Abstract
One of the most severe industrial catastrophes happened in Kolontár, Hungary, on 4 October 2010. Red mud (bauxite residue) broke through the eroded wall of the red mud reservoir pond “Number X” and flooded the surrounding area. This led to the instant death of 10 people and the injury of more than 100 people. Red mud is enriched in radium and thorium isotopes; therefore, there is a chance that this flooding will increase radionuclide concentrations of soils and also in air. In this study we have examined the site to assess the realistic radiological risks. For the risk assessment the following parameters were determined: gamma dose rate, radon concentration, radionuclide concentration of red mud and air dust concentration. It was found that the radiation dose exposure resulting from red mud contamination was < 0.045 mSv y−1 (excluding radon), which can be considered negligible when compared to the average annual effective dose from natural sources (2.4 mSv y−1).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
EN 12341 (1999), Air quality. Determination of the PM10 fraction of suspended particulate matter. Reference method and field test procedure to demonstrate reference equivalence of measurement methods, European Committee for Standardization, European Standard Publ. Fazekas, J. (2001), 75 years of bauxite mining in Hungary, Bányászati Lapok 134, 506–551 (in Hungarian).
Gelencsér, A., N. Kováts, B. Turóczi, A. Rostási, A. Hoffer, K. Imre, I. Nyirő-Kósa, D. Csákberényi-Malasics, A. Tóth, A. Czitrovszky, A. Nagy, S. Nagy, A. Ács, A. Kovács, A. Ferincz, Z. Hartyáni, and M. Pósfai (2011), The red mud accident in Ajka (Hungary): characterization and potential health effects of fugitive dust, Environ. Sci. Technol. 45,4, 1608–1615, DOI: 10.1021/es104005r.
Hind, A.R., S.K. Bhargava, and S.C. Grocott (1999), The surface chemistry of Bayer process solids: a review, Colloid Surf. A 146,1–3, 359–374, DOI: 10.1016/S0927-7757 (98)00798-5.
ICRP-103 (2007), The 2007 recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection, ICRP Publication 103, Ann. ICRP 37,2–4, 332 pp.
Jobbágy, V., J. Somlai, J. Kovács, G. Szeiler, and T. Kovács (2009), Dependence of radon emanation of red mud bauxite processing wastes on heat treatment, J. Hazard. Mater. 172,2–3, 1258–1263, DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.07.131.
Marshall, M. (2010), Lax laws led to Hungary caustic flood, New Sci. 208,2782, 6, DOI: 10.1016/S0262-4079 (10)62488-8.
Milačič, R., T. Zuliani, and J. Ščančar (2012), Environmental impact of toxic elements in red mud studied by fractionation and speciation procedures, Sci. Total Environ. 426, 359–365, DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.03.080.
Schmitz, Ch. (2006), Handbook of Aluminium Recycling, Vulkan Verlag, Essen.
Scholten, L.C., L.M.M. Roelofs, and J. Van der Steen (1993), A survey of potential problems for non-nuclear industries posed by implementation of new EC standards for natural radioactivity, KEMA Report, 40059-NUC 93-5203, Arnhem.
Schüttmann, W. (1993), Schneeberg lung disease and uranium mining in the Saxon Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge), Am. J. Ind. Med. 23,2, 355–368, DOI: 10.1002/ajim.4700230212.
Somlai, J., V. Jobbágy, J. Kovács, S. Tarján, and T. Kovács (2008a), Radiological aspects of the usability of red mud as building material additive, J. Hazard. Mater. 150,3, 541–545, DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2007.05.004.
Somlai, J., V. Jobbágy, K. Somlai, J. Kovács, Cs. Németh, and T. Kovács (2008b), Connection between radon emanation and some structural properties of coal-slag as building material, Radiat. Meas. 43,1, 72–76, DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2007.10.028.
Somlai, J., J. Kovács, Z. Sas, P. Bui, G. Szeiler, V. Jobbágy, and T. Kovács (2010), Exposure assessment related to the damage of the red mud reservoir, Magy. Kem. Lapja 65, 378–379 (in Hungarian).
Sorantin, H., and F. Steger (1984), Eigenradioaktivität von verschiedenen Materialien, Atomkernenerg. Kernt. 44, 4 (in German).
UNEP (1996), Environmental and safety incidents concerning tailings dams at mines: results of a survey for the years 1980-1996 by Mining Journal Research Services, Report prepared for United Nations Environment Programme, Industry and Environment, Paris.
UNEP (2001), Tailings dams — risk of dangerous occurrences: lessons learnt from practical experiences, Bulletin 121, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) and International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), Paris.
UNSCEAR (1988), Sources, effects and risks of ionizing radiation, United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, Report to the General Assembly with Annexes, United Nations, New York.
UNSCEAR (2000), Sources and effects of ionizing radiation, United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, Report to the General Assembly with Scientific Annexes, United Nations, New York.
UNSCEAR (2008), Sources and effects of ionizing radiation, Volume I — Sources, Report to the General Assembly Scientific Annexes A and B, United Nations, New York.
USCOLD (1994), Tailings dam incidents, U.S. Committee on Large Dams (USCOLD), Denver, Colorado.
WHO (2009), Handbook on Indoor Radon: A Public Health Perspective, World Health Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kovács, T., Sas, Z., Jobbágy, V. et al. Radiological aspects of red mud disaster in Hungary. Acta Geophys. 61, 1026–1037 (2013). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11600-013-0113-5
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11600-013-0113-5