Polish authorities on Thursday said toxic algae was to blame for mass fish deaths in the Oder river, ruling out industrial pollution as the cause.

The conclusions presented at a press conference by scientists and government officials come from a preliminary report to be released Friday, weeks after the environmental disaster unfolded.

The authors of the report said nearly 250 tonnes of dead fish were recovered from the Oder river that runs through Poland and Germany.

Various factors "led us to conclude that the fish deaths were probably caused by the toxic effects of an algal bloom", said Agnieszka Kolada from the Polish Institute of Environmental Protection.

The micro-algae at issue -- known as Prymnesium parvum, or golden alga -- are prevalent in estuaries and normally grow in brackish water, mainly near the sea, and "had until now never been detected in Poland", she told reporters.

She added that the water quality of the Oder has been poor "for years" and was only made worse this summer by high temperatures and very low water levels, which may have fostered the algal bloom.

Some observers, including media outlets and environmental organisations, suspected that a chemical spill was at fault for the disaster, but the Polish side rejected that theory.

"The fish deaths were neither caused by heavy metals, nor pesticides, nor petroleum substances," according to a presentation on the report.

According to the analyses to date, "none of the inspected business entities had discharged pollutants above the regulatory limits" into the river, said Andrzej Szweda-Lewandowski, the government's head of environmental protection.

The amount of industrial discharge had been "the same as in previous years", he told reporters.

Fishermen in Poland first started reporting dead fish in the Oder in late July and they began washing up in Germany a few days later.

Poland's government only reacted on August 12, sparking widespread criticism from both local Polish authorities and Germany.

Related Links
News from South America

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Mexican mangroves have been capturing carbon for 5,000 years
Riverside CA (SPX) Sep 22, 2022
Researchers have identified a new reason to protect mangrove forests: they've been quietly keeping carbon out of Earth's atmosphere for the past 5,000 years. Mangroves thrive in conditions most plants cannot tolerate, like salty coastal waters. Some species have air-conducting, vertical roots that act like snorkels when tides are high, giving the appearance of trees floating on stilts. A UC Riverside and UC San Diego-led research team set out to understand how marine mangroves off the coast ... read more