A scientific-expert group on the Odra has been established at the West Pomeranian University of Technology (ZUT) in Szczecin comprising ichthyologists, chemists, hydrobiologists and toxicologists. The group intends to work with the authorities on a recovery plan following the ecological disaster.

“Bearing in mind our enormous scientific and research potential, I have concluded that it is necessary to set up an expert team, which will, I hope, function well and assist both local and governmental authorities with advice, both for now and for the near future”, said the Rector of the West Pomeranian University of Technology, Dr Jacek Wróbel, ZUT.

ZUT researchers can conduct embryological, histological, toxicological, ichthyological, microbiological studies of water, sediment, coastal vegetation and quantitative analysis of organic chemical pollutants.

In the opinion of the rector of the Szczecin university, the Odra affects not only the local community, but also the whole of Poland and, as a border river, Europe, and needs to be revitalised after the ecological disaster.

“It will take years. And this will require an enormous amount of work, but also the help of scientists. Any revitalisation or action that serves society cannot take place without the help and cooperation of scientists”, stressed the rector of ZUT.

ZUT laboratories are equipped with top-of-the-range specialist equipment, which is used for bathymetric measurements of water reservoirs using an unmanned vessel and for the determination of macro- and microelements and metals, including heavy metals, as well as for the assessment of physicochemical indices of water.

In addition to laboratory tests, it is also possible to generate a 3D geometry of the main river channel with its branches, and then simulate the rate of spread of pollutants depending on their point of entry and water velocity.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński