Report about the red mud

Von Kalocsai Kinga (11.10.2010)

In the morning of 8 October, 2010, on Sunday I went to Devecser, to the village which is affected by the red mud with the help of two cameramen. A few minutes after 10 am we arrived to the closed village, where the police told us that there will be a press conference of the Environment State Secretary, Zoltán Illés in Ajka which is a city close to the red mud area and after the press conference they will let the media go inside with military buses. We went to Ajka, where journalists, cameramen were already waiting from Japan to several countries of Europe, the 80% of them were foreigners, but the most important Hungarian media were also there.

At 11 am the environmental state secretary made a briefing. He told that as he promised now he let the press go inside to the affected areas by the red mud and also to the reservoir of the red mud. He said that we wont stop in Devecser, they will only drive through and they will let us go out from the bus only in Kolontár (another affected village by the red mud) and at the reservoirs. He told that they decided not to let us speak and make interview with the affected people, we can make interview only with him. (This was the reason why we didnt stop in Devecser, because there are people who still live there.)

After the press conference the journalist started to get on the three buses, I took a camera bag of the two cameraman with whom I went down and got on one of the buses. I was lucky, nobody asked me who I am and what I am doing there, so as the only one civil person I could manage to go to the red mud area with the press.

I didnt have any protection clothes, I didnt have any mask, but I was not alone with this situation. Nobody told us that we should use it, and there were no chance to get it. They let us go inside without any protection.

The 3 buses went to Devecser with police accompaniment. We only went through Devecser. Red mud were everywhere on the streets, it was horrible to see. The people, who still live there, were standing in front of their houses and were watching our buses. They didnt have any mask, nor gumboots, they were standing on the streets full with red mud without any protection

We went through Devecser and between the two villages we stopped, where they are building now a deflector dike. Zoltán Illés told that the dike will be ready in three days, what is a great thing in his opinion and he also said that one of the whole wall of the injured reservoir can fall down in every minute, and it can happen before the dike will be ready. He told that he gives maximum one week to the wall, but he mentioned that it could already fall down on Saturday. I asked someone from the disaster management and he affirmed it. Here I would like to add something about the dike. I am not a professional, but what I saw that was nothing and I dont know how it will be ready for Monday night.

When we got of from the buses where the dike was built, I felt that something is not good in the air and something is very wrong with that, it was hard to breath and I felt my lungs heavy (even so I am a smoker, I never felt this). Few journalist who were without masks as me, were a little bit scared from this. I was looking around and I realized that most of the workers of the dike dont have any protection mask at all

From here we went to Kolontár (another affected village by the red mud). When we entered the village, I felt like in a ghost city. Here I realized that Devecser was nothing comparing to Kolontár. Everything was red in Kolontár. I got of the bus, still without mask. We went around the village. It was horrible. While we were walking there, people were coming in protection clothes, but on the other hand I saw a policeman without any protection clothes and mask. I asked him why he doesnt have any mask. He answered, because nobody forced him to wear it. (But there is law for labour safety!). Most of the workers were without any mask also in this village. (Finally I got a mask here from someone after 2 hours) The workers were making something with the red mud with shovels, but they didnt put it anywhere, only from one side to other, without any sense. Some other was dousing the pathway, but the red mood flowing back, so it was also without any sense. What I saw here, it made me cry, but I was not alone with it

There was a house, where we could enter; it was full with red mud. All the personal stuff of the family was there, the knife was still on the table and so on. I saw a family photo, which was swimming in the red mud, I didnt make a photo about that, it was too horrible. Nothing left in Kolontár, everything is covered by the red mud. Despite this, the state secretary told us that they will renovate the houses and then the families can decide if they want to move back or not But I think they shouldnt let them to decide, as everything is toxic, and the red mud is still there, so it is already too deep in the soil

After the two hours what we spent in Kolontár we went back to the buses and went to the reservoirs. They told us that we will go up for our own responsibility as the wall can fall down in every second The first reservoir what we saw was a new one, only filled one quarter of it. When we were there, it was filled with toxic mud in that moment also. They fill it also today, despite the catastrophe, the company still works The press asked Zoltán Illés about this. We didnt get right answer; he was speaking something about courts (So why has Hungary a government? Doesnt the government have the right to close it?). From here we went to that reservoir, from where the red mud went off. It was possible to see that how high was the red mud in the reservoir before the broke. I also could see that it was much higher than it could be. It was only around one meter from the top At the top of the reservoir there were a road round, on the road everywhere were red mud, at not at that part where it broke, but on the other part. The red mud also flowed to another reservoir of another kind of sludge, which is more toxic. We went to that part of the reservoir where it was broken. The police didnt come with us close to the break. They told, that they dont want to die and if we want to go there, only for our own responsibility. The policemen and firemen were scared, they told that if the wall will fall down, the whole side of the reservoir will fall down and they will also die from that point where they were standing, even if they didnt come too close with us. It could fall down even in that moment when we were there. The situation is very serious and dangerous. I saw the flaws on the wall of the reservoir with my own eyes. It is already a miracle that the whole wall didnt fall the till this moment.

From here we went back to Ajka, when we left the red mud area the bus was cleaned with water, as disinfection. But they didnt do anything with us, we took home the red mud with us

I would like to add one more thing, since yesterday everybody attacking Zoltán Illés, the environment state secretary in Hungary that he shouldnt raise panic, with that the wall will fall down for sure But I would say, that he is the first person who told the truth

I will go back on Wednesday to speak with the affected people what they didnt let us on Sunday.

Kalocsai Kinga is a Member of the EL executive board

Report about the red mud

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