Environmental disaster looms in after tailings failure

Turkey — Immediate measures are needed to avert what could be an environmental disaster in Kütahya, where the collapse of a tailings dam in a silver mining and refining facility has led to concern, according to environmentalists and scientists who continued to issue warnings on Monday.

The failure of two embankments at the dam in Kütahya over the weekend threatens to turn into the most dangerous environmental crisis Turkey has faced thus far, Güven Eken says.

However, officials have said all the necessary measures have been taken to prevent leakage.

A crisis desk was established in the province following the collapse of the dam’s embankment on Saturday. The governor’s office has announced that nearby villages could be evacuated. The facility, owned by the Eti Silver Corporation, reportedly contains 15 million cubic meters of cyanide. It is located 34 kilometers from the provincial capital, near the village of Gümüş.

“We are calling for urgent measures,” said Mustafa Satılmış, the Kütahya representative of the Turkish Foundation for Reforestation, Protection of Natural Habitats and Combating Soil Erosion (TEMA). “If not, it is certain that we’ll be faced with an environmental disaster that will cause irreparable damage.” He said TEMA had grave concerns about the situation. “The amount of disinformation [on a possible cyanide leak in Kütahya] is enormous. We expect officials to make a satisfactory statement on this. We feel that not making statements on the issue won’t get us anywhere.”

Company workers continued work started on Saturday to prevent the cyanide from flowing into the first stage of the dam, from where it could leak outside, while work was also under way to strengthen the embankments.

The collapse of a tailings dam at an Eti Silver Corporation facility has led to serious concern among environmentalists and officials. The facility has stopped production and its workers are now trying to prevent a cyanide leak that could have disastrous effects on the environment.

Satılmış said although TEMA had been unable to acquire official information from technical professionals, they had been able to ascertain that a “severe risk” had formed in the tailing dam’s stages. “The embankment between the second and third stages collapsed, and now the entire burden is on the third stage. Immediate action is needed.”

The Turkish Union of Engineers and Architects’ Chambers (TMMOB) released a statement on Sunday saying that a possible leak would lead to a disaster much worse than a spill of industrial waste in October at an aluminum plant in western Hungary. The statement said
all the toxic waste now burdened the third stage of the tailings dam. “The facility has to halt its production immediately. They shouldn’t be looking for a solution, while only temporarily halting their activities. Mining activities carried out with the use of cyanide always bring death, starvation and poverty.”

The statement said that thousands could die in case of a leak. The TMMOB said if the tailings dam collapsed completely, the toxic sludge would flow into the villages of Köprüören, Kızılcakaya, Yoncalı and Örenköy, all located close to the facility. In case of
an overflow of the tailings dam, the cyanide waste could easily reach the Sakarya River through the Porsuk River and then into the Black Sea. “A disaster 25 times worse than the tailings dam disaster in Hungary that unnerved the entire world last year could happen in Kütahya any minute.”

One million cubic meters of toxic red sludge flowed from a burst reservoir at an aluminum plant on Oct. 4 in Ajka, Hungary, approximately 160 kilometers west of Budapest. Nine people died and another 120 were injured. Hundreds of people were evacuated from the area.

The statement also accused the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of withholding information from the public and called on the ministry to share the results from tests run on potable waters resources. The Chamber accused the authorities of acting sluggishly in
taking measures against the potential disaster.

However, Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Kütahya deputy Hasan Fehmi Kinay issued a statement, also on Sunday, saying officials had taken all the necessary measure to prevent a leak.

“The cyanide waste has not leaked into the environment. Our residents shouldn’t worry.” Kinay said, “Authorities have taken all the necessary measures after the tailings collapse at the silver production facility. Three officials from the Environment Ministry reached the facility shortly and intervened. According to officials, no cyanide leakage has occurred. I want our citizens in the region not to worry. Work on the collapsed sections of the dam is also still under way.”

Kinay also said he hoped the plant, where about 250 locals are employed, will be able to restart production soon.

Villages

On Sunday, some 250 people from the villages of Aliköy, Dulkadir, Gümüş, Kızılcakaya and Köprüören gathered in front of the facility to call on officials to step up measures against a possible leak. Speaking to the villagers here, Governor Kenal Çiftçi said: “The
system is under control. We will consider all other options, including evacuation, after the technical team completes its assessment.”

Chamber of Environmental Engineers (ÇMO) Chairman Murat Taşdemir, who was also at the site of the potential disaster on Sunday said, “The consequences of this would be hard to imagine.” He said the entire dam would collapse if the last embankment also failed. “Even a very slight amount of cyanide is deadly. What we have here is now 125 times the amount lethal to humans.”

Taşdemir said they wanted officials to evacuate nearby villages as soon as possible. “Hundreds might die. There will be no farming left. This could become one of the worst environmental disasters in the world.”

ETİ Gümüş A.Ş. Chairman Vahit Yıldız denied the magnitude of the threat saying: “There is no danger. We are building a new tailings dam and the cyanide waste will be moved into this.”

Yet, the locals were still extremely worried. “As far as we have heard, the last embankment moves forward by about 1 cm every three hours. There will not be a single plant or an animal left in the region if this dam fails. There was a leak about a month ago, and they added an extra four or five meters to the embankment.”

The tailings dam covers an area of 110 hectares. The facility has been in operation since 1985.

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