According to local authorities, a large chlorine leak from a salmon farming business may have caused the death of approximately 96,000 Arctic Norway salmon.
According to the Associated Press, a tank leak caused 4,000 gallons chlorine to be released into a fjord near Alta in Arctic Norway. Grieg Seafood, a salmon farming company, said that the leak occurred at one of its fish slaughterhouses.
Roger Pedersen, Grieg Seafood spokesperson said that the company was connecting the incident to a chlorine leak. He stated that the company was handling the dead fish in a responsible manner and was looking into the cause of the leak.
On Twitter, the local police district posted that “significant quantities of salmon are dead” in Alta, and that the leaked chlorine was believed to have flowed into the Atlantic Ocean.
Grieg Seafood stated that approximately 96,000 salmon, weighing in at a total 400 tons, were believed to have been killed in the accident.
Norwegian media company NRK, which is owned by the Norwegian government, reported that officers, local firefighters and members of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority were present at the scene to assist with the investigation.
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Stein Hugo Jorgensen is the operations manager of the Finnmark police police district. He told NRK that they have received confirmation from police that the leak was contained to the sea. The incident was not considered to be a danger for anyone because no chlorine gas was ever released onto the ground.
NRK reported that Grieg Seafood’s shares fell on the Oslo Stock Exchange after the leak was announced.
The dead fish were found in holding tanks, which allow them to grow up until they can be killed. After slaughtering, fish farming companies use chlorine to disinfect water.