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| Press Release from The European Commission DG XI, Environment, Nuclear Safety and Civil Protection, date : Brussels 16/02/2000
A dam at the Aurul smelter of the "Baia Mare" goldmine (owned by Aurul SA, a
joint venture between the Australian Esmeralda Ltd and the Romanian State) at Sasar,
Romania broke on 30 January 2000 at around 20:00 GMT. This caused cyanide compounds to
enter streams which flowed into the Lapus river a tributary to the Somes (Szamos) river
that then flowed into the Tisza river and finally into the Danube. According to the
Secretariat of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube, the Romanian
authorities reported the incident on the 31/1/2000. According to information transmitted an estimated 100.000 m3 of mud and wastewater with
a 126 mg/litre cyanide load entered the Lapus River on 30/1/2000. Measurements on the
1/2/2000 at Satu Mare on the Somes showed a maximum concentration of cyanides reported to
be 7,8 mg/litre (compare with maximum limit value for surface waters of 0,01 mg/litre).
Subsequent reports show that the question of waste loads remains a key uncertainty of this
major disaster. First estimates indicate that the 30-40 kilometre long contaminated wave has wiped out
flora and the fauna of the central Tisza River with damages estimated of hundreds of
thousands of euro. Environmental experts fear that some rare and unique species both of
flora and of fauna have been endangered, e.g. the five ospreys living in the Hortobagy
National park. However, the water supply of the two largest cities along the Tisza River, Szolnok
(120.000 inhabitants) and Szegod (206.000 inhabitants) was not endangered due to efficient
precautionary measures. The cyanide contamination seems to be continuously diluting. In fact, the authorities
in Hungary and in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia are reported to have detected a drop
in the cyanide concentration, as the chemical becomes further diluted, but levels are
still highly dangerous. Moreover, the risk does not relate to cyanide only. Heavy metals,
dangerous for the eco-system, were also released in the river. The Hungarian and Romanian authorities have set up a joint commission of experts in
charge of monitoring and evaluating the damages. According to the Hungarian authorities, a
final assessment of the damages will not be ready before the end of March. Some international legislation aim to ensure a better protection of transboundary
watercourses and could have been relevant in this type of cases, i.e. the UN/EEC
Convention on the protection and use of transboundary watercourses and international
lakes, the UN/EEC on the transboundary effects of industrial accidents and the Convention
for the protection of the Danube. However, not all the states concerned are parties to
this Convention. All these conventions are based on a certain number of important environmental
principles as the precautionary principle and the polluter-pays principle. Chemical
accidents and limitation of their impact on transboundary waters is also dealt with in the
context of these conventions, and they provide a framework for studies on measures to
improve international coordination and prevention of accidents. However, these texts do
not provide for liability of polluters. In the framework of the Civil Protection Task Force of the European Commission, the
Finnish and Swedish Authorities have support from seven experts within the areas
ecotoxicology, water system ecology, spreading models for water pollution and emergency or
rescue management. Finland is responsible for carrying out an important project on
development of rescue actions based on dam-break flood analysis within the Community Civil
Protection Action Programme. Financial support in the context of the pre-accession aid instruments could be
considered. However, in any case, the "Polluter Pays Principle" will be part of
the situation analysis, and possible assistance cannot be used to cover the
responsibilities of the company involved. DG Environment has been informed on the 15th February 2000 by the World Bank of their
availability to contribute to the re-habilitation programmes. On 25 April 1998, the breach in the tailings dam at the Aznancollar mine (Andaloucia,
Spain) created a flow of over 5 million cubic metres of toxic waste which polluted a large
area approximately 4500 hectares on the border of the Doņana national park. Shortly before the Donana Accident there was an incident which did not lead to any
serious consequences at an old mining wastes dam in Grängesberg, Sweden. A general review
of all such dams in Sweden has been started by the Swedish Rescue Services Agency together
with the Boliden Mining Company. The management of waste from the extractive industry can lead to environmental problems
due to the volume and the potential hazardousness of mining and quarrying waste. The issue
of waste from extractive and quarrying activities requires therefore further
investigation. DG ENV has launched in 1999 an analysis on the existing legislation and
practices concerning the management of waste from the extractive industry. The final
report is expected by June 2000. Directive 75/442/EEC on waste as amended by Directive 91/156/EEC
applies to waste from the extractive industry. Moreover, this Directive establishes that
Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that waste is recovered or
disposed of without endangering human heath and without using processes or methods which
could harm the environment. The deposit of waste in a pond is a waste disposal operation covered by Directive
99/31/EC on the landfill of waste. This Directive came into force on 16 July 1999
and will be effective by 16 July 2001. The Directive lays down requirements concerning the
authorisation of landfills, the technical construction of landfills, the types of waste
acceptable at landfills and the monitoring procedures for landfills. Although the
Directive is not yet applicable, there are a number of requirements which would have
helped to prevent the accident: The location of the landfill must take into consideration i.e. the
distance from groundwater or superficial water and the risk of flooding, subsidence,
landslides or avalanches. Appropriate measures must be taken to control water from precipitation
and prevent it from entering into the landfill body. The storage of waste on the site must be done in such a way to ensure
the stability of the waste and the associated structures, particularly to avoid slippages.
The landfilling of liquid waste is forbidden. Any waste must be
pre-treated before being landfilled. A monitoring programme for the control of water, leachate and gas is
laid down. The monitoring results must be reported to the competent authorities. Installations of "chemical concentration of metals from ore"
are considered by annex 1 (cat. 2.5.a) of the IPPC Directive (Directive 96/61/EC).
The concerned activities must use safety issues from Best Available Technics, and control
and prevent accidental pollution. It is up to local permits from authorities to specify
notification and payment systems in case of damage to environment. The IPPC Directive is
applicable since 1999 for new activities, and in 2007 at the latest for existing ones. This accident has illustrated the need for a horizontal regime of environmental
liability, as envisaged by the White Paper on Environmental Liability, which was adopted
by the Commission on 7 February. An inventory of situations and practices in the field of management of mining wastes,
undertaken prior to the accident, is underway (final report expected by June 2000). Discussions with Member States have started (first conclusion expected for mid-2000) in
view of changing the classification category of dangerous waste and including these wastes
in the Hazardous Waste list. Furthermore, in the draft water framework directive currently under discussion in the
European institutions, calls in its article 11.3 (i) for measures at watershed level
including "measures required to prevent significant leakage of pollutants from
technical installations, and reduce the impact of accidental pollution incidents",
and "systems to detect or give warning of such events". From a civil protection point of view, the experience from the Baia Mare accident in
Romania also clearly demonstrates a need for improvement of the early warning system. Telephone: +32 2 299 66 60 |
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