Difference between revisions of "Talvivaara mine: environmental disaster in Finland"

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According to the Kainuu Employment and Economic Development Centre the gypsum pond was not supposed to be used for storing waste waters, and that there had not been any special permit for that. On November 8, Minister of Environment Ville Niinistö called the leak a "serious environmental crime".<ref name="YLE1" /> Since years local people had accused Talvivaara to have extracted hundreds of tons of uranium a year without permission.<ref>http://www.stoptalvivaara.org/fi/newsstream.html as at November 12, 2012</ref>
 
According to the Kainuu Employment and Economic Development Centre the gypsum pond was not supposed to be used for storing waste waters, and that there had not been any special permit for that. On November 8, Minister of Environment Ville Niinistö called the leak a "serious environmental crime".<ref name="YLE1" /> Since years local people had accused Talvivaara to have extracted hundreds of tons of uranium a year without permission.<ref>http://www.stoptalvivaara.org/fi/newsstream.html as at November 12, 2012</ref>
 
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For several days the Talvivaara company was not able to locate the site of the leak.<ref>http://yle.fi/uutiset/talvivaara_struggles_to_find_leak/6366349 as at November 12, 2012</ref>
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For several days the Talvivaara company was not able to locate the site of the leak.<ref>http://yle.fi/uutiset/talvivaara_struggles_to_find_leak/6366349 as at November 12, 2012</ref> According to a local newspaper some 4,000 cubic metres of waste water escaped the Talvivaara mine per hour.<ref>http://www.stoptalvivaara.org/fi/waste-towards-savolax.html as at November 12, 2012</ref>
  
  

Revision as of 18:46, 17 November 2012

Since November uranium in waste waters leaks from the Talvivaara mine to the environment
1,000 protested in Helsinki
Greenpeace takes water samples at Talvivaara on November 9
Military helicopter at Talvivaara on November 9
Trucks to strengthen the leaking damns of Talvivaara's ponds

Since the beginning of November 2012 a cocktail of poisonous chemicals leaked from the Talvivaara mine in Eastern Finland to the surrounding rivers and lakes. An investigation of the Finnish Environment Institute found high levels of aluminium, cadmium, nickel, uranium and zinc in the released waste waters. In a big demonstration about 1,000 people demanded to close the mine. A petition with some 17,000 signatures was handed over to the Minister of Environment.[1]

The operator of the mine tried for weeks to close the leak. On November 8 they announced to have blocked a leak at its gypsum pond. Only half a day later a new leakage was reported. It is estimated that over 10,000 kilos of nickel and unknown amounts of uranium escaped the mine.[2]

According to the Kainuu Employment and Economic Development Centre the gypsum pond was not supposed to be used for storing waste waters, and that there had not been any special permit for that. On November 8, Minister of Environment Ville Niinistö called the leak a "serious environmental crime".[2] Since years local people had accused Talvivaara to have extracted hundreds of tons of uranium a year without permission.[3]

For several days the Talvivaara company was not able to locate the site of the leak.[4] According to a local newspaper some 4,000 cubic metres of waste water escaped the Talvivaara mine per hour.[5]


Material:


  1. ↑ http://yle.fi/uutiset/stop_talvivaara_protest_brings_carnival_mood_to_helsinki/6376956 as at November 17, 2012
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://yle.fi/uutiset/talvivaara_waste_water_leak_plugged/6369461 as at November 12, 2012
  3. ↑ http://www.stoptalvivaara.org/fi/newsstream.html as at November 12, 2012
  4. ↑ http://yle.fi/uutiset/talvivaara_struggles_to_find_leak/6366349 as at November 12, 2012
  5. ↑ http://www.stoptalvivaara.org/fi/waste-towards-savolax.html as at November 12, 2012

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