the work and recommendations of the baia mare task force

THE WORK AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE BAIA

MARE TASK FORCE

by

Kálmán MorvayManaging Director

of

Tisza-Szamos Public Benefit Co.

Hungarian Representative to the BMTF.

Rivers for Life - Water, Environment and Health in Central and Eastern Europe

Break down of Tisza River Basin

Country Catchment area Population

[km2] [%] [Inhabitants]

Romania 72 627 46,2 6 652 800

Hungary 42 217 29,4 4 233 600

Slovakia 15 248 9,7 1 396 800

Ukraine 12 733 8,1 1 166 400

Serbia & Montenegro 10 375 6,6 950 400

Total: 157 200 100,0 14 400 000


Background of the BMTF

• HISTORY of BAIA MARE ACCIDENT• The climatic condition (it was not extreme)

– Temperature rise to 9.5 0C,– Precipitation 10.0 m/m.

• The breach of the DAM– 100 000 m3 of tailing water with high concentration of cyanid

(120 tonnes) and heavy metals flowed to Lapus River.• Baia Borsa accident

– Torrential rainfall 120 m/m and temperature rise,– 25 wide breach on 10 March,– 20 000 tonnes tailing from Novat →R.Vasar, → R Viseu →

River Tisza.


ESTABLISH OF BMTF by Ms M. Wallström,Environmental Commissioner of EU.

• Aims of BMTFWhat happenned and why ?What damage was caused ?What other dangereous sites remain in the Tisza River Basin ?

What measures were recommended to minimaise the risk of similar accident ?

• ParticipantsChairman:, Mr Tom Garvey, internationally approved expertMembers: Repr. UN ECE,

Repr. Danube Carpathian Programme, WWF,Repr. ICPDR, Vienna,Dept’y Director General, DG Environment, EC,

2 Representatives from countries involved (RO and HU)


WHAT HAPPENNED AND WHY ? (I.)

•Baia Mare tailing pond (owened by Aurul, happened at 30 January,2000.)

- melting process by precipitation, superposition,- design : clsose circuit, no emergency discharges,- overflow the dam and washed away a strech of embankment wall 25 m long and 2.5 m deep,- approx. 100 000 m3 tailing water containing high CN concentration (120 tonnes) and heavy metals.


WHAT HAPPENNED AND WHY ? (II.)

•Baia Borsa (state owned REMIN, at 10 March,2000)

- second and third dams supported the primay dam structure,- dam was overflowed: 100 000 m3 of water and 20 000 tonnes of tailing sludge with heavy metals flowed from Novat to R.Vasar → R.Viseu → River Tisza,- the breach was 25 m wide, 10 m high,- the down stream area is a specially protected nature area.


WHAT HAPPENNED AND WHY ? (III.)

•Design- the design in both cases contained no provision for emergency discharges of excess water,

• Construction- bad stability of embankment walls (‘construction by operation’),- the material of walls was a bad mixture of coarse and fine grade,- no freeboard was created,- the hydrocyclons didn’t operate in the low temperature.


WHAT HAPPENNED AND WHY ? (IV.)

•Monitoring- the water level monitoring was visual,- no care was taken to the rapid rise of temperature from -13 to + 9 0C.

•Conclusion of why happened- use of an inappropriate design of TMF ,- acceptance of design by the permitting authorities,- inadequate monitoring and dam construction, operation and maintainance.


WHAT DAMAGE WAS CAUSED ? (I.)

•Public health impacts- no one was killed or seriously ill,- several municipal water supplies should be closed,- the CN dispersed and not bioaccumulated,- long term effects by heavy metals should be monitored.

•Environmental impacts- plankton: was completely killed,- molluscs and benthic: organisations survived. Evidence of mayfly (‘Tisza Flower’) flown everage over the past three years,- fish: 1240 tonnes were collected,maily in the upper strech of R.Tisza,- birds & mammals, some eagels were died reported,- otters, there was no significant evidence of die.


WHAT DAMAGE WAS CAUSED ? (II.)

•Socio-economic impacts

- fishery sector: ban of fishing, low catch,- tourism: some owners of holyday resort loss foreign tourists,

- combatting cost (other water resources for drinkingwater in Szolnok and Bozanta Mare),

- industry and investment prospects: no significant effects could be detected.


WHAT OTHER DANGEREOUS SITES REMAIN IN THE TRB ?

•The ICPDR prepared potential pollution hot spots

- see next slide, (It is under the self report)

• Survey of mining tailing ponds in Maramures Region, Ro

- 9 similar ponds are existing as the Bozinta reservoire,

•Survey of tailing hips in Maramures Region, Ro

- 311 existing and abandoned sites were detected in differet conditions.


WHAT MEASUES WERE RECOMMENDED TO MINIMISE THE RISK OF SIMILAR ACCIDENT ? (I.)

• Prohibition of closed-circuit in TMF (Tailing Management Facilities),• No new TMF is allowed to use CN in open elements, only CN-

free water/slurry is pumped into the tailing ponds,• CN and other hazardous materials should be removed in the plant before the tailing, (It was recommended to the Romanian authorities as soon as possible in the Aurul facilities),• Strengthening EU legislation,• Accelerate the participation by all EU states and accession countries of relevant UN ECE Conventions and Protocolls,


WHAT MEASUES WERE RECOMMENDED TO MINIMISE THE RISK OF SIMILAR ACCIDENT ? (II.)

• Other recommendations

Designed and approval:

- apply EIA studies and Directive 85/337/EC,

- no close-circuit is allowed (emergency storage facilities),

- detoxification facility ‘in plant’,

- specific design guidelines to the pond embenkment,

- permitting should be simple and transparent.


WHAT MEASUES WERE RECOMMENDED TO MINIMISE THE RISK OF SIMILAR ACCIDENT ?

(III.)Operations:

- the operator’s duty to take care for safety to humans and environment,

- operating permit follow the international standards (ISO 9000, ISO 14 000, EU’S EMAS scheme,- SEVESO II. Directive need to be applied by EU and accession contries.

Waste management- Waste Fremwork Directive and Directive for Landfill should be taken into account,- the operators should clearly know their obligations,- an Industry Guidance Document can be prepared.



(IV.)Closure- closure plan, including remediation for after care of TMF’s should be prepared,

- operators should maintain fund for works above,- regulatory framework must be implemented from design to closure and after care.

Abandoned sites- Government should take care for these sites if there is no detected owner,


OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE (I.)

• Potential threat from the upper Tisza watershed

e.g. results of survey in Maramures County

- 9 tailing ponds,

- 311 existing and abandoned hips,

- Rosia Montana case.

• Three operating sites in EU-15 and Turkey

- the Boliden Concentrator in N.Sweden,

- Rio Narcea in N.Spain,

- Ovacek in SW part of Turkey,

all sites apply CN destruction and continuous supervision.

• There are no mines use HG for gold extraction in Europe

• Large part of gold production comes from recycling

electric scraps.


OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE (II.)

• To promote a ‘safety culture’ in mining and ore-process

operation

- negotiation is members in the process,

- directive on the management of waste from the extractive industries will be signed in mid

2005,

- aim: no cyanide technology out of the plant.


ROLE OF NGO’S

• Participation in the regulatory processEIA studies, design, permitting,active involvment in the law formulation/legislation.

• Dissemination of effects and actions– public meeting,– training for what to do,– surveillance on potential pollution sources,– alert/reporting on pollution cases.


Thank you for your attention !

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