International

“It's taking too long to ban cyanide in the mining of gold. It's a menace to our waters and biodiversity. Its use must stop forthwith." So says SP Euro-MP Kartika Liotard, one of the movers of a resolution aimed at getting the European Commission to introduce a ban on the use of cyanide in all mining operations.

Spills

In 2000, the biggest environmental disaster in central Europe's history occurred. Hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of water laced with the extremely aggressive poison cyanide poured through Romania into the rivers, killing almost all life within them. The chance that something of this nature will again occur is seen as real. Worldwide, cyanide spills continue to be a regular occurrence.

Resolution

"Despite this, we continue with its use within the EU, even in heavily populated areas. That's why we've brought forward this resolution. We want the European Commission to do everything necessary to put a complete stop to the use of cyanide, and in 2010. The right want to draw it out. They will only endorse our resolution if it states that the ban will not be put in place until the end of 2011. If there's no way round this I'll resign myself to it, but it's ridiculous to have to go through this kind of trade off in what is after all the UN year for the protection of biodiversity.”