Leak at Orion Brewery turns the sea red

Blood-red water has flowed through a Japanese beach resort after Orion Brewery sprung a leak discolouring the water with Propylene glycol.

The Okinawa-based brewery, which has spent the past few days urging people not to worry, revealed that the rivers and port areas of Nago city on the island had been turned red by a leak at one of its sites, but posed no danger to human or marine life.

Speaking in local reports, the Orion Brewery said: “We believe it was caused by the leakage of propylene glycol – a food additive listed in enforcement regulations of the Food Sanitation Act – contained in cooling water used to cool our factory facilities. We believe the leaked cooling water flowed into a river through a rain gutter, causing the sea to turn red,”

Visitors to a beach resort city in southwest Japan are usually used to seeing crystal-clear sea since the destination is better known for its emerald waters and sandy beaches.

The brewery assured that the leak had been “plugged” by 9.30am on Tuesday – though a spokesperson for the Japanese Coast Guard told local reporters that the seawater was still red as of Wednesday morning.

Propylene glycol, which is commonly used in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, has long been classified by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as “generally recognized as safe” for use in food.

Orion Brewery additionally apologised for causing “inconvenience and enormous trouble and worry” and added that it was work with authorities to take “counter measures.”