It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
Mystery continues to surround the cause behind a “catastrophic” mass die-off of fish in the Oder River, after Polish scientists said laboratory tests found elevated salt levels but no other toxic substances in the central European waterway.
Mercury was also identified as a potential culprit for the more recent die-off. But Polish Environment Minister Anna Moskwa said on Sunday that "completed fish tests for mercury and heavy metals" proved to be negative. Lab tests did show high levels of salinity in the water.
In recent days, tons of dead fish have washed up ashore the Oder River on the Polish-German border. While the exact cause of the mass death of fish remains unknown, German authorities speak of "incredibly high" levels of mercury found in the water.
The first dead fish were spotted in late July near the town of Oława in south-western Poland. The polluted water passed Wrocław, passed through the Lubuskie province, and on Friday, August 12, it had already reached Szczecin. Local residents pulled out almost eight tons of dead fish from the river.
The Germans found that allegedly. Do we believe Germany over Poland?
What if it was an act of sabotage?
Investigations rule out heavy metal as the cause
In the meantime, the authorities no longer assume that a large amount of mercury is the cause of fish deaths. The first fish toxicological studies have shown that the heavy metal is excluded as the cause, explained Poland's Environment Minister Moskva in the short message service Twitter. Further results are now awaited.
Brandenburg's Environment Minister Vogel had previously said in the RBB that according to the current state of knowledge, mercury had not been introduced into the Oder in such quantities that it could have caused fish to die.
originally posted by: IAMTAT
Taking water samples at various points along the entire length of the river should isolate the point of the mercury poisoning.
originally posted by: TDDAgain
a reply to: nugget1
Mercury was just a rumor. There are several statements that are in contradiction to each other. One source claims high mercury levels were found three days ago, while a source a day later, the official one, says tests are still running. And then you have the Polish & German government saying it could not have been mercury.
Poland's statement:
Investigations rule out heavy metal as the cause
In the meantime, the authorities no longer assume that a large amount of mercury is the cause of fish deaths. The first fish toxicological studies have shown that the heavy metal is excluded as the cause, explained Poland's Environment Minister Moskva in the short message service Twitter. Further results are now awaited.
Germany's statement:
Brandenburg's Environment Minister Vogel had previously said in the RBB that according to the current state of knowledge, mercury had not been introduced into the Oder in such quantities that it could have caused fish to die.
Original in German
www.berliner-zeitung.de...
Same article via google translate
Google website translator
originally posted by: XipeTotex
a reply to: Peeple
One thing that comes to mind is that according to my limited understanding, europe is having the worst drought in 500 years, maybe this has caused all the chemicals that are in the ground to boil down in the depleting water systems.