Friday, April 24, 2015

HUNDREDS OF FISH KILLED AT TEXAS STATE AQUARIUM WHEN INDUSTRIAL CHEMICAL WAS MISTAKENLY INTRODUCED TO A HUGE TANK INSTEAD OF THE DRUG TRICHLORFON. FISHMAN CHEMICAL’S OWNER, SAYS HE HAS NEVER HAD AN ISSUE LIKE THIS BEFORE.





APRIL 21, 2015

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

The Texas State Aquarium said Tuesday that an outside investigation by an outside consultant reveals that a massive fish kill occurred because an industrial chemical was mistakenly introduced into a huge fish tank instead of an insecticide which is commonly used to kill worms and lice in fish, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.

  389 fish, including some rare species, died April 14 at the aquarium in the coastal city of Corpus Christi, which is a major tourist attraction and a conservator of sea life from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.

  Aquarium CEO Tom Schmid said Aquarium employees introduced the chemical Trichlorfon into a fish tank to kill parasites in the tank.  He says when they introduced a similar white powdered chemical from another container with the same label, the fish started dying.  Schmid says lab tests show that second chemical was an industrial solvent used  as a paint and fuel additive, a chemical Schmid identified as an 'isomer of hydroquinone resorcinol,' which is identified by the National Institutes of Health as a 'common chemical that has widespread application in industrial activities.'

  "We are in the process of cleaning all of the impacted systems to remove any trace of the toxin" Schmid said.  "Once we have established that the water is safe, we will begin adding new fish, which could happen as early as this week."

  Schmid says aquariums from across the U.S., Canada, and Singapore have offered 'support and condolences' due to the die-off, which he described as 'one of the most significant losses of marine life in our history.'

  Among the aquatic life that died was a sand tiger shark which was one of the symbols of the Aquarium.

  Schmid didn't say how the apparent mislabeling happened, and said he is 'not prepared' to release the name of the company that supplied the chemicals.

   The accident killed all but two of the fish inside the 125,000 gallon Islands of Steel exhibit, the largest at the Aquarium.

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Almost 400 fish dead after "chemical mix-up" at Texas State Aquarium

(CNN) — A poisonous chemical used in film processing is being blamed for killing almost 400 fish at the Texas State Aquarium.

The chemical got into the Corpus Christi facility’s fish tanks last week by mistake during a parasite treatment. The aquarium director says containers were mislabeled.

The aquarium thought it was using the drug trichlorfon, but instead an “isomer of hydroquinone resorcinol” was used, according to test results.

The National Institutes of Health identifies hydroquinone as a common but toxic chemical that is used in film processing, as a stabilizer in paint and motor fuels, and in cosmetics.

The statement from the Texas State Aquarium did not release the name of the company that supplied the chemicals.

But CNN affiliate KRIS obtained a statement from Fishman Chemical that says it sold the chemical to the aquarium.

Dr. David Fishman, Fishman Chemical’s owner, says he has never had an issue like this before.

“I’m absolutely at a loss of what to say. But I’m waiting to get their sample and test it,” Fishman told the affiliate.

389 fish, including the aquarium’s iconic male sand tiger shark, were killed. The fish inhabited several large habitats, including the Islands of Steel exhibit and the Flower Gardens exhibit.

The tanks are now being decontaminated.

The aquarium, which calls the fish kill “the most significant losses of marine life in our 25-year history,” has been getting donations to help with the recovery.
It says a shipment of fish has already arrived from the Sea Life Aquarium in Grapevine, Texas.

Almost 400 fish dead after chemical mix-up at Texas State Aquarium. http://t.co/zJQDlxGgn1 pic.twitter.com/Wi3Nk3xlab
— Andreas Preuss (@AndreasCNN) April 23, 2015

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Hundreds of fish were killed at the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi after an industrial chemical was mistakenly introduced to a huge tank instead of a drug commonly used to kill worms and lice in fish, the aquarium said on Tuesday.

Some rare species were among 389 fish killed on April 14, said officials at the tourist attraction and conservator of sea life from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Only two fish survived.

About 13 percent of its entire collection was killed, including a sand tiger shark and hundreds of fish in its 125,000-gallon (473,000-liter) Islands of Steel and 40,000-gallon (151,000-liter) Flower Gardens exhibits, the aquarium said.
Aquarium President Tom Schmid said fish began dying after employees introduced what they thought was a low dose of a drug used to kill parasites in fish.

Tests showed that a mislabeled container held an industrial chemical commonly used in film processing and in paint and fuel that is a poison and carcinogen, Schmid said.

Schmid said they were cleaning the impacted systems and would begin to add new fish possibly as early as this week when the water is confirmed safe.

Aquariums from the United States, Canada and as far away as Singapore have offered support and condolences over what was one of the most significant losses of marine life in the aquarium's history, he said.

Schmid said the aquarium had sent samples to a state veterinary lab.


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State Aquarium Blames Chemical Mix Up for Fish Kill

Wednesday, April 22nd 2015

The Texas State Aquarium said Tuesday that an outside investigation by an outside consultant reveals that a massive fish kill occurred because an industrial chemical was mistakenly introduced into a huge fish tank instead of an insecticide which is commonly used to kill worms and lice in fish, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.

  389 fish, including some rare species, died April 14 at the aquarium in the coastal city of Corpus Christi, which is a major tourist attraction and a conservator of sea life from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.

  Aquarium CEO Tom Schmid said Aquarium employees introduced the chemical Trichlorfon into a fish tank to kill parasites in the tank.  He says when they introduced a similar white powdered chemical from another container with the same label, the fish started dying.  Schmid says lab tests show that second chemical was an industrial solvent used  as a paint and fuel additive, a chemical Schmid identified as an 'isomer of hydroquinone resorcinol,' which is identified by the National Institutes of Health as a 'common chemical that has widespread application in industrial activities.'

  "We are in the process of cleaning all of the impacted systems to remove any trace of the toxin" Schmid said.  "Once we have established that the water is safe, we will begin adding new fish, which could happen as early as this week."

  Schmid says aquariums from across the U.S., Canada, and Singapore have offered 'support and condolences' due to the die-off, which he described as 'one of the most significant losses of marine life in our history.'

  Among the aquatic life that died was a sand tiger shark which was one of the symbols of the Aquarium.

  Schmid didn't say how the apparent mislabeling happened, and said he is 'not prepared' to release the name of the company that supplied the chemicals.

   The accident killed all but two of the fish inside the 125,000 gallon Islands of Steel exhibit, the largest at the Aquarium.