Germany and Poland are still ignorant of the cause of the mass killing of fish in the Oder River that was discovered last week. German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke spoke of an “environmental catastrophe” in the presence of her Polish counterpart Anna Muskoa on Sunday.
The Oder River flows into Poland and Germany. Tens of thousands of dead fish were found last week. It is not recommended for people to swim in the river or touch the water. Soon, local authorities in Germany spoke of poisoning. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also considered it likely that chemical waste had been dumped.
Lemke said Sunday that research has not yet yielded any evidence of hazardous substances. “So far, we have taken 150 samples from the water, but the tests have not revealed anything. No substances such as mercury or other heavy metals have been found in the fish itself.”
According to the German minister, water samples have also been sent to foreign laboratories, where they will be tested for the presence of 300 different substances.
Lemke repeated the complaint by the Ministry of the Environment in the German federal state of Brandenburg that Poland did not inform Germany in time. According to the minister, communication between the two countries should be improved.
