How to improve the safety of tailing management facilities (TMF)? The answers will be investigated by a multinational project, in which the University of Ostrava and the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic will be involved
Places where metals ores or solid fuels were mined and processed in the past do not remain completely without consequences. So-called tailings ponds are formed on them, in which hazardous waste is often stored. There are many such places in Europe. And that's why the international project SAFETY4TMF was launched. The international consortium under the guidance of the Ministry of Public Administration and Regional Development of Hungary initiated the international SAFETY4TMF project that will be realised as part of the Interreg Danube subsidy program co-financed by the European Union (ID DRP0200484). In the next years, the focus will be on activities that should lead to the prevention or management of disasters related to the failing of these tailings. The project brings together a total of 17 partner organizations from ten European countries. Among them the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ostrava and the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic are present. The project was launched by a Kick-off Meeting on March 19 and 20 in the premises of the Ostrava Museum, where representatives of all partner organizations will gather.
The unique SAFETY4TMF project, which is implemented as part of the Interreg Danube subsidy program, brings together a total of 17 partner organizations from 10 countries of the Danube region: Hungary, which is the project leader, the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Serbia. Czech Republic is represented by the University of Ostrava (Faculty of Medicine) and the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic.
"The aim of the project is to share experience at the international level, and above all to improve prevention, preparedness and activities in the management of potential cross-border disasters related to the management of tailing facilities after mining and processing of raw materials such as metal ores and solid fuels. TMF failure can lead to a high level of risk. There are a number of such places in the Danube region where hazardous waste deposits areafter mining. After all, the project was initiated by colleagues from Hungary which has bitter experience with some of the biggest environmental disasters that destroyed the natural environment of Europe in the 21st century," explains prof. Pavel Danihelka from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ostrava, saying that everyone can undoubtedly still remember the transboundary disaster in Baia Mare, when at the beginning of 2000, approximately 100,000 cubic meters of wastewater, heavily contaminated with cyanide and heavy metals after gold mining, leaked into the Szamos River. Contaminated water then destroyed life in the Szamos River in Romania, as well as the Tisa River in Hungary and partly in the Danube, where the concentration of cyanide was eventually diluted. "The event is often referred to as the worst enviromental disaster in Europe since the Chernobyl accident. Another disaster took place in 2010, when burst the dam of the tailings pond of the aluminum plant near the village of Kolontár, which was heavily damaged by mud with a high content of arsenic, mercury and chromium," adds profesor Danihelka.
Lead Partner: The Ministry of Public Administration and Regional Development, formerly the Ministry of Interior, serves as the Lead Partner for the SAFETY4TMF project. With extensive experience in project coordination and a focus on municipality coordination, disaster management, and water management governance, the Ministry is well-suited to lead the consortium. The Ministry's core ambition is to enhance the coordination skills of municipalities, acting as the governmental coordinator for all Hungarian municipalities. With a rich portfolio of past projects and comprehensive project management experience, the Ministry is a competent and experienced leader for the SAFETY4TMF initiative.
Eszter Laib, Head of Department at the Ministry of Public Administration and Regional Development: "As the lead partner of the SAFETY4TMF project, our primary goal is to enhance the coordination skills and preparedness of municipalities. We understand the vital role municipalities play in managing the risks associated with tailing facilities. By equipping them with the necessary knowledge and crisis plans, we aim to mitigate the potential consequences of environmental disasters. This project is crucial for safeguarding the well-being of our communities and the environment."
The multinational project involves not only academic experts on the issue, crisis managers, environmentalists, firefighters and rescuers, but also ministry workers. And thanks to cooperation with organizations such as the Union of Towns and Municipalities, also representatives of public administration at the local level, who would be most affected by the possible consequences of an environmental disaster. The project will include trainings, workshops, conferences, visits to selected locations, stakeholder round tables, and above all, the creation of a methodology and strategy with care recommendations, risk prevention and crisis plans applicable in the event of disasters. At the same time, all activities have a common goal, to improve safety in connection with the management of tailing facilities at local and international level.
"It is important to attract representatives of municipalities to the issue of tailing facilities. It is precisely the towns and villages located near them or downstream that will be most affected by a possible disaster and can have fatal consequences. Therefore, the representatives of the municipalities must know these localities and must be prepared for any situation, have crisis plans, know who to cooperate with for a solution. The SAFETY4TMF project will help a lot in this," says Radka Vladyková, executive director of the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic.
Lead Partner:
The Lead Partner was the the Ministry of Interior but the policy area of local governments, under which we operate the project moved under a newly formed ministry, the Ministry of Public Administration and Regional Development from the 1st of Januar 2024. The LP is well suited for the Lead Partner position, having the necessary management experience on the one hand and municipality coordination areas, integrating water management and disaster management governance on the other, putting it into the centre of simultaneous sectoral and vertical cooperation. A core ambition of the LP is to support the coordination skills, abilities and competencies of municipalities (as the governmental coordinator of all municipalities of Hungary). HUMoI gained experience in project coordination through projects like MICACC, NBS4LOCAL, LOCALIENCE and LOGOS4WATERS. It participated as Lead Partner in other EU-funded projects as well: OPs under the Structural and Cohesion Funds and projects funded by other EC instruments. This comprehensive, interlinked portfolio and the extensive project management experience make LP a competent and experienced.
Partners from the Czech Republic:
The Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic unites more than 2,800 municipalities in which 80% of the population of the Czech Republic lives. The union is a partner for government and parliamentary political representation. It participates in the preparation and creation of proposals for legislative measures in areas related to the competences of municipalities. The activity of the Association is primarily based on the activity of mayors and municipalities representatives, who, in addition to their duties in their city or village, also deal with general problems of self-government.
The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ostrava is the youngest medical faculty in the country and has undergone dynamic development in recent years. As the second faculty in the Czech Republic, it opened its own SIMLEK simulation centre, which helps students prepare as best as possible for their future profession, especially from a practical point of view. The University of Ostrava
Venue:
The Ostrava Museum represents the city of Ostrava, the third largest city in the Czech Republic, and its unique historical and social development, natural wealth and unique cultural landscape, which is undergoing a significant revitalization in the 21st century and comes to terms with the legacy of the 20th century, when the city was a mining and industrial centre of ancient Czechoslovakia.
Updated: 21. 03. 2024
