Editing Tisza (section)

==Pollution==
{{main|2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill}}
In early 2000, there was a sequence of serious [[pollution]] incidents originating from accidental industrial discharges in Romania. The first, in January 2000, occurred when there was a release of sludge containing [[cyanide]] from a Romanian mine and killed 2000 tons of fish. The second, from a mine pond at Baia Borsa, northern Romania, resulted in the release of {{convert|20000|m3|abbr=on}} of sludge containing [[zinc]], [[lead]] and [[copper]] occurred in early March 2000. A week later, the third spill occurred at the same mining site at Baia Borsa, staining the river black, possibly including heavy metals.<ref name=bbc>{{cite web|title=Third pollution spill hits Hungary |date=15 March 2000 |publisher=[[BBC]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/678407.stm |access-date=11 October 2010 }}</ref>

This series of incidents were described at the time as the most serious environmental disaster to hit central Europe since the [[Chernobyl disaster]]. Usage of river water for any purpose was temporarily banned and the Hungarian government pressed the Romanians and the [[European Union]] to close all installations that could lead to further pollution.<ref name=bbc />

Examination of river sediments indicates that pollution incidents from mines have occurred for over a century.<ref name=springer>{{cite journal |author=H. L. Nguyen |author2=M. Braun |author3=I. Szaloki |author4=W. Baeyens |author5=R. Van Grieken |author6=M. Leermakers |title=Tracing the Metal Pollution History of the Tisza River |journal=Water, Air, and Soil Pollution |volume=200 |pages=119–132 |date=2009 |doi=10.1007/s11270-008-9898-2 |s2cid=94627373}}</ref>