800 000 cubic meter bauxite residue slurry flew out through the broken dyke at the corner of the 10th reservoir running downstream along the valley of Torna creek in the direction of Devecser and Somlóvásárhely.
The overflowing slurry originated from the upper level of the storage pond, while the settled dense solid remained in the pond. The dense solid material is continuously releasing alkaline lechate leaking into the Torna creek however it is being neutralised before reaching theTorna creek. .
The high density sludge settled in the pond is thixotropic. Thixotrophy is the property exhibited by certain viscous gels or fluids of becoming fluid when stirred or shaken and returning to the semisolid state upon standing.
Heterogeneity of the sludge contained in red mud ponds is a typical characteristic given that the material moving and flowing in the pond is fractionated. The grainsize is coarser in the area of the incoming feed and finer on the opposite side. The alkalinity of the sludge may vary by 3-4 pH units in various points of the pond. This can be correlated with the the grainsize of the settled red mud.