Doñana disaster
Native name | Desastre de Aznalcóllar |
---|---|
English name | Aznalcóllar disaster |
Date | 25 April 1998 |
Time | 03:30 ( CEST) |
Location | Aznalcóllar, Seville, Spain |
Coordinates | 37°29′33″N 6°13′31″W / 37.492603°N 6.225202°W, |
Type | Environmental disaster |
Cause | Embankment failure |
Outcome | Toxic spill |
Casualties | |
None | |
170 kg (370 lb) of crayfish and 37.4 t (36.8 long tons; 41.2 short tons) of fish | |
Arrests | Several, including public employees |
The Doñana Disaster, also known as the Aznalcollar Disaster or Guadiamar Disaster (
The Los Frailes mine is owned by Boliden-Apirsa (formerly Andaluza de Piritas, S.A.), the Spanish subsidiary of Boliden, and produces about 125,000 t (123,000 long tons; 138,000 short tons) of zinc and 2.9 million troy ounces (200,000 lb; 90,000 kg) of silver per year.[3]
History
The park is one of Europe’s best known conservation areas and has been designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve, a
National Park
Doñana National Park, just east of
Environmental effects
As a result of the ecological disaster, nothing survived because of the high acidity of the waste, which contained a mixture of lead, copper, zinc,
Economic consequences
The mine, owned by Boliden Ltd. of Sweden, has spent more than US$52 million cleaning up, repairing damage and reimbursing farmers for lost crops.[8] Most of the cleaning that was done by the clean up crews was dumped into a large ditch that was empty. As a result, most of the area that was affected is now new and clean. This was the country's worst environmental disaster. The cleanup cost as of 2002 was reported to be €276M.[12] In 2014, The Guardian reported that Spain had decided to further spend €360M on restoring the landscape.[9]
Projects
Although the Doñana Disaster turned out to be one of the worst catastrophes in Europe, there have been speculations about reopening the long gone mine. One reason for the suggestion is that the area is a home for thousands of birds that migrate from different continents. The main cause as to why supporters have been talking about reopening the mine is for the economic reason that there are riches in the land. Reopening the mine would provide 1,000 jobs.[9] The process would not be as easy to accomplish, as skeptics suggests reopening the mine would lead to a consecutive burst. Nonetheless, the secretary-general for Innovation, Industry and Energy of Andalucía, Vicente Fernández Guerrero, explained that the mine license would stipulate only modern mining techniques would be allowed.[9] Fernández Guerrero also included that no liquid would be used under the exercise of the best technology in the world, which would avoid the creation of poisonous wet tailing.[9]
See also
- Baia Mare cyanide spill (2000)
- Health crisis
- Val di Stava dam collapse (1985)
- Ajka alumina plant accident (2010)
References
- ^ Aguilar Ruiz, José; Dorronsoro Fernández, Carlos; Fernández Ondoño, Emilia; Fernández García, Juan; García Fernández, Inés; Martín Peinado, Francisco; Ortiz Bernad, Irene; Simón Torres, Mariano (2000), El desastre ecológico de Aznalcóllar [The ecological disaster of Aznalcóllar] (in Spanish), University of Granada, archived from the original on 17 March 2011, retrieved 10 October 2010
- .
- ^ a b Boliden Says To Reopen Aznalcollar On Tuesday, 7 April 1999, archived from the original on 3 March 2016 – via PlanetArk
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ignored (help). - ^ "El desastre que amenazó Doñana" [The disaster that threatened Doñana], El País (in Spanish), 6 October 2010.
- ^ a b "Donana National Park, Spain". National Geographic. 8 April 2011. Archived from the original on 16 April 2011.
- ^ a b Short, Vicky (19 January 1999). "World scientists meet to discuss Coto de Doñana disaster". wsws.org.
- ^ a b "Doñana National Park". UNESCO.
- ^ ProQuest 431170966
- ^ a b c d e McKie, Robin (26 April 2014), "Spain's wetlands wonder is under threat for a second time in 16 years", The Guardian
- ^ "10 años del desastre de Aznalcóllar" [10 years since the Aznalcóllar disaster], El País (in Spanish), 25 April 2008
- ^ Genillo, Elena (4 July 2023), "El desastre de Aznalcóllar, a juicio 25 años después" [The Aznalcóllar disaster taken to court after 25 years], La Razón (in Spanish)
- ^ Chambers, David M. (May 2012), Long Term Risk of Releasing Potentially Acid Producing Waste Due to Tailings Dam Failure (PDF), Center for Science in Public Participation, pp. 7, 12
- Ginige, Tilak (2002), "Mining Waste: The Aznalcóllar Tailings Pond Failure", European Energy and Environmental Law Review, 11 (3), Wolters Kluwer: 76–88, S2CID 127059884