Water Contamination and Political Crisis

A gold mine—jointly owned by Romania and an Australian company—dumped cyanide-tainted water into a major river in Romania in January 2000, killing fish and endangering the health of people in several countries.

Political

• Countries weigh the need to encourage investment with the need to protect their environment and people. Strict regulations are often seen as a deterrent to investment.

Economic

• Who should pay for the clean up and help alleviate the economic impact?
• Fish were killed and water resources damaged, causing economic repercussions for years to come.

On January 30, 2000, a massive spill of water with a high cyanide content occurred at the Aurul gold mine, Baia Mare, in northwest Romania. A reservoir at the mine overflowed its dam as a consequence of heavy rain and winter snowfall, and an estimated one hundred thousand cubic...