Crews drain surplus from second sludge reservoir in wake of toxic red mud flood

Surplus drained from second sludge reservoir

KOLONTAR, Hungary — An official says caustic water is being drained from an industrial reservoir near the one that ruptured in western Hungary and sent a torrent of red sludge into hundreds of houses and waterways leading into the Danube.

Tibor Dobson told the state MTI news agency that 100,000 cubic meters (3.5 million cubic feet) of the fluid is being gradually released into a local river already declared dead in the wake of Monday’s environmental catastrophe. The move is apparently meant to prevent new spills of toxic material.

Dobson said Friday that gypsum will be dropped into the river to neutralize the alkaline effect of the fluid.

The red sludge entered the Danube Wednesday amid fears that it will kill off the river’s fish and plant life. But there have been no reports of major damage to the waterway’s ecosystem.