A large Brazilian river has tons of dead fish following industrial garbage disposal

TANQUA, Brazil: Several tons of fish have died along one of the main rivers in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state after an alleged illegal dumping of industrial waste from a sugar and ethanol plant, environmental authorities and prosecutors said Wednesday.

A preliminary analysis estimates that between 10 and 20 tons of fish died on the Piracicaba River in southeastern Brazil, Sao Paulo’s prosecutors said in a statement.

The initial investigation points to an “irregular discharge of wastewater” from the Sao Jose Sugar and Alcohol company plant in the community of Rio das Pedras and it reached a stream that flows into the Piracicaba River, prosecutors said.

Sao Jose denied any involvement in the deaths of the fish, and said it was cooperating fully with authorities.

“Insinuations of involvement of the plant in this occurrence are premature and have, so far, no proof or foundation,” the company said in a statement,

Adriano Queiroz, director of licensing at Sao Paulo’s environmental agency, said in a video call that the number of fish killed and the variety of species affected represented a significant impact on biodiversity.