Polish and German authorities are trying to understand the cause of a fish kill along the Oder River, which flows between the two countries. Thousands of dead fish have surfaced along hundreds of miles of the river since late last month. A toxic substance is believed to have entered the water, although the exact chemical remains unknown despite testing. People were asked to avoid the river. But authorities in both countries have been accused by activists of not working together to respond quickly to the disaster and keep people safe. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Friday fired some officers for handling the incident. He explained that the problem was initially thought to be “local” but then turned out to be “very large”. The river could take “years” to recover, he added. Morawiecki suggested that “huge amounts of chemical waste” were dumped into the waterway, regardless of the risks to wildlife. Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke has called for a full investigation into the incident and said the authorities are working “at full speed” to determine the causes. According to the first reports from fishermen, tons of dead fish were said to have been recovered from the river as early as July 28th. The Oder is generally considered a clean river that is home to 40 native fish species, reports the AFP news agency. But an official from the German state of East Brandenburg said the test results showed an increase in oxygen levels in the water, suggesting the presence of a foreign substance. Beavers, birds and ducks have also been affected, said Katarzyna Kojzar, a reporter for the Polish investigative website OKO.press. The indications of contamination of the Oder with mercury are worrying, said Kojzar. However, he pointed out that there is still no confirmation of the substance or its origin, nor whether it affects humans. “We know it’s serious, but we don’t know what it is,” Kojzar said. A seafood researcher told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle that river dredging may have released the embedded mercury. But the historic low water level of the Oder in connection with a heat wave has already caused problems for the fish, said Christian Wolter from the Leibniz Institute.
08/14/2022 02:19