Danube Catches Glimpse of First Dead Fish

Danube

The very first dead fish have been discovered in the Danube, the second largest river in Europe, after an environmental mishap left toxic mud flowing from Hungary. A regional chief for the disaster relief services made the following comment to the AFP this past Thursday:

“I can confirm that we have seen sporadic losses of fish in the main branch of the Danube,” Tibor Dobson commented.

“The fish have been sighted at the confluence of the Raba with the Danube,” where water samples had shown a pH value of 9.1, he continued..

“Fish cannot survive at pH 9.1,” he added.

The alkalinity of the water is a measure of just how contaminated a body of water is. The values go from one to fourteen, pH levels of between one and six are considered acid, a reading of six to eight is neutral, and anything from eight to fourteen are alkaline.
“In order to save the river’s ecosystem, the pH level must be brought down to below 8,” Dobson explained.

When the toxic spill first happened this past Monday afternoon, the reading taken in the Torna river nearby were thirteen point five, in other words catastrophic.

The small Torna stream flows to the Marcal, which is a tributary of the Raba, and this then flows to the Danube.

The pH levels ascertained from the Torna this past Thursday showed about 10, so while it is not good yet, it appears that, given the time, mother nature will straighten itself out. However, in the mean time, the local ecosystem will take a huge hit.