After 90 days of pollutants flowing into the Sajó river’s Slovakian section, Hungary’s Minister of Agriculture reaches out to Slovak colleague for answers

“The Sajó river and its wildlife is our shared natural heritage. So my first trip abroad after being inaugurated as Minister of Agriculture will take me to Slovakia for a meeting with its Minister for Environment. I have initiated a meeting because of the contamination of the Sajó which we must handle immediately” – István Nagy, Hungary’s Minister of Agriculture announced on his Facebook page on Sunday.

It was in early March that chemical substances started pouring into the Sajó from a previously closed Slovakian iron ore mine. Back then many have warned of a threatening ecological disaster. Soon afterwards, measurements showed that 2.4 tonnes of contaminants, including arsenic, were flowing into the river every day. When we visited the location, it was clear that even the gills of the fish were covered in rust.

Nothing was done for more than two months afterwards, until the middle of May, when it was found that an ecological disaster had indeed occurred, as the wildlife in the upper reaches of the Sajó had practically died out. When Telex spoke to an expert, he said that

“a 15-kilometer stretch of the river had basically become a fish cemetery, and it’s only a matter of time before high concentrations of the pollutants reach Hungary.”

We have asked the Minister of Agriculture István Nagy, what steps he has taken in the case and exactly what he would be demanding from his Slovak colleague. As soon as we receive answers, we will update our article.