The most commonly known holiday in March is St. Patrick’s Day, cities across the United States celebrate this holiday by having notorious landmarks turn green. For the city of Chicago, the city celebrates by dyeing the River green. Now, the substance that is used to dye the River is not considered harmful/illegal, however in the past, it was extremely harmful to the River. The first time the River was dyed was 1962 and originally contaminated the water with fluorescein dye.
The purpose for this chemical was to be used to track sewage leaks. To turn the whole river green, in 1962, they used 100 pounds of fluorescein dye. After discovering the side effects of the chemical the EPA outlawed the use of it. To continue dyeing the river legally, the Chicago River was dyed green using 40 pounds of vegetable dye. The only information on who knows the entire recipe for the vegetable oil is the Chicago Plumbers Unions. It is surprising to see how such a celebrated event in the city can most likely have negative impacts on the river. I will guess that in the future we will look back at this and be amazed that the government allowed the River to be dyed an unnatural color for one parade. Although the River may be very entertaining, I believe that the dyeing of a river has no benefit for the water and the natural life that is in it.
http://www.opsweb.org/?page=FA
http://sustainability.uchicago.edu/resources/news/ask_ignacio_green_chicago_river/
The Environment is Everything 