美國英語聽力80篇2 Lesson26
26) Cyanide Pollution
Last month, a deadly accident took place at a gold mining operation in northern Romania.
Cyanide poison accidentally overflowed a dam and flowed into streams leading to two major rivers in Hungary and Yugoslavia.
Millions of fish have died in the Tisza and Danube rivers.
And drinking water in the area is not safe.
International officials say the spill will cost millions of dollars and take many years to clean up.
The accident happened at a gold mine in the Romanian town of Baia Mare,near the border with Hungary.
The mine is jointly owned by Romania and the Australian Esmeralda mining company.
The cyanide spilled when heavy snow and rain caused a holding container at the mine to overflow.
The poison entered the Szamos River in Romania, and flowed to the Tisza, Hungary's second longest river.
From there, it moved across the Yugoslav border and entered the much larger Danube River.
International experts say they believe about 100 tons of cyanide flowed into the Tisza.
Environmental officials say the cyanide destroyed all life in a 400 kilometer area of the Tisza.
Cyanide is used in mining all over the world.
It helps separate gold from crushed rock.
However, it is an extremely deadly poison and must be carefully controlled.
Experts are also concerned that lead, zinc and other heavy metals also might have entered the water.
Hungarian officials fear the deadly pollution threatens all plants and animals in the area for years to come.
They have called the cyanide spill Europe's most serious environmental disaster since the nuclear accident at Chernobyl,Ukraine in 1986.
The cyanide spill has led to a dispute among thethree countries.
Hungary and Yugoslavia say Romania and the Australian mining company are responsible for the damage and should have to pay.
But Romania says it will not pay because it also suffered damages.
The European Union has promised to help Hungary and Romania clean up the cyanide spill.
It has not promised aid for Yugoslavia, which is facing international restrictions.
