clear for a few inches and then it's engulfed by this sort of red, murky river. so this -- the toxins are still flooding down towards the river. and we're hearing from green peace, the activist group says that they believe the government figures on how clean and pure the water is. they say the government figures are wrong. it's far worse than the government's admitting. john, kiran? >> what exactly is in this toxic sludge that's so deadly and so devastating to people that they get burned by it? >> reporter: well, it's got a high ph level. that was one of the initial problems, which has -- which causes this burning nature. unlike an acid, it doesn't scold and burn you immediately. these burns will come up over a period of days. but it also has other poisons and other, what are known as heavy metals. these are poisons to the body.