Geochemical recovery of the Torna-Marcal river system after the Ajka red mud spill, Hungary

Anton, Á. D.; Klebercz, O.; Magyar, Á.; Burke, I. T.; Jarvis, A. P.; Gruiz, K.; Mayes, W. M.

Abstract

The failure of the Ajka red mud depository in October 2010 led to the largest single release of red mud into the surface water environment. This study provides a comparative assessment of stream sediment quality in the Torna–Marcal–Rába catchment between post-disaster surveys (2010) and follow up surveys at an identical suite of 21 locations in 2013. The signature of red mud apparent in initial surveys with high Al, As, Cr, Na, V was only apparent at a small number of sample stations in recent surveys. These constitute 20 km reach of affected sediments in the immediate aftermath of the spill. Concentrations of red mud-derived contaminants are predominately associated with fine fractions of the red mud (

Citation

Anton, Á. D., Klebercz, O., Magyar, Á., Burke, I. T., Jarvis, A. P., Gruiz, K., & Mayes, W. M. (2014). Geochemical recovery of the Torna-Marcal river system after the Ajka red mud spill, Hungary. Environmental science--processes & impacts, 16(12), 2677-2685. https://doi.org/10.1039/c4em00452c

• Acceptance Date: Oct 6, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Oct 7, 2014
• Publication Date: Oct 7, 2014
• Deposit Date: Nov 10, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 23, 2017
• Journal: Environmental science : processes and impacts
• Print ISSN: 2050-7887
• Electronic ISSN: 2050-7895
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 12
• Pages: 2677-2685
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c4em00452c
• Keywords: Red mud, Ajka red mud spill, Hungary, Contaminants, Stream sediment quality
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/381058
• Publisher URL: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2014/EM/C4EM00452C#!divAbstract
• Additional Information: Copy of article first published in: Environmental science : processes and impacts, 2014, v.16, issue 12.