By Isabel Pfannkuche and Til Biermann
It wasn’t an accident! It was intentional! The poison, which kills tens of thousands of fish in the Oder, is said to have been dumped into the river on purpose.
This was stated by Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (54) on Friday:
“It is likely that a huge amount of chemical waste was dumped into the river – and with full knowledge of the risks and consequences.”
The Technical Relief Agency collects the fish in Frankfurt (Oder). Photo: Toni Feist
The prime minister has already fired the heads of the water and environmental authorities – because they reacted too slowly to the fish kill.
Allegedly, the fish kill was triggered around July 28 near Oppeln (near Wroclaw). According to the Federal Environment Ministry, a report to Brandenburg was not made until Thursday – 13 days later!
The fact is: Significantly increased mercury levels were found in the water. So high that the Brandenburg state laboratory is now even carrying out a so-called plausibility check. And in Poland, the toxic substance mesitylene was detected in two places as early as July.
The helpers fetch the dead animals from the Oder by the bucketful Photo: Toni Feist
“We don’t yet know why the fish really died,” says Brandenburg’s Environment Minister Axel Vogel (66). From Saturday, the Schwedt fire brigade wants to collect fish carcasses from the shore so that birds do not eat the fish.
Brandenburg’s Environment Minister Axel Vogel (66, Greens): “Everyone can see that the cause and the origin are not in Germany” Photo: Olaf Wagner
Twelve tons of dead fish have already been taken from the Polish Oder. Disposal is expensive. First the animals come in containers, then they have to be taken to special incinerators as hazardous waste.
However, all dead fish will not be able to be collected from the water – there are too many. Furthermore, there is a ban on using Oder fish and a ban on bathing…
Janosch (50) from the volunteer fire department in Krajnik Dolny (Poland) brings the poisoned fish ashore Photo: Olaf Wagner
“Most of the mercury is likely to drift downstream with the so-called suspended load and be deposited in the river and ultimately also in the Baltic Sea,” says Dr. Finn Viehberg (47), Head of the WWF Baltic Sea Office. “It will pollute the environment for years to come.”
Michael Tautenhahn (63), deputy head of the national park: “I’ve never experienced this before and I’m very shocked” Photo: Olaf Wagner
The most important task now is to find the poisoner, according to Poland’s Prime Minister Morawiecki: “You just want to scream with anger. We will not rest until the guilty are severely punished.”