Why some of the water in Venice's Grand Canal recently turned bright green

Published June 2, 2023 at 5:46 AM EDT

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Leila Fadel. Some of the water in Venice, Italy's Grand Canal, recently turned bright green. Officials ordered a police investigation. Environmental experts tested the water. The culprit? Fluorescein. It's a chemical used during underwater construction to find leaks. It's unclear whether a suspect has been identified. Thankfully, the Hulk-hued water wasn't toxic. Officials still don't know how it happened, but they say it definitely was not an accident.

It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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