Following pollution of the Danube, WWF urges mining industry to adopt responsible attitude and back revision of Community legislation

Brussels, 24/02/2000 (Agence Europe) - The cyanide pollution of the Danube region as a whole is no natural disaster, but an ecological disaster attributable to human activity, and in particular to industrial negligence. Underpinning with these words what seems to be obvious, WWF has launched an appeal to the mining industry to adopt, in future, a more responsible attitude, given the potential dangers linked to its activities.

"There have been too many disasters, spills, leakages and accidents involving toxic waste lagoons connected to mining. The disasters in Romania, and two years previously in the Guadiamar River in Southern Spain, were predictable and preventable, as technology now exists to eliminate these toxic residues or substantially reduce most environmental impacts of mining", Tony Long, Director of WWF's European Policy office, pointed out at a press conference. To prevent these repetitive ecological disasters, WWF says that it is imperative that the mining industry clearly commit itself to:

• Preventing toxic spills from mining waste and build toxic waste dams that cannot flood or break;
• Actively collaborating in drawing up an inventory of toxic waste lagoons connected to mining by providing the European Commission with the information lacking on the location of these lagoons - including those that have been abandoned that are no less a threat to the environment than those still in activity - and the exact nature of the waste stored;
• Conclude voluntary agreements in view of a responsible elimination of mining waste through methods offering all security guarantees, but not stop at that as such agreements which, although necessary, are not sufficient;
• Supporting the revision of European legislation that urgently needs its shortcomings attending to, notably by including mining waste in the field of application of the directive on hazardous waste (WWF considers the framework-directive on waste to be ambiguous regarding mining waste) and mining activities in the field of application of the Seveso Directive on the prevention of major industrial accidents.

This very clear message from WWF was delivered to the mining industry on the occasion of a meeting between the European Commission and representatives of this sector of activity, devoted to the environment and mining.