1. The Issue
On January 30, 2000. a dam failure at the Aurul
S.A. plant in Baia Mare (Romania) resulted in the biggest freshwater disaster in
Central and Eastern
Europe.
Nearly 100,000 m3 of cyanide
and heavy metal-contamined liquid spilled into the
Lupus stream, reaching the Szamos, Tisza, and finally Danube rivers and killing hundreds
of tonnes of fish and poisoning the drinking water of more than 2 million
people in Hungary. Aurul
S.A., which is owned by the Australian Esmeralda Exploration
(55.2%) denied all responsibility.
(Photo: courtesy
of the city of Szeged)
2. Description
The tragic toxic spill in January can
be considered Europe's worst ecological disaster since the Chernobyl nuclear reactor catastrophe in 1986. Cyanide, which spilled out of a gold mine in Baia Mare, eradicated aquatic life for miles in Europe's second longest waterway. The first official
report from the General Manager of the Romanian Environmental Ministry, Liliana Mara, on January 31 reported cyanide levels 700 times
above normal had been found in nearby river water after the spill. When the contaminated water reached Hungary, the cyanide levels (32.6 mg/l) were 300 times
above the threshold of the Hungarian "highly polluted" standard. The transit of the cyanide spill through Hungary took a total of 12 days.
Warning to prevent human casualties
The amount of cyanide pollution in the
River Tisza was equal to 60 million lethal doses
for humans, therefore, Hungarian authorities ordered a disaster alert along
the whole Tisza River. All
water usage of the river was forbidden. For large
settlements and urban areas, water treatment plants shut down until the danger
had passed. Bottled water was shipped to the stricken
areas to help overcome the ensuing water shortage. Thanks
to this advanced warning, no human casualties were among the countless victims
of the cyanide spill.
By the time the poisoned water reached
the Serbian border on February 12, its concentration was less threatening,
although dead fish were found in that part of the river as well. However, this accident had the most significant impact on
the environment since it was neither the first, nor the last, case.
In the past two years, Hungary has reported about a dozen incidents of water pollution
from Romania. All
of those disasters have had a deep impact on Hungary's economy and agriculture. International
experts reported about $100 million in damages.
The "mourning"
People in Europe, but especially in Hungary were shocked by the environmental catastrophe. Unfortunately these kinds of "accidents" are not
unusual and the consequences of this accident were the largest ever in Central
and Eastern Europe. ''We use this river to fish and swim and now it's
a danger in the middle of our towns. People are very
emotional about it. We have never had anything like
this.''-said a local man. When a person
passes away in Hungary, relatives and friends throw flowers on the grave.
This week it is the Tisza itself they have been mourning.
A black flag had been raised at the city hall in Szeged (Hungarian city located along the river bank) where residents have held candle-lit vigils and
dropped flowers off the bridges.
The polluter
The tragic poisoning was caused by breakage
of the tailing lagoon's dam, which was maintained by the Australian-Romanian joint venture company, Aurul
SA, in the region of Baia Mare in northwestern Romania
Aurul S.A. is owned by the Australian Esmeralda Exploration (55.2%) and the
Romanian Remin S.A. (44.8%) The project was co-financed by NM Rothschild &
Sons Ltd. Australia and Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. Aurul
reprocesses ore, which contains gold from the Remin
mine in Baia Mare. This
new company owns a modern factory for ore processing, which needed an investment
of $30 million and produces yearly 1.2 tons of gold and 8 tons of silver.
Cyanide is used to dissolve the gold and silver and separate it from
the ore. Cyanide and heavy metal-ladened
sludge is the waste product of this process. The
waste is pumped through an above-ground pipeline over a distance of 15 km
into a tailings lagoon. As the investigation concluded, the tailings dam failure
resulted from an overflow of the pounding liquid, caused by: (1) inappropriately
designed tailings dams; (2) inadequate monitoring of construction and operation
of those dams; and (3) by severe, though not exceptional, weather conditions
like heavy rain and melting snow. Nearly 100,000 m3 of water was polluted
with high cyanide concentrations.
Ecological Impact
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|
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Photo: Tibor Kocsis
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The cyanide spill first reached the Szamos, then the Tisza, and ultimately the Danube Rivers. The
impacted area included 60 kms of the Szamos in Romania and 60 kms in Hungary, 550 kms of the Tisza in Hungary and 140 kms in Yugoslavia. In total, approximately 880 kms
of river were severely polluted (This number does not include the pollution
measured in the Danube). Potassium cyanide is
a highly toxic crystal, the salt of hydrocyanic acid. It
blocks the enzyme cytochromoxidase, inhibiting the
supply of oxygen to cells. As cell respiration breaks
down, organisms "suffocate from within." In
addition to cyanide, the accident released sludge containing the heavy metals
lead, zinc and copper into the environment. While
cyanide toxicity is reduced over time, heavy metals are bioaccumulative
and persistent. Because cold temperatures slow down
the natural breakdown of cyanide into other less toxic compounds, the damages
were even higher in this case as it was winter.
Fish are approximately one thousand times
more sensitive to cyanide than humans, and the lethal poison killed hundreds
of tonnes of fish in River Szamos and in Tisza up to a town called Tokaj. There was a significant damage below the Tokaj and in the Lake Tisza. Further down the river, the pollution was less,
although it has been shown that the cyanide killed fish as far downstream
as Yugoslavia. In total, 64 species
of fish were killed (see partial list). Besides the
immeasurable damage among fish species, which is the most visible sign of
the disaster, cyanide pollution has eradicated all life, down to tiny organisms,
throughout the rivers.
The disaster has resulted in the devastation
of larger parts of planktonneic organisms of the
rivers Tisza and Szamos. Perhaps equally significant is the huge amount of exterminated
water fleas and insects that are an indispensable part of the food chain.
In addition, numerous water birds (bald
eagles, cormorants, and blue herons) and mammals (deer, otter, and fox) were
affected by eating contaminated fish and drinking water.
 |
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Photo: Tibor Kocsis
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Moreover, the ground water resources
for people along the river could become contaminated with heavy metals (in
complex form; zinc concentrations, copper and silver were also detected) in
the medium term.
Biologists are estimating that at least
5 years is needed to restockfish there, and 10-20 years for
most of river life to return. In November 2001, the Tisza had been restocked
at 18 locations with 2.5 tonnes of fish. The fish were tagged so experts will
be able to evaluate the success of the resettlement.
The immediate economic impacts are
the following:
1. Direct employment
Baia Mare is considered to be Romania's most polluted area with life expectancy ten years
lower than country average, but also has a high rate of unemployment (15.4%).
The largest segment of unemployed persons, at over 70%, are manual
labors. After the accident, the unemployment of
the Baia Mare area rose less than expected.
Production of gold was suspended in Baia
Mare, but Aurul kept all its employees.
However, employment fell in industries that were dependent on products
from Aurul S.A.
2. Fishing sector
The fishing sector in Hungary was the worst affected. Fishing
is an important economic activity in the Hungarian part of the river. The damage had a serious impact on the fishermen's income
and on the fish processing industries. In addition to
the 1240 tonnes of fish stock killed by the
pollution, a six month fishing ban was ordered in Hungary. Future damage prediction, along with the lower
reproductive capacity of remaining fish stocks, is estimated to at least double
from initial costs. The total damage in the fishing
and angling sector was some US$ 5,839,000.
3. Tourism
The European mass media publicized the
pollution continent-wide, leading to mass cancellation of already booked trips. This led to a reduction in both domestic and international
tourism due to the river pollution. White water canoeing
activity dramatically decreased by around 90% after the contamination events.
This is due to the clear data that, instead of the usual 18-20,000
annual guests hosted in the Tisza region, only about 1,500 visited in 2000.
Along the banks of the Lake Tisza, there was a 33% reduction in the number of German
and Austrian tourists - the most striking and severe loss to the region’s
tourism. These losses are particularly painful in
a region that has very few operating enterprises and alternatives. Due to these facts, the damage to
the Hungarian tourism sector was sizeable, due also to Hungary's significant dependence on tourism.
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ACTIVITY
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DAMAGE
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Costs of early response actions
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US$ 975,000
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Loss of revenue to fishing and angling
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US$ 5,839,000
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Revenue losses of businesses in the tourism sector
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US$ 4.3-7.8 million
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Marketing expenditures
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US$ 325,000
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TOTAL
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US$ 11.4-15 million
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According to the table, the total economic
damage is estimated by the Center for Environmental Studies at $ 11.4-15 million.
However, the claim against Romania is US$ 100 million, as this amount already includes
the damage and cost of rehabilitation of effected wildlife.
3. Related Cases :
CASE NUMBER: 84
CASE MNEMONIC: Bolgold
CASE NAME: Bolivia Gold Mining
Bolivia, as many countries in Latin America, faces a trade-off between economic growth and
protecting its environment. The South American country
earns the majority of its foreign exchange from mining. Zinc
is the main mineral exported, followed by tin, gold, and silver. Bolivia has liberalized its mining sector's investment
regulations in an effort to increase its foreign capital. At
the same time, the U.S. has made mining extremely difficult for its
companies with more stringent rules. Gold has been an
increasingly important export for Bolivia. However, U.S. and Bolivian environmental groups continue to
fight mining exploration and operations, largely because of the devastating
effects on the environment. Mining has led to soil
erosion and the pollution of freshwater. Many Bolivian
peasants feel torn, as these U.S. and foreign mining companies are bringing much needed jobs to their country.
CASE NUMBER: 132
CASE MNEMONIC: Bragold
CASE NAME: Brazil Gold Mining
Gold production has become a major
source of income for several countries of the Amazon region, especially Brazil which has become the fourth largest producer in
the world. The primary concern of the industry is
mercury pollution that goes hand in hand with current mining techniques. Although the environmental effects of the mercury are not
currently serious, there are significant dangers to the health of the human
population of the region. Other factors involved in
the case are human rights and the level of discretion that the Indians are
entitled to in the use of the resources on their reservations.
Finally, there is the sovereign right of Brazil to develop the Amazon as they wish. This is in direct opposition to the prevailing viewpoint
of international environmental organizations, which regard the Amazon as a
world resource.
CASE NUMBER: 317
CASE MNEMONIC: Ghangold
CASE NAME: Gold Mining in Ghana
Caught in low literacy rates, high
unemployment and foreign debt, Ghana is reliant upon its select few commodity sectors
for revenue. Since the 16th century Ghana has been a world leader in the export for gold. Although increased levels of foreign direct investment
have increased the overall output of the handful of major mines a 1989 law
legalizing small-scale gold mining is leading to major environmental problems. Small-scale companies use outdated machinery and
techniques and the situation is further compounded by lax government
regulations and oversight
CASE NUMBER: 177
CASE MNEMONIC: Papua
CASE NAME: Mining in Papua New Guinea
During the 1980s, Papua ( New Guinea) experienced a proliferation of mining projects. With the third-largest gold reserves in the world, the
country has become a magnet for giant multinationals seeking to exploit this
rich resource along with extensive silver and copper deposits.
However, the development of these mineral resources has been a mixed
blessing. Toxic waste from the mines has polluted many
areas of the country. Local residents, particularly
those of the Bougainvillea region, have taken to armed resistance to protest
the destruction of habitat and to express dissatisfaction with their lack of
sharing in the mining benefits.
CASE NUMBER: 338
CASE MNEMONIC: Summit
CASE NAME: Summitville Mine
The Summitville Mine in southwestern Colorado is a Superfund site of the federal Environmental
Protection Agency. The EPA took over supervision of
the mine at the request of Colorado mining regulators after the most recent
operator of the 1,400-acre gold and silver mine, Galactic Resources Ltd. of
Canada, walked away from the site and filed for bankruptcy late in 1992,
leaving behind acid mine drainage and a 160-million-gallon containment filled
with cyanide-laden water that threatened to spill over the earthen berm holding it back.
CASE NUMBER: 358
CASE MNEMONIC: Vengold
CASE NAME: Venezuela Gold Mine
Gold miners in Venezuela are wreaking havoc on the Amazon rain forest,
and its inhabitants, because of their destructive mining techniques. These miners are the same ones who were expelled for
damaging the Amazon and the Yanomami Indian
reservations in the Brazilian state of Roraima in
1990. The central government has been debating methods
of enforcing tougher border controls, as well as tougher statutes on the export
of gold from Venezuela, however, at present,
the state is powerless to intervene.
CASE NUMBER: 314
CASE MNEMONIC: Zambcopp
CASE NAME: ZAMBIA AND THE COPPER INDUSTRY
Since the discovery of copper deposits
in the 1920s in northern Rhodesia, which would become Zambia at independence, copper has had an
"extraordinary dominance" (Bostock &
Harvey, 1972) in the country's economy. Many
developing countries depend heavily on a few primary products for export as
their means of earning foreign exchange. Zambia, however, is an extreme case of over dependence
on the production and export of a single product; copper. Zambia is also characterized by an urban community
shaped by the requirements of the copper industry and the growth of its labor
force. The dominating conflict points for this case
are both trade related and environmentally focused. First,
Zambia's dependence on copper has been exacerbated by
its inability to influence world market prices, therefore negatively affecting
its trading ability on the international scene. Second,
Zambia's need to earn foreign exchange predominantly
through copper, has over the years created environmental problems caused by the
long and dangerous smelting processes of copper ore which heavily pollute the
air and water sources. Under trade, the country's
economy and therefore its development have been at the mercy of fluctuating
world market prices dominated by the industrialized countries.
Falling world prices have put Zambia's balance of trade into the red. Consequently Zambia is unable and rather reluctant to invest into
tightening its pollution abatement and regulation standards. Environmentally,
the most vulnerable to the pollution caused by the copper mining industry are
the people located in the immediate vicinity of the mines, i.e. the miners and
their families. However, if ever acid rain were to be produced by the gases from the copper smeltering
process, land, vegetation, water sources and people hundreds of miles away
could be affected.
4. Author and Date:
Eva Kaszala,
December 19, 2001
5. Discourse and
Status: DISagreement
and INPROGress
6. Forum and Scope:
UNEP Mineral Resource Forum
UNEP
1. 1992. Convention
on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents,
Helsinki
2. 1992. Convention
on the Protection and Use of Transboundary
Watercourses and International
Lakes,Helsinki
Ramsar Convention
UN Bilaterial Commision for Water Management
WWF
There is a bilateral agreement on trans-border
water use between Romania and Hungary, but it is insufficiently specific
7. Decision Breadth: 2 (Hungarian Republic and Romania with Esmeralda Ltd.)
8. Legal Standing: Law. Hungary sued the Australian-Romanian joint venture company
Aurul S.A., on November 27, 2001. The claim was $ 100 million.
9. Geographic Locations
a. Geographic Domain: Europe
b. Geographic Site: Eastern Europe
c. Geographic Impact: Hungary
10. Sub-National
Factors: No
11. Type of Habitat: Temperate
12. Type of Measure: REGSTD (Regulatory Standard)
13. Direct v. Indirect
Impacts: Indirect
14. Relation of Trade
Measure to Environmental Impact
a. Directly Related to Product: No
b. Indirectly Related to Product: Yes
Gold
c. Not Related to Product: No
d. Related to Process: Yes Water Polution and Species Loss Land
15. Trade Product
Identification:
Gold
16. Economic Data :
Lower tourism and fishing profits can
cause regional unemployment.
17. Impact of Trade
Restriction: Ban on Fish Products
18. Industry Sector: Mining
19. Exporters and Importers:
Romania . The National Bank of
Romania is a consistant buyer of gold. The central banks
in the developed countries reached the conclusion that the gold reserves could
no longer support the national currency and let their national currency adjust. That is why they began to sell their gold, the most active
countries in this direction are the United Kingdom and Switzerland. For an emerging market economy like that of Romania, the gold continues to be a stable support mechanism.. But it needed consolidation from the Canadian and Australian
companies that brought investment in new equipment.
20. Environmental
Problem Type: Water Pollution and Species Loss Land
21. Name, Type, and
Diversity of Species
Name: planctonic
organism, insects, fish, birds, mammals
Type: Many
Diversity: Wide diversity. The pollution affected several parts of the protected and
strictly protected National Parks in Hungary, such
as Lake Tisza, incorporated into Hortobágy
National Park (which is also an IBA area -Internationally Important Bird Area).
These have recently become part of the World Heritage program (1991), also
a Ramsar site (1979). Further areas
falling under the scope of the Ramsar Convention
(a treaty designed to preserve wetlands of international importance), and
biosphere reserves in the MAB (Man and the Biosphere) programme
of the UNESCO, are affected as well.The most affected
species were silver carp and spotted silver carp, which accounts for more
than 90% of collected dead fish.
In total, 64 species of fish were killed.
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation
of Nature and Natural Resources) status of the potected species below ( see
IUCN culomn bellow) effected by the spill: VULNERable
(partial list)
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English name/Hungarian name
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Latin name
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Protected species on IUCN's
Red List
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Grass carp (amur)
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Ctenopharyngodon
idella Cuvier et Valenciennes
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White-eyed bream (bagolykeszeg)
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Abramis sapa
Pallas
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Asp (balin)
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Aspius aspius
L.
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Roach (bodorka)
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Rutilus rutilus
L.
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Pike (csuka)
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Esox lucius
L.
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Bream (dévérkeszeg)
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Abramis brama
L.
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Clurb (domolykó)
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Leuciscus cephalus
L.
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Prussian carp (ezüstkárász)
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Carassius auratus
L.
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Silver carp (fehér busa)
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Hypophtalmichtys molitrix Cuvier & Valenciennes
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Gudgeon (fenékjáró küllo)
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Gobio gobio
L.
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Pikeperch (fogassüllo)
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Stizosteidon lucioperca
L.
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Wels
(harcsa)
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Silurus glanis
L.
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Orfe (jász)
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Leuciscus idus
L
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White bream (karikakeszeg)
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Blicca bjoerkna
L.
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Sterlet (kecsege)
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Acipenser ruthenus
L.
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Volga pikeperch (kosüllo)
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Stizosteidon volgense
Gmelin
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Bleak (küsz)
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Alburnus alburnus
L.
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Rope (laposkeszeg)
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Abramis ballerus
L.
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Zingel (magyar
bucó)
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Zingel zingel
L.
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yes
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Barbs (márna)
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Barbus barbus
L.
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Burbot (menyhal)
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Lota lota
L.
|
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Streber (német
bucó)
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Zingel streber
Siebold
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yes
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Paduc
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Chondrostoma nassus
L.
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Bighead (pettyes busa)
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Aristichthys nobilis
Richardson
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Carp (ponty)
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Cyprinus carpio
L.
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Razbóra (Kínai
razbóra)
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Pseudorasbora parva Schegel
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Selymes durbincs
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Gymnocephalus schraetzer L.
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yes
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Rifle minnow (sujtásos küsz)
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Alburnoides bipunctatus
Bloch
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yes
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European perch (sügér)
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Perca fluviatilis
L.
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Vimba (szilvaorrú
keszeg)
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Vimba vimba
L.
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Brown bullhead (törpe harcsa)
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Ictalurus nebulosus
Le Sueur
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Ruffe-ruffe (vágó
durbincs)
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Gymnocephalus cernuus L.
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Rudd (vörösszárnyú keszeg)
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Scardinius erythrophtalmus
L.
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22. Resource Impact and
Effect: High and Product
23.
Urgency and Lifetime: High and 1-10
years.
The estimated rehabilitation for the
river is 1-2 years and for the riverbed is 10 years.
24. Substitutes: RECYCling. Differing processes for recovering gold without using
cyanide. Cyanide recovery or destruction systems are
available to mining companies, but these systems are not used
frequently at this time.
VI. Other Factors
25. Culture: No
26. Trans-Boundary
Issues: YES
The spill came from Romania, flowed through Hungary and ultimately reached Yugoslavia and (again) Romania. The effect of the spill has had a huge impact on
Hungarian fish stocks.
27.
Rights: No.
28. Relevant Literature
Friends of the earth homepage
www.wwf.org
www.ramsar.org
www.redlist.org
www.iucn.org
www.importnewsusa.com
homepage of the Hungarian Enviroment
Ministry
Magyar Hirlap,
2000. articles
1/2001
