Waterways contaminated

IT IS estimated that 5,000 fish have been killed after a fire led to contamination of the waterways in Wolverhampton.

The fire last month spread to five different buildings with various chemicals escaping into the Wolverhampton Level and the Wyrley & Essington Canal, reports Alan Tilbury.

Suffocated

The chemicals, unlike oil, do not float on the surface, but dissolve in the water, and it is not known how much actually escaped or how long it will take for them to dissolve.  The chemicals have also caused the oxygen levels in the water to drop rapidly which has suffocated the fish.

The Environment Agency and British Waterways are attempting to solve the problem, but it seems it is a matter of waiting.