Ecological catastrophe: Toxic Sludge Kills 3

This week, I read in the news about a disaster in Hungary that killed 3 people. The main points of the article are:

• affected Veszprem, Gyor-Moson-Sopron and Vas counties
• Six people were missing on Tuesday and 120 injured
• contaminated mud burst out of containment pond at nearby Ajkai Timfoldgyar Zrt plant
•  chemical burns caused by the sludge could take days to reveal themselves and what may seem like superficial injuries could later cause damage to deeper tissue
• elderly woman, a young man and a 3-year-old child were killed
• about 35.3 million cubic feet of sludge has leaked from the reservoir and affected an estimated area of 15.4 square miles

The disaster agency said 390 residents had to be temporarily relocated and 110 were rescued from the flooded towns, where firefighters and soldiers were carrying out cleanup tasks. Local environmentalists said that for years they had been calling the government's attention to the risks of red sludge, which in a 2003 report they estimated at 30 million tons.

I feel awful that this happened to the country of Hungary. The government had been warned about the risks of red sludge, and they chose to ignore the warning. Ignoring it caused many people and the environment to suffer. I hope that they can get the mess figured out, and try to fix it as best they can.