“Water Chernobyl”

 Toxic chemical that is used in mining and other industries

 Cyanide was used in Romania at a mining operation  Separates gold from rock  After it is used it was stored behind a dam

 January 30,2000  Rain swelled the pond and it reached a dangerously high level  The dam burst releasing 100,000 cubic meters of cyanide water into the Szamos River  Equivalent to 30 Olympic pools

 Szamos River in Romania  Went across Hungary and entered the Tisza River  Tisza empties into the Danube  Went across Serbia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria and then into the Black Sea

 Dead fish  Killed 200 tons of fish  Hundreds of otters  Fish-eating birds died

 Other animals that ate or drank from the water died.

 Affected the water supply of 2.5 million people  Shut down water systems

 Warned people to stay away from water  Canceled trips to area

 Did not last long  Breaks down in sunlight  When reached the Danube – no longer toxic to fish  Take years for the river to “get back to normal”

 Mining  Farming – chemicals and fertilizers  Boats  factories

 Different groups working on helping the Danube in the future  “Danube Day”

A Burst Dam Releases Deadly Chemicals  Write the name of the country that was the source of the water pollution. On the map, color the source of the water pollution.  Then complete this sentence: Accidental water pollution occurred when… Cyanide Flows into the Danube River System  Summarize how the pollution spread. Names two countries most affected by the pollution.  Then complete this sentence: One consequence of the spread of water pollution across borders was… Efforts to Reduce Water Pollution  Describe one effort to reduce water pollution. Then complete this sentence: _______________________ help to reduce water pollution by…