Updated on 08/12/2022 at 11:18 am
- Thousands of dead fish and many unanswered questions – this is how the current situation in the Oder can be summed up.
- After a massive fish kill in the Oder, a possible environmental crime is being investigated.
- Authorities now have the first clues as to what toxic substance it could be.
The Brandenburg Ministry of the Environment has identified a potential trigger for the mass death of fish in the Oder. Water samples showed evidence of significant mercury pollution.
“The first results have been available since last night. We don’t have them officially yet, but they do point to massive mercury exposure as a factor,” said Gregor Beyer, head of environmental administration in Märkisch-Oderland. district, on Friday morning at RBB Infordio. “We don’t know if this is the only one.”
The State Environment Agency has water samples evaluated. But dead fish are also examined.
The thesis that too little oxygen could be the cause of fish death was rejected by the district administration from the beginning. “Now we know that too,” Beyer said. “We have, quite unusually, even more oxygen in the Oder.”
Authorities assume water pollution from industry
There is currently a lot of speculation about the origin of mercury or other toxins, Beyer said. “The most irritating part of this is that the entries, which apparently came from Poland, were not reported by the appropriate warning systems, so we were only able to react when a fish kill was directly observed.”
Dead fish lie on the banks of the Oder near Brieskow-Finkenheerd. There was a great slaughter of fish in the Oder. Brandenburg authorities warn against using river water or contact with it.
© Frank Hammerschmidt/dpa
According to the Polish Environmental Protection Agency, the fish death was likely caused by industrial water pollution. Beyer said: “We know from several measurements that we were able to immediately collect that a 30-centimeter water wave passed through the Oder. We still don’t know 100 percent if this is the wave that also carried these toxins with it.”
People should avoid contact with river water
The population is also called upon to avoid contact with the water of the Oder. Dead fish were found in various regions of Brandenburg with sections of the Oder – from the city of Frankfurt (Oder) to the district of Uckermark.
Brandenburg Environment Minister Axel Vogel (Greens) criticized the Polish authorities’ lack of information and asked for clarification. “It must be said that the reporting chains between the Polish and German sides did not work in this case,” he said.
Vogel briefed on Friday (11:30 am) along with Uckermark District Administrator Karina Dörk, Deputy National Park Head Dr. Michael Tautenhahn, and representatives of the State Secretariat for the Environment in the Schwedt district of Criewen – gateway to the National Park – on the current situation. (dpa/ank) © dpa
Updated on 08/11/2022 15:31
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Teaser image: © Frank Hammerschmidt/dpa