White River Fish Kill & Right-to-Know

A pleasant walk along the White River in Indianapolis after Christmas quickly became overwhelming. Dead fish, some of them several feet long, covered the banks and the shallows — thousands of them. And from the bridges, many more fish could be seen underwater. The scene varied little going upstream to Anderson. More than 110 tons of fish have been collected in the intervening months. 

Sodium dimethyldithiocarbamate is believed to be the cause. The chemical allegedly came from Guide Corporation through Anderson’s wastewater treatment plant. Along the way, it degraded to form carbon disulfide. The prolonged exposure to carbon disulfide apparently killed the fish slowly and painfully.

Many questions still must be answered. There is much to learn from the incident. Fortunately, the State the Indianapolis Star, and many concerned activists, especially Kevin Hardie and Brant Cowser of the Friends of White River, are focused on getting answers.

So what is the relationship of the fish kill to right-to-know?

• Public Meetings: At the request of concerned activists, IDEM hosted four public meetings — one in each of the affected counties — to present the issues. While these meetings were a challenge, IKE applauds the State’s efforts to respond to public concerns and answer their questions. About 1000 people attended the meetings! Right-to-know in action.
• Notice to the Public: When does the public have a right to know of a potential threat to their health? The public’s frustration with the State’s response has made it clear that they want to know quickly. They do not want the State to withhold information or wait until it has the answers. And they want their local health department to stay in the loop. As we encounter other situations of public health threats, IKE hopes the State has gotten those messages loudly and clearly.

See summary for more information on the fish kill