Dead fish lie on the banks of the German-Polish border river Oder in Lebus, japanese Germanny, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. Poland’s surroundings minister says laboratory exams following a mass dying off of fish detected excessive ranges of salinity however no mercury in waters of Central Europe’s Oder River. Credit: Patrick Pleul/dpa through AP
Laboratory exams following a mass die-off of fish within the Oder River detected excessive ranges of salinity however no mercury poisoning its waters, Poland’s surroundings minister stated Saturday because the thriller continued as to what killed tons of fish in Central Europe.
Anna Moskwa, the minister of local weather and surroundings, stated analyses of river samples taken in each Poland and Germany revealed elevated salt ranges. Comprehensive toxicology research are nonetheless underway in Poland, she stated.
She stated Poland’s state veterinary authority examined seven species of the lifeless fish and dominated out mercury as the reason for the die-off however was nonetheless ready for outcomes of different substances. She stated check outcomes from Germany had additionally not proven a excessive presence of mercury.
The Oder River runs from Czechia to the border between Poland and Germany earlier than flowing into the Baltic Sea. Some German media had instructed that the river have been be poisoned with mercury.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stated Friday that “enormous quantities of chemical waste” had been most likely dumped deliberately into his nation’s second-longest river, inflicting environmental injury so extreme it could take years for the waterway to get well.
On Saturday, Morawiecki vowed to do all the things potential to restrict the environmental devastation. Poland’s inside minister stated a reward of 1 million zlotys ($220,000) could be paid to anybody who helps observe down these answerable for polluting the river.
Volunteers get well lifeless fish from the water of the German-Polish border river Oder in Lebus, japanese Germanny, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. Poland’s surroundings minister says laboratory exams following a mass dying off of fish detected excessive ranges of salinity however no mercury in waters of Central Europe’s Oder River. Credit: Patrick Pleul/dpa through AP
Authorities within the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania warned folks to not fish or use water from the Szczecin lagoon, because the river’s contaminated water was anticipated to succeed in the estuary space on Saturday night.
“The extent of the fish die-off is stunning. This is a blow to the Oder as a waterway of nice ecological worth, from which it is going to presumably not get well for a very long time,” stated Alex Vogel, the surroundings minister for Germany’s Brandenburg state, alongside which the river runs.
The head of Polish waters, Poland’s nationwide water administration authority, stated Thursday that 10 tons of lifeless fish had been faraway from the river. Hundreds of volunteers had been working to assist acquire lifeless fish alongside the German facet.
German laboratories stated they detected “atypical” ranges of “salts” that might be linked to the die-off however would not totally clarify them on their very own.
Volunteers get well lifeless fish from the water of the German-Polish border river Oder in Lebus, japanese Germanny, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. Poland’s surroundings minister says laboratory exams following a mass dying off of fish detected excessive ranges of salinity however no mercury in waters of Central Europe’s Oder River. Credit: Patrick Pleul/dpa through AP
Volunteers get well lifeless fish from the water of the German-Polish border river Oder in Lebus, japanese Germanny, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. Poland’s surroundings minister says laboratory exams following a mass dying off of fish detected excessive ranges of salinity however no mercury in waters of Central Europe’s Oder River. Credit: Patrick Pleul/dpa through AP
Volunteers get well lifeless fish from the water of the German-Polish border river Oder in Lebus, japanese Germanny, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. Poland’s surroundings minister says laboratory exams following a mass dying off of fish detected excessive ranges of salinity however no mercury in waters of Central Europe’s Oder River. Credit: Patrick Pleul/dpa through AP
Volunteers get well lifeless fish from the water of the German-Polish border river Oder in Lebus, japanese Germanny, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. Poland’s surroundings minister says laboratory exams following a mass dying off of fish detected excessive ranges of salinity however no mercury in waters of Central Europe’s Oder River. Credit: Patrick Pleul/dpa through AP
Morawiecki acknowledged that some Polish officers had been “sluggish” in reacting after enormous numbers of lifeless fish had been seen floating and washing ashore, and stated two of them had been dismissed.
“For me, nonetheless, a very powerful factor is to cope with this ecological catastrophe as quickly as potential, as a result of nature is our frequent heritage,” Morawiecki stated.
His feedback had been echoed by Schwedt Mayor Annekathrin Hoppe, whose German city is positioned subsequent to the Lower Oder Valley National Park. She referred to as the contamination of the river “an environmental disaster of unprecedented scale” for the area.
‘Dead fish in every single place’ in German-Polish river after feared chemical waste dump
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What killed tons of fish in European river? Mystery deepens (2022, August 14)
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