Comments on: Toxic Sludge Floods Hungarian Countryside, Threatens the Danube River http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/10/06/toxic-sludge-floods-hungarian-countryside-threatens-the-danube-river/ 80beats is DISCOVER's news aggregator, weaving together the choicest tidbits from the best articles covering the day's most compelling topics. Tue, 22 May 2012 14:26:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Jennifer Welsh http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/10/06/toxic-sludge-floods-hungarian-countryside-threatens-the-danube-river/comment-page-1/#comment-334124 Jennifer Welsh Thu, 07 Oct 2010 22:16:32 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=21029#comment-334124 Thanks all for reading and commenting. This story is very sad for the people who have died, not to mention those whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed. @Katherine, if I had to make a guess off the top of my head I might say that its possibly too expensive of a process for too small of an amount of those chemicals for this waste to be useful as a source of them. Just a guess though. @The Canadian, I think its slightly unfair to be blaming the Hungarian Government for this tragedy. They had checked on the company and their safety/upkeep records for the sludge tank. Right now it seems that the company was following industry standards to the storage of the sludge -- just like any other alumina refinery in any other country. We can't say for sure yet if there was some dangerous or unsafe thing the company (or even just one employee) was doing to cause the leak. Anyway, thanks all for sharing your opinion! Jen Thanks all for reading and commenting. This story is very sad for the people who have died, not to mention those whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed.

@Katherine, if I had to make a guess off the top of my head I might say that its possibly too expensive of a process for too small of an amount of those chemicals for this waste to be useful as a source of them. Just a guess though.

@The Canadian, I think its slightly unfair to be blaming the Hungarian Government for this tragedy. They had checked on the company and their safety/upkeep records for the sludge tank. Right now it seems that the company was following industry standards to the storage of the sludge — just like any other alumina refinery in any other country. We can’t say for sure yet if there was some dangerous or unsafe thing the company (or even just one employee) was doing to cause the leak.

Anyway, thanks all for sharing your opinion!

Jen

]]> By: Katharine http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/10/06/toxic-sludge-floods-hungarian-countryside-threatens-the-danube-river/comment-page-1/#comment-333828 Katharine Thu, 07 Oct 2010 18:44:52 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=21029#comment-333828 Question: These are the contents of the waste as reported by the Hungarian Science Academy: -Iron (III) oxide -Aluminum oxide -Titanium dioxide -Calcium oxide -Sodium oxide All of these are recyclable and usable. Iron oxide is usable as chemical feedstock for the iron industry, pigment, and contrast agent. Aluminum oxide is usable as a catalyst, gas purifier, and abrasive. Titanium dioxide is usable as a pigment and sunscreen ingredient. Calcium oxide is usable as quicklime. Sodium oxide is usable as a source of sodium hydroxide. Why was this waste not recycled? Question:

These are the contents of the waste as reported by the Hungarian Science Academy:

-Iron (III) oxide
-Aluminum oxide
-Titanium dioxide
-Calcium oxide
-Sodium oxide

All of these are recyclable and usable.

Iron oxide is usable as chemical feedstock for the iron industry, pigment, and contrast agent.

Aluminum oxide is usable as a catalyst, gas purifier, and abrasive.

Titanium dioxide is usable as a pigment and sunscreen ingredient.

Calcium oxide is usable as quicklime.

Sodium oxide is usable as a source of sodium hydroxide.

Why was this waste not recycled?

]]> By: Dante The Canadian http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/10/06/toxic-sludge-floods-hungarian-countryside-threatens-the-danube-river/comment-page-1/#comment-333821 Dante The Canadian Thu, 07 Oct 2010 18:42:00 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=21029#comment-333821 It is a disgrace. A disgrace of that company that produced the toxins in the first place and a disgrace of the Hungarian Government for not spotting this potential disaster and forcing the company to do something about it. It is a disgrace. A disgrace of that company that produced the toxins in the first place and a disgrace of the Hungarian Government for not spotting this potential disaster and forcing the company to do something about it.

]]> By: Jennifer Welsh http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/10/06/toxic-sludge-floods-hungarian-countryside-threatens-the-danube-river/comment-page-1/#comment-331617 Jennifer Welsh Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:37:56 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=21029#comment-331617 There is a really stunning gallery of pictures of the sludge at Boston Globe's Big Picture Gallery: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/10/a_flood_of_toxic_sludge.html There is a really stunning gallery of pictures of the sludge at Boston Globe’s Big Picture Gallery: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/10/a_flood_of_toxic_sludge.html

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