There has recently been a huge waste spill that is threatening the Danube River, the Marcal and several other European rivers, incl. the communities around the area. The water has covered an area of 15 square miles. What happened was, that a dam holding back millions of tons of toxic metal wastes collapsed, spreading it all over the area. 4 people are killed, 6 are missing, around 120-150 people have been injured and many people (many are injured because of chemical burns) are in danger. It does not only injure, or kill people, but also animals and plants. The one thing that is not in danger is the tourism in Hungary. All airports and hotels and other tourist places keep on functioning and going on like they usually do.
It happened the 4th of Oct. in Hungary, near Ajka. The place of the catastrophe is owned by MAL Magyar Aluminum. This all causes that there won't be possibility of growing crops inside this area, in a long time. It is going to take tens of millions of dollars to get all of it cleaned up, and a lot of money will be lost (or just not earned), because of the toxic water destroying all crops and potentially a river. The company itself have said that, according to European Union Policies, the "Red Mud" was not supposed to be dangerous, and the accident could not have been predicted or stopped in anyway. They also said that it was not due to human failure, but equipment failure that caused the accident.
Sources:
http://www.recyclingportal.eu/artikel/25222.shtml
http://www.popfi.com/2010/10/06/toxic-aluminum-sludge-floods-hungary/
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/88/i41/8841news8.html
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Hungary+toxic+spill+could+take+year+clean+Official/3631412/story.html
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