Hungary Says Sludge Doesn’t Threaten Danube Wildlife

The Hungarian toxic spill, which released about the same volume of sludge as the oil disgorged after a BP Plc rig in the Gulf of Mexico, doesn’t threaten the Danube river’s wildlife because the level of alkalinity is falling, a government official said.

Alkalinity was measured at about 8 on the 14-point pH scale in the affected parts of the Danube, Tibor Dobson, a spokesman for the country’s emergency services, said by phone. The pH level was 13 at the site of the spill and the sludge killed all wildlife in the Marcal, the first river it reached.