Red Remediation

On Monday, Oct. 4, 2010, a storage reservoir belonging to a Hungarian aluminum refinery, the Ajkai Timfoldgyar plant, burst releasing a 6–8ft wave of “red toxic sludge” with the volume of 35 million cubic feet roaring behind it. The sludge, enough to fill 440 Olympic swimming pools, killed nine people, injured more than 120 people, and contaminated plant and wildlife over a 16-square-mile area.

Hearing the term “red toxic sludge” conjured up images from those bad Toxic Avenger movies from the 1980s. I took a personal interest in this story because I have friends and family members living in Hungary, although not near the devastated towns of Kolontar and Devecser.

The red toxic sludge is a byproduct of the alumina extraction process. During aluminum (Al) production, alumina (Al2O3) is first extracted from bauxite under pressure using sodium hydroxide at 150-200°C (Bayer Process). Continue reading “Red Remediation”