Certej dam breach
Coordinates: 45 ° 57 ′ 38.5 " N , 22 ° 58 ′ 47.4" E
The Certej-dam failure in 1971 was a flood caused by the failure of the dam of a settling tank was the Certej mine and demanded 89 deaths. They took place on 30 October 1971 in Certeju de Sus in Hunedoara County , Romania .
background
The Certej sedimentation basin was used between 1936 and 1971 to deposit cyanide and acidic sludge from the local gold mine.
The misfortune
At 4:55 in the night the dam broke over a length of 80 meters and 300,000 cubic meters of residue escaped from the sedimentation basin in the direction of the town of Certej, and flooded an area about 4–5 km below the basin. The flood completely destroyed six apartment buildings, one dormitory building and seven private houses, with 89 dead and 76 injured. Because of the early hour of the morning, most of the victims slept, which is why there were so many deaths.
Aftermath
The Romanian authorities reported only 48 deaths in the press to avoid a national day of mourning ( state mourning ). The survivors were compensated for the loss of their homes, they received housing or building materials from the state to rebuild their homes.
A government commission of 16 experts was set up to investigate the accident. According to their investigations, the sedimentation sludge has lost its stability because it has reached a height above the permitted level. In addition, the different contents of the basin may have been a reason because between 1936 and 1971 a wide variety of materials had been deposited that had different properties so that they led to it slipping.
Prosecutors questioned the dam's designer and five other people, but ended up dropping all charges because the accident could not be foreseen.
See also
swell
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i EXCLUSIVE: Certej 1971, tragedia uitată a 89 de vieţi îngropate sub 300 de mii de metri cubi de nămol , accessed on May 13, 2014, in Adevărul on August 31, 2013
Web links
- O wear the musamalizata. Amintiri de la Certej, satul înghitit de iazul cu cianura - film documentar called on April 30, 2014
- Tragedia ascunsa de la Certej. Fidel Castro, revolutionary pe viata, called on April 30, 2014
- Certej 1971, tragedia uitata a 89 de vieti îngropate sub 300 de mii de metri cubi de namol, accessed on April 30, 2014