On May 7, one of the embankments of a tailings dam in the Eti Silver Corporation silver mining and refining facility in the western province of Kütahya collapsed. Authorities set up a crisis desk and assured measures had been taken to prevent any cyanide from leaking into nearby agricultural fields.
However, a press release the Chamber of Environmental Engineers issued on Wednesday said results from a water sample taken from a fountain in the village of Köprüören, used as drinking water in the area, had revealed the presence of 0.071 parts per million (ppm) of cyanide, which it said was above the legally allowed limit of 0.050 ppm and should normally not be found at all in potable water. Köprüören is 4.5 kilometers from the facility. The sample-taking and testing was conducted by Greenpeace, the statement added.
The amount of cyanide in the water, which the statement said was 40 percent higher than the legally allowed limit, was from a sample taken on the fifth day after the embankment collapse, the statement recalled. “As we have said in earlier statements, the leaking cyanide is expected to leak into underground water resources starting the 10th day of the accident. We predict that the amount of cyanide in and below ground water resources will continue to increase. Under the Turkish food codex, the groundwater in the region is not fit for drinking,” the statement said, adding the chamber had notified the villages in the region through the local muhtar (village head) offices.
The chamber urged the Kütahya Governor's Office to send drinking water supplies to villages in the region and officially share with the public the results of the tests conducted on water samples from the region. It said any consequences that might arise from the residents using or drinking the groundwater in the region will be the responsibility of the governor's office.
The chamber said they were continuing to test samples from the region's water supply, adding that the presence of other heavy metals in addition to cyanide was likely to be detected in these new samples. The statement also accused officials, recalling their earlier statements that there was no danger to the people of the region, of misleading the public.
