Over the course of a month, 28,137 kilograms of dead fish were removed from the Seim and Desna rivers in Chernihiv Oblast, Suspilne reports.
Experts say the cause of the mass deaths is the pollution of water bodies with sugar molasses that got into the rivers with discharges from the Tyotkinsky sugar plant located in the Kursk region of Russia.
Read also: Situation on the rivers: stabilisation on the Desna, repeated pollution on the Sejm
According to Serhiy Zhuk, head of the State Environmental Inspectorate in the region, this is the first case of such pollution in Chernihiv Oblast. Environmentalists have already calculated the damage caused to the environment, which currently stands at over UAH 338 million.
A new wave of pollution from the Seim River has already reached the Desna River near the village of Velyke Ustia in the Sosnytsia community. Although no massive fish kill has yet been observed, experts note an increase in chemical oxygen consumption in the water, which indicates a deterioration in the river’s condition. This means that the water absorbs more oxygen, and there is less oxygen than is required for the normal functioning of the aquatic ecosystem.
The situation is currently under the control of environmentalists who are constantly monitoring the water quality in the Seim and Desna rivers.
Read also: Dynamics of water quality in the Sейм and Desna rivers: no threats to water supply in Kyiv region
