Talvivaara mine: environmental disaster in Finland
Since the November 4, 2012[1] 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.[2]
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.[3]
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".[3] Since years local people had accused Talvivaara to have extracted hundreds of tons of uranium a year without permission.[4]
For several days the Talvivaara company was not able to locate the site of the leak[5]. Since the beginning of the catastrophe, the mine has discharged hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of toxic effluent into the nearby environment[6]. According to a local newspaper some 4,000 cubic metres of waste water escaped the Talvivaara mine per hour[7]. Greenpeace called it "Finland's biggest chemical catastrophe in history"[1].
The mine has leaked heavy metals like cadmium and nickel into its surroundings and nearby lakes. The uranium concentration in the effluent has risen by 100-200 times its normal level in the bottom and surface waters.[6]
Material:
- Talvivaara leak newsstream
- video of the rally in Helsinki on November 14 Finnish
- photos of the rally in Helsinki (free to use, source must be mentioned)
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/chemical-spill-finland/blog/42935/ as at November 12, 2012
- ↑ http://yle.fi/uutiset/stop_talvivaara_protest_brings_carnival_mood_to_helsinki/6376956 as at November 17, 2012
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://yle.fi/uutiset/talvivaara_waste_water_leak_plugged/6369461 as at November 12, 2012
- ↑ http://www.stoptalvivaara.org/fi/newsstream.html as at November 12, 2012
- ↑ http://yle.fi/uutiset/talvivaara_struggles_to_find_leak/6366349 as at November 12, 2012
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://www.sll.fi/ajankohtaista/tiedotteet/2012/concern-over-toxic-leak-from-europe2019s-largest-nickel-mine-in-north-eastern-finland as at November 12, 2012
- ↑ http://www.stoptalvivaara.org/fi/waste-towards-savolax.html as at November 12, 2012
