The Rhine River takes ten years to heal

1987/02/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Ekologia

European scientists are evaluating the damage caused by insecticide spills on the Rhine River in the Bassel area. According to Swiss scientists, the Rhine River will take ten years to recover. Below Bassel, 300 km of rivers can be considered dead and no traces of life can be found. Half a million fish have died from the spill of the Sandoz factory.

Some believe the river will take less time to heal. Michel Goppel, director of the International Committee against Rhine Pollution, is one of those who think so. In his opinion, after three years, there will be no trace of the accident. At that time, beginning with the tributaries, life will recolonize the main course of the Rhina. However, the main problem is mercury deposited in the bottom mud of the stream. The time it will take to clean it is not clear.

The efforts made in recent years for cleaning Rhin have been by negligence the cough of the midnight goat.