Red Sludge Alumina Factory Reservoir Pollutes Villages, Hungary

Zoltan Illes, the environment minister, told the BBC the clean-up the country's worst chemical accident would take at least one year and probably require technical and financial assistance from the European Union.
The red tide, which inundated streets and homes after the walls residue reservoir at an aluminium plant collapsed, has so far killed four people and injured 120, but the death toll is expected to rise.
Six people are missing and another eight are in critical condition in hospital, suffering from chemical burns. The sludge is a mixture water and mining waste containing heavy metals and is considered highly dangerous. In some places the torrent, which swept cars f roads and damaged bridges, was eight feet deep. It is estimated that 38.8 million cubic feet (the equivalent 440 Olympic-size swimming pools) red, poisonous sludge has affected some 15 square miles.