Law Talk, Round Two

This past Wednesday, we had the opportunity to sit down with a pretty major figure in the government game. The former head of Hungary's National Disaster Management, Attila Nyikos, was willing to put up with our questions for a few hours. The National Disaster Management is comparable to America's FEMA - both perhaps with a bit of a tarnished history. According to Nyikos, this department has one crucial difference from FEMA. Back home, firefighters are a local sector. Each city or collection of towns has a fire department. Here,

firefighters are part of a centralized body. They work and act under the federal government, meaning that there are civil and fire protection activities incorporated into the National Disaster Management. Nyikos also outlined the major responsibilities in a flow-chart: prevention, recovery, and response. All three are tied together, and help the department learn from their past successes and failures. As Nyikos said, "Man is always planning and God is always deciding."

The department typically deals with the preparation for and damage resulting from natural disasters. Hungary is susceptible to frequent floods from inland waters. There is also an outstanding danger of freshwater pollution, as well as possible disasters from the pressure of geological fault lines. In the past decade, Hungary has had to address cyanide pollution in the Tisza River, a dyke breach and subsequent flood of the land along the Tisza River, and major fires resulting from extreme heat. The department does not only address natural disasters, but sometimes assists with social and political issues. They once helped in the evacuation of 9,000 citizens from Tripoli, Libya during a time of political unrest. Nyikos job must have been ever-evolving.

The topic of red sludge was inevitably raised as well. Nyikos was able to offer some new information on the topic, which I was surprised about considering the amount of times we've discussed it with other guest speakers. As it turns out, the red sludge isn't what caused the chemical burns that injured so many in Kolontar. There is a thin layer of highly alkaline water, referred to as "technical water," that rests on top of the red sludge pool. I was surprised at this new piece of information, considering it was a fairly simple concept to understand and had not been mentioned in any of our previous field studies or readings. Nyikos went on to mention that the cause of the accident is "still unknown," and may be due to layers of causes - some human, some natural. He identified the main goal of workers in the post-disaster days: keep the sludge as close to the site as possible. This not only limits the amount of damage done to property, but also limits the human toll and even the evacuation efforts of nearby towns. Essentially, there are three steps to a disaster management effort. The first is to rescue and secure all lives. The second, to stabilize the situation. The third step involves recovery and reconstruction.

Nyikos was able to shed some light on the last step, something that we haven't been able to discuss too much. 300 houses had to be destroyed because of contamination. In the wake of the demolition, Hungary's best architects stepped forward and offered to work, without pay, on the reconstruction. The government offered victims three options: build a new house, buy yourself a different house within the county, or buy a flat in another part of Hungary. Most opted for the third option, which actually surprised me at first. I thought most would opt to stay, at least within the county. The more I contemplated it, though, the more it made sense. If red sludge came flooding through Portland and destroyed my entire house, I would be devastated. I've lived in the same house for my entire life and simply cannot imagine the pain and grief that would come with losing such an integral part of my childhood. Once the demolition crews haul away the wreckage, there would

only be an empty plot where my house once stood. I can imagine standing in the void, surrounded by hulking machines carrying away the damage. I can imagine looking down at my feet and seeing the land still stained red, and wondering if the color could ever be washed from the ground. I can imagine seeing my entire history carried away with the broken boards and shards of glass, and knowing that - even built back up - nothing would be the same. And like most of the Hungarians, I can imagine wanting to get as far away from the memory as possible.

Overall, I enjoyed this past field study. At times, Nyikos showed a clear bias on behalf of his department. He seemed to shuffle most of the blame onto the company, and absolve government inspectors for their oversights. He even mentioned that an inspector did a routine check the morning of the disaster - something he saw as an indication this was all an unstoppable accident. I, however, viewed it as a spot on the government's record. Clearly the inspector did not do a sufficient check, considering there were stress fractures present on the concrete pool walls. Despite his leanings, though, I did consider Nyikos to be an intelligent speaker and enjoyed his lecture.