The river Slaná at the beginning of June. (source: TASR)
Repairs at the iron-ore mine in the village of Nižná Slaná in south-east Slovakia are slowly coming to an end. With about 80 percent of it complete, the outflow of heavily contaminated water has been reduced. Now visibly cleaner water is flowing from the mine into the river Slaná.
In mid-February, the river turned orange. In some parts of the river, dozens of fish and crayfish have died due to the increase of various substances.
Visible effect on the river
The company Siderit mined ore in Nižná Slaná for decades, until it went bankrupt due to insolvency in 2008. Later, they cut off electricity in the mine and stopped pumping water. Water began to flood the mine, which is a natural process in unused mines.
"The leaking water is no longer so contaminated, it is colder and has a visibly less pronounced colour," said Jaroslav Šíp, head of the District Office in Rožňava. He added that the effect of the repair is visible even in the colour of the river itself. The rescue work is being carried out by the Main Mining Rescue Station.
In the coming days, laboratory assessment of water samples will also be performed, which can prove the qualitative difference.
First stage almost finished
At the end of last week, the state-owned company Rudné bane announced that the water flowing into the deeper parts of the mine had already been diverted directly to the surface. The company was commissioned to check the water levels in the mine and create a drainage tunnel through which the water was to flow into the Slaná river.
According to the head of the Rožňava District Office, the first stage of work should be completed this week. He added that authorities will continue to act to address the pollution in the river.
The Sme daily found that the cause of the environmental catastrophe is mainly due to competence disputes of the authorities and their erroneous decisions.
The river Slaná in mid-March. (source: TASR)
