Cleanup of killer mud spill on track: Hungaria
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By Tuesday the caustic red mud spilling out from an alumina plant that killed nine and injured over 150 people should be completely removed from the streets and yards of the three villages affected, a senior Hungarian official said on Monday.
Government commissioner in charge of damage relief Gyorgy Bakondi told a Monday news conference that most of the residents of Kolontar and Devecser, the two seriously damaged villages, have decided to remain, adding designs for housing estates are on the drawing board.
A land survey has also been completed, he said. Many of their old homes were rendered uninhabitable by the toxic mud.
Rail traffic also started up on Monday following rail line repairs costing 500 million forints (about 2.56 million U.S. dollars), the commissioner reported.
Bakondi, who is also in charge of the Hungarian Aluminum Production and Trade Company (MAL) whose reservoir caused the spill, announced that the method of red mud storage the facility used is no longer used in Western Europe.
The company will have to switch from moist storage to dry storage, he said.
Regarding responsibility for the devastation, which included wiping out all living things along several Danube tributaries, all Bakondi could say was that law enforcement officials were continuing to investigate.
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