memberikan warna merah pada lumpur aluminium oksida terektraksi Hadir sebagai sodium atau kalsium alumino silikat

CaO (calcium oxide) TiO2 (titanium dioxide)

610 % 45 % Pengotor dalam bauksit Bertanggung jawab dalam pada nilai alkali

Na2O (bound sodium oxide) 56 %

Tidak seperti limbah tailing lainnya, lumpur merah tidak mengandung logam berat, walaupun konsentrasi yang terukur sekitar tujuh kali dari level konsentrasi tanah normal.

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.[13] Analyses of the mud at Kolontr on behalf of Greenpeace showed levels of chromium 660 mg/kg, arsenic 110 mg/kg and mercury 1.2 mg/kg.[14] The Hungarian government has stated that the mud is "not poisonous",[13] and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences stated that the heavy metal concentrations were not considered dangerous for the environment.[14] This opinion was also supported by a paper published in the journal Science in October 2010.[15] The main damages caused by the accident first arose from the high pH of the mud, which was responsible for both severe chemical burns to human and animals and killing specimens 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.

[edit] Effects
The wave of mud flooded streets in Kolontr, where seven people were confirmed dead, and Devecser, where the flow was powerful enough to move cars and vans.[6][7] The cause of death of the Kolontr victims has not been formally confirmed; a spokesman for the National Directorate General for Disaster Management (NDGDM, Orszgos Katasztrfavdelmi Figazgatsg) said that they had probably drowned.[7] A further six people were still missing 24 hours after the accident.[6]

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.[7] The mayor of Devecser said that 80 90 people had been taken to hospital with chemical burns.[7] Pter Jakabos, a doctor in the hospital in Gyr where many of the injured had been taken, said on Magyar Televzi that it might take days for the full extent of any burns to be realised.[6] Magyar Alumnium (MAL) said that mud was not considered containing toxic elements according to EU standards.[7] Initial measurements by the NDGDM showed the sludge to be extremely basic, with a pH value of 13.[16] 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.[17] 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."[18] Also on the 11th, the government took control of MAL, appointing a commissioner to manage the company.[18] The government planned to focus on compensation for the incident, job security, and identifying further locations at risk of accidents.[18]

[edit] 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 (Hungarian pronunciation: [ton]) 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.[6] The Torna joins the Marcal (Hungarian pronunciation: [mtsl]) river at Karak, in Vas County; the Marcal joins the Rba river just above Gyr, in Gyr-Moson-Sopron County, while the Rba itself joins the Danube at Gyr. The day after the accident, Environmental State Secretary Zoltn Ills ordered the suspension of the alumina production at the plant and the reconstruction of the dam.[19] The following day, the chairman of the company said in a radio interview that he would like to re-start production over

the weekend (56 days after the Monday accident);[20] the plant reopened on 15 October, with full production expected to resume by the 19th.[21] The Hungarian government initially estimated that cleanup would take at least a year and cost tens of millions of dollars.[22] The Hungarian Government activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism for urgent international assistance at 7:36PM on October 7.[23] 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).[23] 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.[24] On 13 October, the government nationalized the company, the bill making this possible having been voted by the Parliament one day earlier.[25]