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Dead fish in the Oder near Schwedt
Photo: Patrick Pleul / dpa
In the search for the causes of the mass deaths of fish in the Oder, the Berlin-Brandenburg State Laboratory found excessive levels of pesticides.
This was announced by the Brandenburg Ministry of the Environment.
High concentrations of a pesticide containing the active ingredient 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid were found in samples taken at the Frankfurt (Oder) measuring point between August 7th and 9th.
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 is still 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.
Criticism of Polish authorities
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.
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.
But there is also criticism of the German side (read more about this here).
Helpers on the German and Polish side have recovered tons of dead fish in the past few days.
The Polish fire brigade gave a total of 158 tons, but a small part of it came from the Ner river.
According to earlier information from the Ministry of the Environment, at least 36 tons were recovered from the Oder in Brandenburg.
According to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, hundreds of different substances in the fish are currently being investigated to investigate the causes.
Recently it became known that toxic golden algae could have played a crucial role.
sms/dpa
