Beer Factory Leak Turns the Sea Red in Japanese Resort City
- Brewery blames propylene glycol for change in water color
- Health official says no major environmental damage likely
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It’s the red sea, but not as you know it. Residents in Japan’s southern city of Nago on the island of Okinawa awoke Tuesday to find an area of usually clear blue water had turned a gruesome shade of red.
The water changed color after a beer plant owned by Orion Breweries Ltd. sprung a leak and a coolant used to regulate the temperature of brewing equipment flowed into a nearby river.