ATC004 - Cyanide

MAJOR CYANIDE SPILLS AND LEAKS OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS
FEBRUARY 1994, SOUTH AFRICA - Ten miners were killed when a disused slime dam at the Harmony mine in South Africa, operated by Randgold, burst its banks and buried a housing complex in cyanidelaced mud in. AUGUST 1995, GUYANA - More than 3.2 billion litres of cyanide-laden tailings were released into Essequibo river in Guyana when a dam collapsed at the Omai gold mine. Studies by the Pan American Health Organization have shown that all aquatic life in the 4 kilometer long creek that runs from the mine to the Essequibo was killed MAY 20, 1998, KYRGYZSTAN - A truck transporting cyanide to the Kumtor mine in Kyrgyzstan plunged off a bridge spilling almost two tons of sodium cyanide (1,762 kilograms) into local surface waters. Local people have reported at least 4 deaths that may have resulted from the spill. Hundreds of people also checked into local hospitals complaining of health problems following the spill. JANUARY, 2000, ROMANIA/HUNGARY - Thousands of tons of fish died in the Tisza and Danube rivers from a cyanide spill last year near Baia Mare in northwestern Romania. 130,000 cubic yards of cyanidetainted water was discharged from a gold mine reservoir into river systems in Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia. The incident is described as Europe's worst river pollution disaster in a decade. Biologists estimate that at least 5 years is needed to restock fish there, and 10-20 years for most river life to return. The upper Tisza was one of Europe's cleanest rivers and was home to at least 20 species of protected fish. Rare Osprey, river otters, fox, many other birds, mammals and wildlife are known to have died from ingesting poisoned fish. MARCH, 2000, PAPUA NEW GUINEA - The Australian mining company Dome Resources contaminated an important water system in the Papua New Guinea rainforest. While flying from the capital Port Moresby to the Tolukuma mine, a Dome helicopter dropped a crate containing one tonne of sodium cyanide pellets the most concentrated form of cyanide into the rainforest. OCTOBER, 2001, GHANA - Villages in the Wassa West District of Ghana's western region were hit by the spillage of thousands of cubic metres of mine wastewater contaminated with cyanide and heavy metals when a tailings dam ruptured at a mine operation owned by the South African company, Goldfields.. Virtually all life forms in the River Asuman and its tributaries were decimated, and people's livelihoods are endangered. Scientists fear the cyanide and heavy metal residue from the spill could remain for decades posing a health and environmental threat to the people and wildlife in the area. OCTOBER, 2001, GHANA - Two weeks after the previous cyanide spill in Ghana, a second cyanide spillage occured in Ghana again, this time in a swamp area that provides the local people with mud fish, local medicines and bamboo for a wide range of uses. NOVEMBER 2001, CHINA - Eleven tonnes of liquid sodium cyanide leaked into a tributary of the Luohe river in Henan province, China over the weekend after a traffic accident. The Luohe river is a shallow tributary of the Yellow River, the cradle of Chinese civilisation and a major waterway in northern China. Livestock Animals were poisoned and at least one person sickened by contamination. FEBRUARY 2002, AUSTRALIA 400 litres of liquid cyanide was spilled in the Northern Territory , Australia and killed over 500 birds, a dingo and some kangaroos.