In the search for the causes of fish deaths in the Oder, the Berlin-Brandenburg State Laboratory came across elevated levels of pesticides in the water. However, the active substance is probably not the sole cause of the disaster. The dead fish are meanwhile being examined for hundreds more substances.
In the case of the mass death of fish in the Oder, the Berlin-Brandenburg state laboratory has detected excessive pesticide levels in the water. The Brandenburg Environment Ministry announced that samples taken at the Frankfurt (Oder) measuring point between August 7th and 9th found high concentrations of a pesticide with the active ingredient 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. However, it can be assumed that the detected dose was not immediately fatal to fish. The active ingredient is used, for example, to combat weeds.
It can still be assumed that the environmental disaster had several causes, the ministry said. However, the excessive concentration of the pesticide over several days certainly had an impact on animals, plants and microorganisms. It is possible that the pesticide was present in even higher concentrations in the upper reaches of the Oder and was already heavily diluted at the Frankfurt (Oder) measuring point.
According to the Polish fire brigade, they have so far recovered almost 160 tons of dead fish from the Oder and a smaller river. The majority of this is accounted for by the dead fish from the Oder. According to earlier information from the Ministry of the Environment, at least 36 tons were recovered in Brandenburg. The small river in Poland is the Ner, which has its source south of Lodz and flows into the Warta. He has no connection to the Oder. Dead fish have also been floating in the Ner for a few days.
The mass death of fish in the border river Oder became known on the German side on August 9th. A ship captain in Brandenburg had sighted dead animals. The German authorities recently accused Poland of having informed too late. Helpers on the German and Polish side had recovered tons of dead fish from the Oder in the past few days. According to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, hundreds of different substances in the fish are currently being investigated to investigate the causes.
