Fluorescent Green River Is Blamed On Pranksters In Canada

By: Bill Waters
01/11/2011 05:32 PM ET

Fluorescent green river is blamed on pranksters in Canada. Fluorescent green river is being blamed by pranksters using an organic compound. The incident happened in Langford, Canada.

Officials still aren’t sure who committed the act, but they’re presuming pranksters. Whoever it was, they used “fluorescein”, a synthetic organic compound used as a “fluorescent tracer” or dye to test water systems.

Langford Fire Chief Bob Beckett points the finger of blame at mischievous kids.

“In all likelihood it’s a hoax. It may be a nontoxic substance, but it’s unfortunate that we had to utilize all sorts of resources to investigate this,” Beckett said in a statement.

Some people can suffer from allergic reactions to fluorescein on rare occasions, but fortunately the river turned back to its normal colour in about an hour — plus, the fish didn’t seem to be much bothered, so there’s that too.

Our only real problem with it is the pranksters’ sense of timing — what we’d have done is waited for St. Patrick’s Day and had a party beside the banks of the river.

Check out the Fluorescent Green River video: