Real or Fake? Picture Claiming to Show Plant Dumping Eerie Green Liquid Into Stream Hits Internet

But could there be a logical explanation?

An image trending at the top of the front page of the social news site Reddit Monday begs a couple questions: Can it be real? And if so, what is it?

(Image: Imgur via Reddit)

As the image above shows, what appears to be a fluorescent green liquid is emptying from a drain pipe into a stream. The Redditor going by whatthecaptcha who posted the photo on Imgur and began the thread claimed to see the liquid "coming out of a Citgo plant."

One commenter deemed it looking "too stereotypically dangerous to actually be dangerous." Others said the "glow looks a tad bit fake."

But some identified it as a fluorescent tracer dye. A tracer dye is exactly what we saw coming from of a local Texas hospital in March 2012. Check out this photo below to see the similarities in the dye's color:

Harmless dye seen coming from a Texas hospital testing for leaks. (Image: WFAA)

The hospital in Dallas last year, according to WFAA, was using the non-toxic dye, which is primarily water-based, to test for plumbing leaks, not realizing the dye would make it into a local creek in the process.

One Redditor going by firstresponder1492, who claimed to be an industrial engineer at a chemical plant, explained what could be going on in the top image further:

The chemical used is most likely Fluorescein which is a synthetic organic compound and has been in use for industrial applications for many years. It is a completely inert substance and dissipates in the environment (think large amounts of food coloring). In fact, one of the common names for it is D&C Yellow #7.
In this case this is coming from a storm and rainwater treatment system. This is part of the bi-annual inspections required by the EPA. One if the things they look for is where runoff actually goes to make sure there are not pollutants in those locations. That way if anything had been spilled on-site they know where the runoff would go. They then test water and soil samples wherever they see the green to ensure full compliance with the vast array of rules, laws and regulations. Bottom line, when you see this you know someone is doing their job.
As for locations, although I am not certain, I would bet 100 Karma points this is at one of the facilities in Louisiana. And just in case anyone is still worried about the environmental impact, note this is the same dye that is used to dye the Chicago River green on St. Patrick's day.

The original poster of the thread confirmed the location of the drain was in Louisiana.

Redditor FiMack, claiming to be an environmental health officer, said they too thought it could be flourescein, which they had used before to evaluate leaks as well.

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