Sludge Spill Spells Disaster

Just last week Zoltan Bakonyi, director of the Hungarian company linked to Hungary's red sludge disaster, was let out of custody due to lack of evidence of his involvement in the spill. The article states: 

"Nearly 200 million gallons of caustic red mud — a byproduct of the conversion of bauxite to alumina, for aluminum — poured out of a reservoir after part of a containing wall collapsed. The cascade killed eight people and injured hundreds. Hundreds more have been forced from their homes, and tens of millions of dollars in private property has been destroyed."

This statement shows how extreme this disaster was, as well as how easy Bakonyi was let off. First and foremost, the sludge spill killed eight people and injured hundreds more. It is unfathomable that Bakonyi wasn't charged for murder as well, on top of millions of dollars of restitution owed from the property damage. And, what can certainly not be looked over is the impact this spill has on the environment. This spill leaked 200 million gallons of toxins into a residential area. The effect it will have on the environment will be vast. And although the government is going to attempt to control this disaster, the spill cannot be reversed. Plant life and animal habitats in the area will be affected greatly, and people in the area are going to struggle greatly as well. Overall this disaster will have a large affect on the environment, and is going to put the government to the test as well.