2024-08-18 16:21 update: 2024-08-19, 15:32
Photo PAP/Jarek Praszkiewicz
Poland is taking steps to prevent the repeat of one of its largest ecological disasters in recent years, a mass death of fish in the waters of the south-western part of the country.
Around 250 tonnes of dead fish were pulled out of Poland’s largest river Odra in the summer of 2022.
The disaster is believed to have been caused by golden algae, which can flourish in contaminated water that is warmed by hot weather. The algae can produce toxins that kill fish and other river life.
In early August this year, new toxic blooms and more dead fish were reported in the Gliwice Canal, which feeds into the River Odra, and in the Dzierzno Duze reservoir,
which branches off from the Gliwice Canal, with more than 105 tonnes of dead fish found there.
The deaths have prompted fears of a repeat of the environmental catastrophe that hit Poland two years ago.
On Sunday, Poland's Minister of Climate and Environment Paulina Hennig-Kloska held a press conference to sum up the recent measures taken by the government to prevent the spread of Prymnesium parvum, the so-called golden algae, in waterways.
She said that hydrogen peroxide was being fed to the Dzierzno reservoir where the toxic organisms were detected, to stop their bloom.
"The situation at the Dzierzno reservoir remains difficult, although it seems to be stabilising," Hennig-Kloska said, speaking to reporters near the site where the operation was being conducted by the services.
"What we have been doing here for many days is to limit the disaster in the Dzierzno reservoir so that it (the golden algae - PAP) does not take over the Gliwice Canal, and above all the Odra river, so that we do not have a repeat of 2022, she added.
"If I were to assess the situation from this perspective, we have it relatively under control."
Hennig-Kloska also said the effective fight against the golden algae is the result of an experiment conducted by the Institute of Environmental Protection and scientists who work on-site, and the use of the new method allows for the reduction of the golden algae by 95 to 99 percent.
She announced that the government was working on finding a way to reduce the amount of pollution in reservoirs such as Dzierzno and in the Odra river caused primarily by brine discharged into waters from mines.
"An inter-ministerial team is working on this. I believe that by the end of the year, the investment plan will be presented so that we can combat the causes of the problem, not just the effects," Hennig-Kloska said. (PAP)
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