国际英语新闻：Head of Hungarian firm detained for toxic sludge spill

BUDAPEST, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The chief executive of the Hungarian aluminum plant that had a toxic sludge spill last week has been detained and the company will be taken over by the government, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Monday.

Orban asked parliament to allow the establishment of a new commissioner in his cabinet to oversee the issue.

The "Disaster Management Commissioner" would have to be authorized to manage all the operations and assets of the Hungarian Aluminum Production and Trading Company (MAL), Orban told parliament.

The commissioner would manage the company until such time as all issues surrounding the disaster are resolved, Orban said. He called on parliament to set up this position before the end of the day.

The spill has left eight people dead and 150 others injured,,and devastated the ecology of the region and local waterways.

Calling the spill the most serious ecological catastrophe ever to hit Hungary, he said his government had to see to it that the victims received compensation, that people working in the aluminum facility kept their jobs, that no further environmental damage occurred, and that responsibility be identified.

Meanwhile, three chemistry and ecology specialists, authorized by the European Union, arrived in Hungary and another two are expected shortly.

They will spend the next three days in the field and announce their conclusions and recommendations on Friday, Disaster Management Authority chief Gyorgy Bakondi told a news conference on Monday.