Reports of a dead duckling found floating in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Sunday have drawn attention on social media. The images surfaced days after National Park Service workers were seen adding hydrogen peroxide to the water to treat an algae bloom.
What we know
Rob Crilly, a political journalist who previously covered the White House for the Washington Examiner, shared two photos of the dead duck on X, showing it floating against the walls of the pool with its eye still open.
Crilly said he had spoken to an expert who told him the pool “could have signs of cyanobacteria.”
TMZ and other outlets reported the sighting. Cyanobacteria is typically harmless in small amounts but can produce toxins during rapid blooms that may harm animals. No official cause of death has been confirmed for the duckling, and HT.com could not independently verify all details.
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Duck safety concerns grow as algae spreads in pool
According to the Daily Beast, as National Park Service workers poured gallons of hydrogen peroxide into the newly overhauled pool, observers grew worried about the ducks and ducklings that use the water.
A NOTUS reporter remarked on X that it was a “bad day to be a duck” while watching the effort to control the algae bloom with chemicals, and some social media users claimed to have seen dead ducks in the pool.
The algae bloom is just one of several issues with the renovated pool, which Trump spent $14 million on. His “American flag blue” paint and the pool’s sealant have also been peeling off the bottom and floating to the surface, according to the Daily Beast.
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How strong is the chemical
While a 3% hydrogen peroxide concentration is generally considered safe, containers being poured into the pool were marked as a “12 percent” solution, Common Dreams reported. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a 12% solution is strong enough to “cause problems if inhaled and burns if the chemical touches the skin.” The CDC also notes that hydrogen peroxide is “not absorbed by the skin, but can cause systemic toxicity when inhaled or ingested,” and warns that it is a “powerful” oxidizing agent that can cause spontaneous combustion when it contacts organic material.
It is not known exactly how much of the chemical has been poured into the pool and many ducks use the pond.
Social media reaction
The incident has sparked reactions on social media. One X user wrote, “Why are these Antifa terrorists & the billionaire that funded them still walking free? EVERYONE knows this is the moment the paint in the Reflecting Pool started peeling.”
Another asked, “You’d think that the environmentalist would be sitting on a highway in DC protesting this pollution of the water and yet they are oddly silent???”
One user questioned the science behind the cleanup and wrote, “Y’all, not to be a huge nerd but for the reflecting pool you would need a minimum of about 8,000 liters of 12% hydrogen peroxide to reach the 50 parts per million concentration to kill algae… Is this what happens when you have 0 scientists in your administration?”
Meanwhile, another user wrote, “It’s safe and not hurting anything. So why the fake outrage?”
