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Luca
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 178 |
Alkaline mudslide in Ajka
I'm sitting here at work (hence no Facebook and no chatting stuff available), reading several online press about the disaster in Ajka, Hungary: dozens of wounded ppl because of the alkaline mud, and some dead ones too.
I can't hide my anxiety about Poison, Cargo, Leon and all the ppl of Singular and Chorus which live there in Ajka.
If anybody has success in collect infos about their health and their status in general, would be very appreciated. Thank you in advance, crossfingering. |
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Oswald
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 5086 |
on facebook I see Cargo and Leon commenting on it 14hrs ago, so they must be fine. Poison lives in Budapest.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=194458&fbid=1311179236.. |
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Oswald
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 5086 |
http://hvg.hu/itthon/20101005_timfoldgyar_attort_gat_legifelvet.. |
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Luca
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 178 |
That's terrible :( |
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NecroPolo
Registered: Jun 2009
Posts: 231 |
That is more terrible than it seems :(
I hope them guys are alright. |
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Oswald
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 5086 |
Just talking to him. Leon will be working on those gates from tommorow 6:00, probably a 24 hr shift. For some days... Fingers crossed. He will drop a post here from time to time to show he is alright. |
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jailbird
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 1578 |
Considering the toxicity...
"Caustic soda is a bit like boiling water. It can cause severe burns but if you dilute it with 10 times the quantity of freshwater it's not a big deal any more. It's not really toxic and you'll find it in the ingredient list of your shampoo.
The mixture of insoluble minerals that gives the mud its red color and sludgeyness is not so different from potter's clay. It contains a somewhat higher concentration of lead oxide and uranium oxide than in usually present in potter's clay so you probably don't want to make any vessels for food or water from it. Otherwise I wouldn't worry about it. BTW, both minerals used to be added to pottery intentionally in the past.
It's a serious incident but the imagery of "toxic red sludge" is media sensationalism. If the same number of deaths and injuries were caused by an industrial fire this wouldn't get much further than the local news.
The reason this stuff is slightly more radioactive than the earth under your feet is simply that the approximately 50% aluminum oxide that was present in the ore was removed so the trace radioactivity in the remaining 50% has been concentrated by a factor of 2. Same for lead."
That said, I'm deeply concerned and hope for the very best. Look out for yourself there, Leon! |
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Luca
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 178 |
Heh, image -> sensationalism, dead+wounded ppl -> something else I guess.
The reddish sludge looks like mostly bauxite to me.
Safe moves, Leon, please! :| |
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jailbird
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 1578 |
The deaths were caused by drowning when the huge dam was ripped apart. The toxic fluid is not harmless, but not deadly either (except if someone drowns in it, all right). I mentioned this just to calm down those who are afraid that the water which flooded the villages may have serious aftereffects. The media (or at least the Hungarian I know of) is indeed puffing this up to the level of "a new Chernobyl accident in the middle of Europe". |
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Luca
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 178 |
I read that the wounds were alkaline caused burns, and, yes, alumina is actually an alkali. |
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jailbird
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 1578 |
That's right, people were wounded by the toxic waste but up to my knowledge, only one death was reported till now (three are still missing), and it wasn't caused by the waste's toxic effect. Sure it hurts and burns when it meets the skin, but it could be washed off with plain water.
Hungary's most popular news portal has a banner headline where it is comparing the accident to Hiroshima. I mean, yes it's a terrible disaster, people were hurt, but come on. After the dam is fixed and the streets are cleaned up, everything will be back to relatively normal.
Edit: don't get me wrong, I really don't want to understate the catastrophe, just wanted to attest that there's no need for further panic, and perhaps it's a way to make myself sure that my old pals Leon and Cargo and their families are more than all right. |
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