The Tisza River report, by Jasper Maaskant
On January 30, 2000 a dam of the process water impoundment of a metal ore processing plant in Romania collapsed. At least 100.000 m3 of water containing high concentrations of cyanide and heavy metals flew into the small river Lapus. Hence the pollution proceeded through the river Szamos, Tisza and the Danube. The disaster resulted in a extensive mortality of river life.
Characteristics
River basin: 153.000 km2
Length: 946 km
Usage:
- industry: mines which have process water impoundments.
- lumber exploitation
Disaster
On January 30, 2000 a dam of the process water impoundment of a metal ore processing plant in Romania collapsed. At least 100.000 m3 of water containing high concentrations of cyanide and heavy metals flew into the small river Lapus. Hence the pollution proceeded through the river Szamos, Tisza and the Danube. The disaster resulted in a extensive mortality of river life.
Recommendations
After the disaster several recommendations have been done to prevent further environmental damage to the system and to try to develop a ecosystem which is durable.
- An inventory should be made of all the potential environmental problems of the impoundments, and result in an action programme for solutions to these problems.
- The drinking water supply in areas potentially affected by impoundments has to be improved so as to minimise liability to pollution.
- The Environmental Protection Agency (APM) needs reinforcement with respect to finances and / or expertise, for an adequate consideration of license requests and supervision over licensed activities.
- A guideline system for handling environmental calamities has to be impleded, as well as a chemical database and a water quality alarm model.
The Romanian and Ukrainian Authorities are willing to tackle the problems for a start to a durable ecosystem- but only if the European Union provides the funds.
Abstract
This abstract is about the riverbasin of the Tiszariver. It describes the riverbasin and the cyanidedisaster at Baia Mare.
The riverbasin of the Tisza
The Tisza is a river in the middle of Europe. It flows through the following countries:
Ukraine, Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia. The riverbasin has an area of 153.000 km2. The Tisza collects and drains the waters of the eastern half of the Carpathian basin. The source of the river is at the foot of the Magyar-havasok mountains, in today’s Ukraine. In the mountains it is rushing, full of energy, rolling great rocks. It enters Hungary at Tiszabecs, by the source of the Batár stream and it’s current is still very strong. Down from Vásárosnamény the river becomes ‘blonde’ because of the sandy sediment and it gets slower, slower and lazier, but it only becomes a real old plains river when it leaves the county at Tiszadob and spreads into the spacious plains. The length of the Tisza from the source of the Black Tisza to the estuary on the Danube is currently 946 kilometres. Originally the river was about 1420 km long but because of the canalisation in the 19th century it has shortened a lot.
On the way from the Hungarian border to the Bodrog estuary it receives the waters of the Batár and Borsa streams, the rivers Túr, Szamos and Kraszna, as well as the Lónyai main channel collecting the waters of the Nyírség region.
Usage
There is a lot of industry in the riverbasin of the Tisza. Many foreign companies have activities there because of the low costs that are involved there. The environmental regulations are not so strict as in many other (richer) countries. There are a lot of mines which have proceswater impoundments.
There is also many lumber exploitation. Because of that there is much run off from the mountains. That causes floods in the area which endangers the dams from the impoundments.
The river basin of the Tisza River
The cyanidedisaster at Baia Mare in January 2000
Om January 30, 2000, the collapse of the enclosure dam of the process water impoundment of the metal ore processing plant S.C. Aurul S.A. at Baia Mare, Romania, caused at least 100.000 m3 of water containing high concentrations of cyanide and heavy metals to flow into the small river Lapus. Hence the pollution proceeded through the river Szamos, the river Tisza and the Danube.
With the progress of the impoundment water through the system, extensive mortality of river life has been observed. In the Tisza were large amounts of dead fish found.
Recommendations
After the disaster several recommendations have been done to prevent further environmental damage to the system and to try to develop a ecosystem which is durable.
- An inventory should be made of all the potential environmental problems of the impoundments, and result in an action programme for solutions to these problems
- The drinking water supply in areas potentially affected by impoundments has to be improved so as to minimise liability to pollution
- The Environmental Protection Agency (APM) needs reinforcement with respect to finances and / or expertise, for an adequate consideration of license requests and supervision over licensed activities
- A guideline system for handling environmental calamities has to be impleded, as well as a chemical database and a water quality alarm model
The Romanian and Ukrainian Authorities are willing to tackle the problems for a start to a durable ecosystem- but only if the European Union provides the funds.
Links
http://www.encarta.com - search for riverbasins and then Tisza or Danube
http://wall.szabinet.hu/terkep.html
http://www.rec.org/DanubePCU/outputs/icdrbm.html
http://www.ern.org/danube/prs01_01.htm#010201
http://www.tisaforum.org.yu/index-e.html
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