Toxic sludge reaches Danube
ELIZABETH JACKSON: Toxic red sludge from a spill at an industrial plant in Hungary has reached the Danube, Europe's second longest river.
Officials from several nations along the Danube downstream from Hungary are now testing the river every few hours to monitor the effects.
They're hoping the river's huge water volume will minimise the impact of the spill.
Lindy Kerin reports.
LINDY KERIN: Today authorities' fears have been realised with the ochre coloured toxic sludge reaching the Danube.
The Hungarian rescue agency says the toxic mud has been diluted and is unlikely to cause as much damage as initially thought.
But Balazs Tomory from Greenpeace says it's still dangerous.
BALAZS TOMORY: They tried several materials like Gypsum, like chemical fertilisers and also some acid which was quite risky. But they did it in a small quantity and they mixed water with the polluted water and it seems properly so it could reduce the alkaline behaviour of the toxic sludge.
It's now 10 on the pH level which is better than it was. It was 12, 12 and a half. But still it's dangerous for the environment.
LINDY KERIN: Philip Weller is executive director of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube.
He told the Radio National Breakfast program that while there's been significant efforts to minimise the toxicity of the sludge the Danube will need to be closely monitored for some time.
PHILIP WELLER: It is clear that it is not going to have the kinds of dramatic health effects that could have had been the case in the Danube because of the dilution effects that were perhaps anticipated or potentially anticipated at the outset.
And the Hungarian authorities have done a significant amount of work to try to minimise that.
Coppied by http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2010/s3032897.htm
Showing posts with label reaches. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reaches. Show all posts
Friday, 8 October 2010
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Exited Hungary toxic sludge spill reaches Danube
Hungary toxic sludge spill reaches Danube
HUNGARY'S toxic sludge spill, which has killed four people, reached the Danube river today, threatening to contaminate the waterway's ecosystem, a water authority official said.
Water alkalinity, a measure of river contamination, was already above normal in the major waterway, the official said.
Samples taken at the confluence of the Raab river and the Danube showed "alkalinity slightly above nornal, around 8.96 per cent to 9.07 per cent'', against a normal tally of eight per cent, the source said.
A wave of toxic mud was unleashed on Monday from the reservoir of an aluminium plant at Ajka, 160km west of Budapest.
The red mud travelled down the Raab river and reached the Danube waters at around 0630 GMT (1730 AEDT) at Gyor.
The industrial accident triggered by the collapse of walls at the factory reservoir on Monday has been described as an ecological disaster and is now threatening the entire ecosystem of the Danube, Europe's second longest river.
Coppied by http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/hungary-toxic-sludge-spill-reaches-danube/story-e6freuyi-1225935614622
HUNGARY'S toxic sludge spill, which has killed four people, reached the Danube river today, threatening to contaminate the waterway's ecosystem, a water authority official said.
Water alkalinity, a measure of river contamination, was already above normal in the major waterway, the official said.
Samples taken at the confluence of the Raab river and the Danube showed "alkalinity slightly above nornal, around 8.96 per cent to 9.07 per cent'', against a normal tally of eight per cent, the source said.
A wave of toxic mud was unleashed on Monday from the reservoir of an aluminium plant at Ajka, 160km west of Budapest.
The red mud travelled down the Raab river and reached the Danube waters at around 0630 GMT (1730 AEDT) at Gyor.
The industrial accident triggered by the collapse of walls at the factory reservoir on Monday has been described as an ecological disaster and is now threatening the entire ecosystem of the Danube, Europe's second longest river.
Coppied by http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/hungary-toxic-sludge-spill-reaches-danube/story-e6freuyi-1225935614622
Watches this Hungary toxic sludge spill reaches Danube
Hungary toxic sludge spill reaches Danube
HUNGARY'S toxic sludge spill, which has killed four people, reached the Danube river today, threatening to contaminate the waterway's ecosystem, a water authority official said.
Water alkalinity, a measure of river contamination, was already above normal in the major waterway, the official said.
Samples taken at the confluence of the Raab river and the Danube showed "alkalinity slightly above nornal, around 8.96 per cent to 9.07 per cent'', against a normal tally of eight per cent, the source said.
A wave of toxic mud was unleashed on Monday from the reservoir of an aluminium plant at Ajka, 160km west of Budapest.
The red mud travelled down the Raab river and reached the Danube waters at around 0630 GMT (1730 AEDT) at Gyor.
The industrial accident triggered by the collapse of walls at the factory reservoir on Monday has been described as an ecological disaster and is now threatening the entire ecosystem of the Danube, Europe's second longest river.
coppied by http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/hungary-toxic-sludge-spill-reaches-danube/story-e6freuyi-1225935614622
HUNGARY'S toxic sludge spill, which has killed four people, reached the Danube river today, threatening to contaminate the waterway's ecosystem, a water authority official said.
Water alkalinity, a measure of river contamination, was already above normal in the major waterway, the official said.
Samples taken at the confluence of the Raab river and the Danube showed "alkalinity slightly above nornal, around 8.96 per cent to 9.07 per cent'', against a normal tally of eight per cent, the source said.
A wave of toxic mud was unleashed on Monday from the reservoir of an aluminium plant at Ajka, 160km west of Budapest.
The red mud travelled down the Raab river and reached the Danube waters at around 0630 GMT (1730 AEDT) at Gyor.
The industrial accident triggered by the collapse of walls at the factory reservoir on Monday has been described as an ecological disaster and is now threatening the entire ecosystem of the Danube, Europe's second longest river.
coppied by http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/hungary-toxic-sludge-spill-reaches-danube/story-e6freuyi-1225935614622
Friday, 27 August 2010
Climate aid reaches $30 bln goal, but is it new?
Climate aid reaches $30 bln goal, but is it new?
OSLO (Reuters) - Aid promises from rich nations to help poor countries slow global warming are reaching the $30 billion goal agreed in Copenhagen but analysts say much of that is old funding dressed up as new pledges.
A boy touches an ice sculpture of a polar bear as it melts to reveal a bronze skeleton in Copenhagen December 8, 2009. Aid promises from rich nations to help poor countries slow global warming are reaching the $30 billion goal agreed in Copenhagen but analysts say much of that is old funding dressed up as new pledges. (REUTERS/Bob Strong/Files)
Officially, the promises total $29.8 billion, Reuters calculations show, apparently meeting a pledge of "new and additional" funds "approaching $30 billion" for 2010-12 made at the U.N. summit in Copenhagen in December.
But austerity policies to combat government debt problems and a re-labelling of past promises will undermine real funding that is vital to unlock a new U.N. climate deal by showing that the developed world is serious about taking a leadership role, analysts say.
"I'm afraid the pledges of Copenhagen will not be realised," said Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. "It would be a little political miracle if it happened. I'm fairly pessimistic."
He said that Germany, the biggest European Union economy, was unlikely to fulfil its promises even though it had fewer economic problems than most EU nations, struggling to plug huge budget deficits.
Climate aid is widely seen as a key to build trust between rich and poor in the run-up to the 2010 U.N. meeting of environment ministers, in Cancun, Mexico, from Nov. 29-Dec. 10.
The cash was meant as a "fast start" for action to slow floods, droughts, heat waves and rising seas. Donors say projects are starting, from Nepal to Mali.
Many poor nations say "new and additional" means cash above an unmet 1970 U.N. target for rich nations to give 0.7 percent of their gross national product in aid -- OECD figures show that aid totalled $120 billion, or 0.31 percent of developed countries' combined GNP, in 2009.
Developed nations have varying definitions of what counts.
RENAMING AID
"It's hard to know what's really new and additional," said Clifford Polycarp of the Washington-based World Resources Institute, which tracks pledges by all nations. Some funds were "restated or renamed commitments already made."
Japan's pledge of fast start funds is by far the highest -- $15 billion -- but much of the money stems from a "Cool Earth Partnership" agreed several years ago to run from 2008-12.
Among other big pledges, the EU plans $9.6 billion for 2010-12 and U.S. President Barack Obama plans $3.2 billion for 2010-11. But some money was committed before Copenhagen to climate funds, for instance managed by the World Bank.
coppied by http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/27/worldupdates/2010-08-26T202359Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-510913-1&sec=Worldupdates
OSLO (Reuters) - Aid promises from rich nations to help poor countries slow global warming are reaching the $30 billion goal agreed in Copenhagen but analysts say much of that is old funding dressed up as new pledges.
A boy touches an ice sculpture of a polar bear as it melts to reveal a bronze skeleton in Copenhagen December 8, 2009. Aid promises from rich nations to help poor countries slow global warming are reaching the $30 billion goal agreed in Copenhagen but analysts say much of that is old funding dressed up as new pledges. (REUTERS/Bob Strong/Files)
Officially, the promises total $29.8 billion, Reuters calculations show, apparently meeting a pledge of "new and additional" funds "approaching $30 billion" for 2010-12 made at the U.N. summit in Copenhagen in December.
But austerity policies to combat government debt problems and a re-labelling of past promises will undermine real funding that is vital to unlock a new U.N. climate deal by showing that the developed world is serious about taking a leadership role, analysts say.
"I'm afraid the pledges of Copenhagen will not be realised," said Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. "It would be a little political miracle if it happened. I'm fairly pessimistic."
He said that Germany, the biggest European Union economy, was unlikely to fulfil its promises even though it had fewer economic problems than most EU nations, struggling to plug huge budget deficits.
Climate aid is widely seen as a key to build trust between rich and poor in the run-up to the 2010 U.N. meeting of environment ministers, in Cancun, Mexico, from Nov. 29-Dec. 10.
The cash was meant as a "fast start" for action to slow floods, droughts, heat waves and rising seas. Donors say projects are starting, from Nepal to Mali.
Many poor nations say "new and additional" means cash above an unmet 1970 U.N. target for rich nations to give 0.7 percent of their gross national product in aid -- OECD figures show that aid totalled $120 billion, or 0.31 percent of developed countries' combined GNP, in 2009.
Developed nations have varying definitions of what counts.
RENAMING AID
"It's hard to know what's really new and additional," said Clifford Polycarp of the Washington-based World Resources Institute, which tracks pledges by all nations. Some funds were "restated or renamed commitments already made."
Japan's pledge of fast start funds is by far the highest -- $15 billion -- but much of the money stems from a "Cool Earth Partnership" agreed several years ago to run from 2008-12.
Among other big pledges, the EU plans $9.6 billion for 2010-12 and U.S. President Barack Obama plans $3.2 billion for 2010-11. But some money was committed before Copenhagen to climate funds, for instance managed by the World Bank.
coppied by http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/27/worldupdates/2010-08-26T202359Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-510913-1&sec=Worldupdates
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