God secures the rights of his people who call out to him day and night, Jesus assures us in this Sunday’s gospel. It is not yet clear where victims of a huge toxic mud spill in Hungary can turn to secure their rights.

The managing director of the company responsible for the spill, taken into custody Monday and accused of negligence by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was released from custody Wednesday by a court which cited lack of evidence of wrongdoing, at least at this stage of the investigations.

A week ago nearly 200 million gallons of caustic red mud--a byproduct of the conversion of bauxite to alumina, which is used to make aluminum--poured out of a reservoir after part of its containing wall collapsed. The cascade killed nine people and injured more than 120. Many more have been forced from their homes, and private property worth tens of millions of dollars has been destroyed.

The spill also polluted a tributary of the Danube River and spread heavy metals into the soil, damaging farmland. Samples taken in the vicinity of the spill contain high levels of arsenic, for example.

The environmental group Greenpeace measured air pollutants on Tuesday and said on its website the concentration of atmospheric fine dust particles was up to six times higher than safe levels. “Those in the area are at risk of very grave health consequences without protective equipment,” Greenpeace said.

The prime minister has blamed “human negligence” for Hungary’s worst ecological disaster. The company involved said it was not at fault, blaming “natural conditions” for the spill. The plant will restart production by Friday and will stay under state control for up to two years while investigations continue.

Source: Marton Dunai for Reuters and Dan Bilefsky for the New York Times