Oswestry chemical leak: Pollution levels tested after 50,000 fish die in River Morda
Land and waterways close to the site of a huge chemical leak near Oswestry which led to the death of 50,000 fish are being investigated by Environment Agency workers.
A chemical got into the River Morda near Oswestry and Environment Agency bosses were alerted late on Thursday.
The river turned milky-white following what is believed to have been a chemical leak from a tanker into the river late on Thursday.
An investigation is being carried out by the Environment Agency, which has warned people not to allow livestock and pets to go in the river.
Agency officials tweeted:
Over the weekend underwater monitoring equipment was placed in the river in a bid to contain the spread of the pollution.
Dave Throup, from the Environment Agency, said: "We have a large monitoring programme underway to check for any impacts of pollution further afield."
Now it is feared that the band of chemical, the make-up of which has not been revealed, will carry further downstream, contaminating fish stock as it goes.
Giles Cochrane, fisheries manager from Weston Pools, near Oswestry was one of the first to see the devastation the chemical spill was causing.
"We saw that fish were dying in front of us," he said. "We believe that a very conservative estimate would be in the region of 50,000-plus fish. These include trout, chub, roach and eels. It is a very well stocked river the population of which has been growing for many years. This chemical has killed everything."
Mr Cochrane said that the Environment Agency had been on site over the weekend taking samples from the river and surrounding riverbank.
"We were concerned that this chemical may permeate the ground and make its way in to our fishing pools but we have been told this is not the case," said Mr Cochrane.
"However, our main concern is that this band of chemical is making its way downstream. This river feeds into the River Severn so the effects of this pollution should not be under estimated."
