MOSCOW, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Predictions of a harsh winter in Russia could lead to toxic floods if dams break in the cold, a Greenpeace activist said.
Ivan Blokov, program director for Greenpeace in Russia said a cold and snowy winter could create problems for the environment, state-run news agency RIA Novosti reports.
"Bearing in mind the dire state of many hydraulic structures in the country we cannot exclude the risk of a recurrence of the Hungarian accident, except (next time) in Russia," he was quoted as saying.
There are about 280 billion cubic feet of industrial waste held in sludge reservoirs in Russia, which is about 10,000 times the amount that spilled in Hungary.
Five experts in environmental remediation arrived Monday in Hungary to assess the damage from a toxic sludge, the European Union announced.
The Hungarian government last week called on the EU to send a team of environmental experts to help mitigate the damage from a red, metal-laden sludge contaminating the city of Ajka.
Around 24 million cubic feet of toxic red mud covered buildings, leaving more than 120 people injured and at least seven others dead.
The toxic sludge reached a tributary of the Danube River after leaking from a chemical plant about 100 miles west of Budapest. The plant held toxic byproducts left from the conversion of bauxite to aluminum.
