Brussels, 08/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - European solidarity is kicking in to help Hungary combat the crisis and impact on its ecosystems of the highly alkaline, toxic red sludge that has leaked into the Danube from a damaged sludge depository. A liaison officer for the European Commission's Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC), which is coordinating the aid provided by the various member states under the EU's Civil Projection Mechanism, will be on site on Saturday to greet the experts being sent in by the member states in response to Hungary's request for aid on Thursday evening, announced the European Commission on Friday 8 October.
On Friday evening, Hungary was still examining the CVs of the available experts and EU Crisis Response Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva praised the member states for their massive response.
The Hungarian government has called for aid four days after an accident at an aluminium factory contaminated a Danube confluent with thousands of tonnes of sodium hydroxide. Hungary is requesting between 3 and 5 experts with strong experience in handling toxic sludge, decontamination and mitigation of environmental damage. The MIC has been in close contact with the Hungarian authorities since the accident and is closely monitoring the situation. (A.N./transl.fl)