25 Miles of Chinese River Covered in Dead Fish

A resident clears dead fish from the Fu River in Wuhan, in central China's Hubei province on September 3, 2013 after large amounts of dead fish began to be surface early the day before. The fish had died due to the release over 40 hours of time of large amounts of ammonia from a chemical plant.

On Sept. 2 dead fish began appearing on the Fu River in Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei Province. Soon 25 miles of river were covered with dead and dying fish.

According to a Sept. 4 report by Chinese Radio Network, a staff member at the Wuhan municipal Emergency Office said excessive ammonia at more than 100 times an acceptable level was responsible for the fish die off. 

According to the Provincial Environmental Protection Department the ammonia had been discharged over a period of 40 hours by a plant owned by the Hubei Shuanghuan Science and Technology Stock Co. Ltd. The New York Times quoted Ma Jun, director of the nongovernmental Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, as saying the plant had been cited for environmental violations four times since 2008. 

A staff member at the Huangpi District Environmental Protection Bureau told the Hubei-based Chutian Jin Daily, “After testing water quality in the many segments of the river, it’s confirmed that the current situation is worse than Grade IV and V water quality. People and livestock must stay away from it as far as possible.”

Because the Fu River is not used for drinking water, officials said the chemical spill did not affect the region’s drinking water.

The District Environmental Protection Bureau said that the river water has a revolting smell. It warned that hands that come into contact with the water would have a burning sensation for hours.

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