By Graeme Murray & Will Stewart
A river in Russian as alarmed residents after it suddenly turning bright green, it is claimed,
The small stretch of water in Penza city has sparked demands for tests amid toxic pollution fears. The publication Mash reported the colour change of the crossing and said it was concerning residents in the neighbourhood.
It stated: “A poisonous green creek on Gagarin Street worries residents of Penza. The local administration is already studying the liquid.”
Images of the river showed its bright gaudy green colouring which has led residents to question what has caused its change of colour. It was hit by sewage overflow in 2020, but the bright green discharge has “never happened before@ according to Mash. adding: "This time there is no certainty that this is ordinary sewage.”
“The colour of the liquid is too toxic. Locals contacted the People Front and are looking for violators.” The front is a tame watchdog set up by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to supposedly hold the government to account. The organisation has yet to comment on the reason for the river's colour change.
The Penza Region is home to 17 plants - some defence related - specialising in developing and manufacturing items for the nuclear power industry, radio and communications equipment, automated management systems and their elements. The likely cause was an “accident”, reported Mash. News outlet Moskovsky Komsomolets revealed that locals were “surprised” at the sudden green colouring of the creek. The cause was “industrial waste” from dumping, said the report
“The reason for such metamorphoses is not some amazing spring phenomenon in which water takes on different colours, but industrial waste dumped into the city’s reservoirs."
But no further details were given about the green waste. The city administration, meanwhile, has failed to establish or comment on the cause of the green river.
The Mirror reported in 2018 how another Russian river could be posing a serious health risk to local people after it suddenly turned a blood-red colour. Experts are baffled by the strange phenomenon, which has led people to fear the quality of the drinking water in the city of Tyumen
Officials in western Siberia have not yet released the results of a barrage of tests on samples taken from the river, but state-owned news agency Itar-Tass has labelled the incident a “Biblical bombshell”. Worried locals suspect the dumping of unknown chemicals into the normally murky waters of the small Molchanka River, reported The Siberian Times.
One resident said: “This could be very serious.” Maria Parashchenko, from Novotarmansky village, said: “The River Molchanka turned red or red-orange about a week ago. The unusual colour is best noticed between the settlements of Novotarmansky and Molchanova.”
