Pranksters dye Salmo River green at Shambhala
Posted on 07. Aug, 2010 by Rik in Featured, Salmo |
Prankster(s) at the Shambhala Music Festival put some chemical into the Salmo River to turn the water green. Photo by Sonja Podstawskyj.
Tuesday, Aug. 10 update: Health authorities say there are no health concerns related to the dye. Read the full story here.
A prankster, or pranksters, at the Shambhala Music Festival dyed the Salmo River bright green this afternoon, releasing an unknown chemical into the waterway.
It all started at roughly 2:30 p.m. today (Saturday, Aug. 7), forcing festival organizers to evacuate the water and close a nearby music stage.
The Kootenay Network had two bloggers at the festival: Sonja Podstawskyj and Natalka Allan who arrived at the beach moments after the water turned green.
Podstawskyj reports:
“Security guards told everyone they were shutting the beach and . . . that it was in fact toxic . . . One person saw fish and frogs jumping out of the river.”
A Green Salmo River near the Living Room Stage
There are several chemicals that could have turned the water green.
Uranine, although described as “safe and non-toxic, as well as biodegadable” by manufacturer Presto Dyechem Co., nevertheless has a detailed list of treatments when inhaled, ingested or brought in contact with the skin:
Flush eyes with water. Wash skin with soap and water. Inhalation- move to fresh air. If swallowed, dilute with water, induce vomiting. (Source: Presto Dyechem Co.)
Another possibility is fluorescein, a medical dye.
Fluorescein is a fluorophore commonly used in microscopy, in a type of dye laser as the gain medium, in forensics and serology to detect latent blood stains, and in dye tracing. (Source: wikipedia)
From Sonja and Natalka’s live Shambhala blog:
The guy who went into the river to bring the two bag/boxes of fluorosine out, was rushed to first aid. There attendants treated him with hazard suits on, taking precautions in case the substance was toxic. He appeared to be very calm, though changing colour from orange to green and back again as he was washed and dried. Fluorosine is orange when in powder form, and bright green when dissolved in water. It completely permeated his skin and clothing, and was leaking through the white towel they were using to clean him with and right through to the chair he was sitting in – it was everywhere. I would call this man a hero for the river – he didn’t know at all what he was dealing with, but he did what he could to help at the risk of his own health.
Here is an update from Sonja Podstawskyj and Natalka Allan, who are live-blogging at Shambhala:
21 Responses to “Pranksters dye Salmo River green at Shambhala”
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I find it amazing that a company can label its product as non-toxic and have so many rules for treating yourself in the event that you come into contact with it.
Awesome breaking news report though!!
Hi Dan. You’re right about the chemical, it is bizarre.
It’s such a shame somebody thought it would be a good idea to dump something like that into a natural body of water.
I’ve heard some people draw their water from the Salmo River. Imagine that junk coming out of your tap!
It may be “non toxic” but its also not good for the enviroment ie fish etc, it was banned in Chicago in the ’60s I believe because of harm to fish.
The MSDS states wash off well and ingestion may cause vomiting.
How many people down stream draw there potable water from that water source? Have they been warned?
http://www.sciencestuff.com/msds/C1758.html
Scott I am not sure if they have been warned. The other question is if there is a way to deal with this similar to an oil spill or the like where you could boom the river and use absorbent cloth to soak the material off the surface.
By the look of the river I am guessing no as it does not appear that the material is floating on but has completely mixed into the water.
I wonder how long the effects will last?
That’s a good question, I know that you can still find “puddles” of mercury in river bottoms from miners way way way back :( lets hope not that long.
It does look throughly mixed in with the water, it would be interesting to know the range of dilution to safe levels.
Though anyway you look at it, it’s been over 24 hrs so…..
Best they can do is attempt to prevent it next year, which I’m sure they will as it is a working farm for the rest of the year, and relations with neighbors I hear can be tenuous at best.
Is it really a working farm? I didn’t know. Do you know what they grow?
Re: working farm
They have 50 cattle.
My family lives within “hearing the bass” distance of Shambhala, and I can assure you that we absolutely did not get anything even resembling a notification from anyone! The part that bothers me the most is that this moronic prank was most likely cooked up by someone who has no ties to the community, and who only shows up long enough to get his groove on until next year. The rest of us live in this environment year round, and we would rather not have our waterway destroyed by a selfish twit who thinks he (or she) is clever.
Re: Video “Shambhala 2010 – Salmo River Dyed Green”
To clarify, when I said that the staff looked “obviously unaware of what happened” (at 1:00), I meant that they looked unsure of what was happening, suggesting that this was not planned by organizers.
Thanks, Sonja, for clarifying on your comment.
Staff definitely were unaware of this happening since it was not planned by the organizers. In my opinion they reacted quickly and professionally by assuming the worst case scenario, the substance being toxic like glycol.
The river was evacuated immediately by security and other crew members. Official government sites were contacted, samples were taken and research done immediately. Information was made public to the best of our knowledge at any given time. Festival goers responded very cooperatively and the situation as a whole was handled very professionally.
Happy Shambhala
Stefan (a member of the first aid crew)
Stefan,
Thanks for sharing your view from the site and also for your work on the first aid crew.
It’s unfortunate you had to deal with such a situation.
Wow, I am totally at a loss for words. I can’t believe someone would do such a thing. If it was a really hot weekend, as a festival goer, I would be so upset that my one method for cooling off was the river, and now no one can enter it.
As well, I feel really bad for all the flora and fauna that have suffered as a result. Even if the stuff is relatively harmless, it obviously still has an impact, a discomfort.
Well, I guess security searches might be that much more intense, longer line-ups etc. Or not.
I think the bigger picture is, will there be criminal charges or investigation?
Our neighbours to the south are going to freak out, and rightly so.
We bill ourselves as a more environmentally aware region. What sort of damage will this do to that? I realize that it was just one person who may not live here.
What sort of damage will this do to the event. I have heard that the residents in Salmo are furious.
Check out this website. Apparently for the last 40 years Chicago has been dying their river green on St. Patricks Day.
http://www.chicagostpatsparade.com/river-dye.html
Woah Dawn. Amazing that a city would do something so marginal and advertise it openly on the internet and elsewhere.
I doubt many locals would think that makes it acceptable here even though it is not likely as damaging as questionable effluent releases from the City of Nelson which recently closed Taghum Beach.
At least Chicago has a state of the art sewage treatment system and are not dumping raw sewage like the City of Victoria.
PS. Judging from the colour in that link, you also appear to have identified the compound used, a dye used to detect plumbing leaks in public water and waste water systems.