Massive fish kills
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Mercury detected in water samples from Oder
The mass death of fish has been worrying people in Brandenburg on the border with Poland for days. There is evidence that a highly toxic substance is passing through the river. According to rbb information, mercury has now been found in water samples.
The analysis of suspected contaminated water from the Oder gives a first result. According to rbb information, employees of the state laboratory found high levels of mercury in the water samples. The values should be so high that the test result cannot be displayed and the test has to be repeated.
According to the Federal Environment Agency, mercury is toxic to humans and animals. Since it cannot be excreted by the organism, it accumulates in the body. Whether the mercury detected in the samples from the Oder was the cause for the massive fish killsis still not clear.
Ministry of the Environment: highly toxic substance passes through Oder
The Brandenburg Ministry of the Environment announced late Thursday afternoon that an as yet unknown, highly toxic substance was flowing through the Oder. The first analysis results consistently showed that a strong wave of organic substances went through Frankfurt an der Oder a few days ago and has since continued downstream, currently to Schwedt. Effects on the ecosystem suggested synthetic chemicals, also very likely to be toxic to vertebrates.
Deputy head of Poland’s Environmental Protection Agency, Magda Gosk, said: “Everything indicates that the pollution of the Oder, which has led to the death of numerous fish, could be of industrial origin.” The authority tries to detect potential sources of pollution with drone overflights and to determine what the condition of the river is. They are investigating what substance it is and “above all, who introduced this substance where into the Oder,” Gosk said.
Polish water authority speaks of ten tons of dead fish
According to the Brandenburg authorities, there is still no overall overview of the number of dead fish in Poland and Germany. The head of the Polish water authority, Przemyslaw Daca, said on Thursday that employees of his authority, anglers and volunteers had recovered a total of ten tons of dead fish. “This shows that we are dealing with a gigantic and appalling environmental catastrophe.”
The death of fish in the Oder, which is currently running at low water, has been worrying people in Brandenburg on the border with Poland for days. Master fisherman Henry Schneider from the Oder-Spree district said: “We have never seen anything like it. Dead fish can be seen everywhere. There are many.” The managing director of the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland, Antje von Brook, criticized: “This ecological catastrophe would not be of such magnitude if German and Polish authorities had worked together more intensively.” A comprehensive political reappraisal is necessary.
Broadcast: Antenne Brandenburg, August 11, 2022, 9 p.m