ALBAWABA - Venice's fluorescent green water mystery has finally been solved as the bright green patch that Venetians woke up to on Sunday is just a fluorescein patch, a non-toxic chemical.
Italian authorities launched an investigation into the matter, checking CCTV records and asking local gondolier pilots and boat drivers if they witnessed anything suspicious.
After samples have been collected for testing. the water turned out to have traces of fluorescein, a non-toxic chemical used in wastewater network testing. It remains unclear how the substance ended up in the canal, but the Regional Agency for the Environment in Venice (ARPAV) said that given the volume released it was unlikely to be an accident, CNN reported.
According to witnesses, the fluorescent green patch was initially seen on Sunday morning in the famous Grand Canal and gradually spread. Speculations arose around the city as to why the water's color abruptly changed.
This incident is surely not the first. During the 34th Venice Biennale in 1968, Argentine artist Nicolás Garca Uriburu dyed the waters of Venice's Grand Canal green with a fluorescent dye in order to raise environmental awareness.
