The Baia Mare and Baia Borsa Accidents: Cases of Severe Transboundary Water Pollution

Introduction A dam at the Aurul smelter of the Baia Mare goldmine at Sasar, Romania, broke on 30 January 2000 at around 20:00 GMT. This caused cyanide compounds to enter the Lapus river, a tributary of the Somes (Szamos) river, and from there enter the Tisza, one of Hungary’s largest rivers, and the Danube upstream of Belgrade, and finally the Black Sea. The resulting acute transboundary pollution could have had a serious impact on biodiversity, the rivers’ ecosystems, local drinking water supply and the socioeconomic conditions of the local population. Just five weeks later, on 10 March 2000, torrential rains and melting snow from the slopes surrounding the Novat artificial reservoir at a mine in Baia Borsa, in Maramures County, where the town of Baia Mare is also located, led to an unmanageable rise in the reservoir’s water level. This article briefly describes these accidents and their aftermaths, and studies the relevant international legislation in such cases. This raises the following questions: – What are the lessons to be learnt from this disaster? – In the context of the accession of Hungary and Romania to the European Union (EU), is the EU well prepared to address such accidents with regard to its environmental legislation?