Spotted in that British tabloid, the BBC.
[BBC] Hungarian chemical sludge spill reaches Danube
For those curious, there isn't a significant amount of real heavy metals either:
The Hungarian Academy of Science said sludge samples taken two days ago showed that the muck's heavy metal concentrations do "not come close" to levels considered dangerous to the environment. But the academy said Thursday it still considered the sludge dangerous — apparently due to its caustic characteristics.
[AP] Hungary: Toxic red sludge has reached the Danube
The only hazard is the extreme alkalinity which makes the sludge corrosive. Note the CaO and Na2O content; both decompose to extremely basic hydroxides, Ca(OH)2 and NaOH, when exposed to water. Apparently a deadly sea of lye sweeping away villages isn't newsworthy enough for BBC readers without some ludicrous cancer angle being invented.
And why didn't the idiots neutralize the waste? I'm sorry, but somebody should be put in jail for that. If they had only neutralized it (HCl works well, and is made as a byproduct of the production of the NaOH they used), this wouldn't be any worse than the Boston molasses flood of 1919.
ReplyDeleteHow do you know they didn't?
ReplyDeleteAs an alkaline slurry lying spread out under air, it would tend to neutralize itself over time by pulling down CO2.