After the Spill: Hungary vs. the United States

Even though my working knowledge of Hungary starts with an empire and ends around the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, I will say this: The country has done a fine job responding to one of the worst industrial disasters in its history this week.

It started last Monday, when toxic red sludge breached through the wall of a waste-retaining pond of an alumina plant in Western Hungary, sending a chemical deluge down a small stream and tearing through the countryside. At least eight people and countless wildlife died, dozens had bad chemical burns, an entire town was forced to evacuate, and the Danube River won't recover for a long time. (Check out the shocking NASA photos, h/t to Treehugger).

In the time since, the government has not only waved its fist about holding MAL ZRT, the Hungarian Aluminium Production and Trade Company, accountable, it has also taken strong action. Let's compare, since the U.S. has experienced its share of disaster this year.

After the Hungary toxic sludge episode:

1) The government temporarily seized the company's assets, and parliament voted overwhelmingly to put the company under state control—both to make sure the victims would be compensated.

2) The government has pursued charges against high-ranking officials at the company, on Monday arresting the managing director for negligence because the company "did not prepare well enough emergency and rescue plans in case of an accident."

Or course, the government faced criticism for its actions, but it batted them down. According to the Financial Times, “This is ridiculous to call it nationalisation,” Janos Martonyi, foreign minister, said. “[The company] has been taken over on a temporary basis. Appointing a government commissioner is a most normal and reasonable way to act and would have happened in any other country.” Peter Szijjarto, the prime minister’s spokesman, said the commissioner’s team was charged with “safely restarting the company, preventing the siphoning off of assets and making sufficient funds available for damage compensation."

3) The prime minister has taken a hands-on approach—surveying damaged homes, and assuring victims "human negligence" would be punished.

After the BP oil spill disaster:

1) Congress spent all summer arguing over lifting the $75 million cap on oil spill liability, and still has failed to do so. Instead, President Obama had to meet with BP officials to implore them to voluntarily agree to a $20 billion fund to compensate victims and repair untold damage to the Gulf ecosystem.

2) While the Department of Justice did launch an investigation, no one—at BP, at Transocean, or at Halliburton—has been held accountable for this disaster (unless you count BP CEO Tony Hayward resigning, but that was his own doing, or you could count BP's shareholders). No arrests have been made, unless you count journalists and protesters.

3) No disaster was ever declared, and now, after Obama lifted the deep water drilling moratorium this week,  BP and all other oil companies can go back to drilling-as-usual. Today, the pace of BP's compensation payments remains "unacceptable," according to the Department of Justice.

There may be major cultural and political differences between Hungary and the United States, but, in the case of ecological and humanitarian disasters, these differences should not apply.You sign this petition to make BP pay for its damage if you agree.

Photo credit: NASA

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