Air, soil and water pollution in Hungary

1. Air, soil and waterpollutionin Hungary Comenius project 2012/2014

2. Environmentalproblems • Rapid industrialization • Emissionsfromautomobiles • Electricpower • Acidrain • Sulfurdioxideinthe air

3. The prevalence of chronic bronchitis symptomsamong 9-10-year old Hungarianchildrenwas 17.3 % • An assessment of thehealtheffectsof PM10in Budapest and othercities, basedondatafrom 2004, suggeststhat 170 prematuredeaths per 100 000 inhabitants per yearcan be attributedtolong-termexposuretohigh PM concentrations.

4. Concentrations of SO2, CO, benzene and lead arebelowsetlimitsthroughoutthe country. Decreasedemissions of sulphurdioxide over thepastonetotwodecadesresultedin a lowerambient air concentration of thatpollutant

5. The concentration of pollen grains of 32 allergenicplant species and thespores of twofungus species, providesforecastsonexpectedshorttermconcentrationsduringthenine-monthslongfloweringseason.

6. River, lake, and groundwaterpollutionin Hungary aretheresult of industrialrunoff, muchofwhich is untreatedwhenitentersthewater.

7. Insufficientlytreatedsewagealsocontributestowaterpollution, as a largepercentage of thecountry’spopulationdoesnothaveaccesstoadequatesanitationfacilities. Hungary’s Lake Balaton, thelargestlakeincentral Europe, is severelypolluted.

8. Sources of waterpollution • Dumping of industrial wastes, containing heavy metals, harmful chemicals, by-products, organic toxins and oils • Chemicalpollutants • Improperdisposal of human and animal wastes • The residue of agricultural practices, including fertilizers and pesticides

9. A number of pollutants, both harmful and poisonous, enter the groundwater systems through rain water

10. The biggestindustrialaccident • The Ajka aluminasludgespillwas an industrialaccidentat a causticwastereserviorchain of the Ajkai Timföldgyár aluminaplantin Ajka, Veszprém County, in western Hungary.On4 October2010 thenorthwesterncorner of thedamofreservoir no. 10 collapsed, freeingapproximatelyonemillioncubicmetresof liquidwastefromredmudlakes. The mud was released as a 1–2 m wave, flooding several nearby localities, including the village of Kolontárand the town of Devecser.At least nine people died, and 122 people were injured. About 40 square kilometresof land were initially affected. The spill reached the Danube.

11. The red mud involved in the accident is a waste product of the Bayer process, which refines bauxite into a form of aluminium oxide called alumina. The mud primarily contains non-aluminium compounds present in the bauxite ore and left as residues after its refining along with sodium hydroxide used to dissolve aluminium oxide. Iron(III) oxide, the compound from which the red color originates, is the main component

12. The wave of mud flooded streets in Kolontár, where seven people were confirmed dead, and Devecser, where the flow was powerful enough to ove cars and vans.

13. emergency workers were pouring tonnes of plaster into the waterway to try to bind the sludge and prevent it from continuing downstream • The cleanup took a year and cost tens of millions of dollars.[

14. Allwaterlifediedinthesmaller Marcal River, firststruckbythespill. Therewerealsoreports of sporadicfishdeathintheRaba and Mosoni-Danuberivers. Therewere no reports of major damagetothe main branch of theDanube.

16. Danube / Duna • Large and small industrial plants in oil refining, chemicals, pulp, paper, coal, metallurgy and refining often release pollutants into the many ancillary rivers and tributaries that feed into the Danube River.

17. „Wedonotinherittheearthfromourancestors, weborrowitfromourchildren”