What Lies Beneath Rattlechain Lagoon?

It was recently revealed in a concealed application next to a couple of dodgy massage parlour adverts in The Express and Star Newspaper that the serial polluters and toxic chemical assaulters of PO Box 80 Trinity Street have applied to Sandwell Council for a new Hazardous Substance consent application for chemical substances stored on their site.

This is required under The planning ( Hazardous Substances) Act 1990.

But it is here that the mystery started to deepen, as there was originally no information whatsoever on Sandwell council’s planning website about what chemicals are being considered in this application or what risks they may pose more importantly to the local residents and wider community- already living in the shadow of a consultation zone living in fear. It is clear however from searching the location of the Solvay factory that this application now has the reference number HS/040 and that the application has been received.

But up until very recently , why Sandwell council when one clicks on this application did the reader receive only the following????

There is also mystery as to why ALL of the documents associated with the previous hazardous substance consents at this site have been removed by someone behind Sandwell council’s planning website. They were once there as I saved many of them prudently and have detailed some of the applications and the chemicals and associated risks on this website.

Why are Sandwell council denying members of the public and the local community living in this area an opportunity to view the risks associated with this major hazard site? Are residents just expected to believe the lying spin of chemical company who have always maintained that their site and the dangerous chemicals within it pose no risks whilst waiting for the sirens to sound when something goes wrong, that is if they decide when it is an offsite  “risk” ?

It should be remembered at this point about the form of this company- change their name they may, but the site history as Rhodia and Albright and Wilson leaves much to be desired.

The 2009 leak of phosphine gas rumbled on for years under “investigation” during which time this company did nothing but obstruct and delay the investigation to protract it for years.  They were eventually found guilty and fined , despite protestations for an event that was entirely their own fault with the incident being reported to The European Commission.

Dirty business as usual

The Express and Star advert invites the reader to contact one “Dr” Tom Duttton if they want to view the application. One should  consider that this man, (employed in numerous health and safety posts  at Albright and Wilson and Rhodia ) was the same who famously stated that the chemicals in Rattlechain lagoon was “the stuff used in toothpaste” . This bullshit bare faced lie restricted the investigation into the cause of deaths of the birds at the site caused purely by the hazardous white phosphorus that their entire operation at Trinity Street has always been based on. The failures at the plant in 2009 were on his watch.

It is now apparent after contacting Sandwell council that this hazardous substance application actually seeks to increase the pressure of phosphine being used at the site. YOU COULD NOT MAKE THIS SHIT UP!

HS/040 has subsequently been rebranded “Modification to quantity of phosphine stored and used and proposed storage and use of Hezene, hydrogen peroxide and cyanex on site”

I will look in more depth about the documents that have now finally been put on Sandwell council’s website but this pressure cooker mixture only serves to add greater risk to people already living in the face of a previous toxic assault.

MILL LANE DEVELOPMENT

Of course local residents may be lucky enough to have a Solvay calendar propaganda pamphlet delivered lovingly  (bi yearly)  by a clapped out former councillor along with a copy of the latest Labour Rose. 😆

But what of the permissioned new development at Mill Street, as well as other plots very near to the Solvay works? Are these to be considered relevant by those making decisions about this hazardous substance consent? Has this timing been deliberately delayed so that the application for housing was granted BEFORE Solvay asked for more from their chemistry?

New homes in the shadow of a COMAH SITE

In 1972 the UK was in the grip of a media storm concerning the dumping of highly toxic chemicals- though in reality this had been going on for years in out of sight out of mind former marl holes like the one at Rattlechain.

This totally unregulated chemical dumping pit had seen earlier local community concerns about what was being deposited there- especially the white phosphorus contaminated waste delivered there by canal barge and also by lorry. It was a “peril to children”, as well as being a place where fires occurred.

It had a “noxious” smell also related to the chemicals being deposited there and had affected human health. There were concerns and clear evidence that the material was also ending up in the local canal system causing a threat there also. It was also a fact that those in charge of waste operations such as the thief Ernest Sulley could not give a toss where the stuff from the AW factory ended up- so long as it couldn’t be pinned on them.

Into this storm of free for all, it probably comes as no surprise that a batch of allegedly flytipped cyanide was found at the lagoon when the flustered authorities felt the heat of public scrutiny. In reality they had probably turned a blind eye for years- or more likely paid well to.

The following appeared in 16^th March 1972 Birmingham Daily Post.

Not only have the drums inexplicably appeared at the site, but also as described at “the Brades Road tip” which  can only have been Albright and Wilson’s  Gower Tip in addition. What a coincidence- and perhaps questions for their contractor drivers who were operational at this time- or their bargemen who were still at this point dumping waste by barge.

The quote from Woodhead of Albright and Wilson appears to be a Freudian slip.

“We have disposed of the drums in the same way as we SHOULD have done had they been our own”.

Why “should” and not would?

We do know that Albright and Wilson merely dumped their drums of chemical waste under water- except that the properties of cyanide mean that it produces highly toxic breakdown chemicals when in contact with water.

Despite these incidents that garnered national attention to a serious issue, the resulting Deposit of Poisonous Waste Act merely served to legitimise dumping certain toxic wastes at certain places.  A letter from the Trent River Authority following the passing of this Act in 1972 reveals that discussions took place with the company about what they could subsequently deposit there down John’s Lane, but by this time the damage had already been done and was under water.

The additional legislation of The Control Of Pollution Act further allowed companies like Albright and Wilson the opportunity to continue dumping poisonous and hazardous waste with impunity with the auspices of a paper weight licence so badly worded and full of loopholes that it was not fit for the purpose that it was supposed to serve.

Back in the early 1970’s a rash of chemical flytipping became national news- with the most notable cases occurring in areas of The West Midlands. The main chemical of concern was sodium cyanide, probably one of the best known poisons to members of Jo public.

The chemical is toxic by skin absorption through open wounds, by ingestion, and by inhalation of dust. It is however less poisonous than white phosphorus, which is highly ironic given that the shiesters of Oldbury were allowed to not only deposit their dumpings of this chemical under water at rattlechain lagoon, but also very often around it to catch fire in the open air.

Given that not only is this cyanide as well as the closely related potassium cyanide highly poisonous, it also reacts badly with other chemicals to form poisonous gases. You can therefore probably appreciate why the authorities were worried at this point in time as to what might happen if widespread dumping of drums of this chemical were turning up in public places.

The following information is given by The Health Protection Agency, now Public health England

Sodium/Potassium Cyanide General information.

Sodium/Potassium Cyanide Incident management.

A flurry of cyanide dumping cases resulted in the drafting of “The Deposit of Poisonous Wastes Act” passed in just 10 days in 1972. The most notable of these occurred in Nuneaton at a (surprise surprise) , an abandoned brickworks site which included a children’s playground. 36 drums containing one and a half tonnes of Cyanide ash waste were recovered. This in theory would be enough to kill millions of people.

The front page of The Daily Mirror 25th February 1972

It quickly became apparent that a company mark found on the drums belonged to a Coventry firm Precise Heat Treatment. The culprits initially pleaded not guilty , as reported in the Coventry Evening Telegraph on 26th February 1972.

A few things emerge from this first article.

• The “firm” in the spotlight if you could even call it that was run by one man with one employee.
• A multitude of “companies” appear to have had some hand in the dubious operations of removing waste.
• The drums contained a 20 per cent residue of sodium cyanide

A subsequent headline from the same paper on 8th June reveals that the owner of the company and two other individuals were on trial for the dumping of the cyanide waste.

The two men John Monaghan and Michael Keeling were paid just £50 to dispose of the waste for another company. It is bizarre to hear that the so called “witness” for the prosecution was not fussed about where the two charlatons of the road were dumping the waste. Today he and his company would also face the prosecution that they should have here. The other defendant- Terrence Singlehurst denied aiding and abetting the two men for his “company”.

The two tippers were subsequently found guilty as The Coventry Evening Telegraph from 9th June 1972 reveals , yet it could be asked if the punishment fitted the crime and if the verdict had been applied equally to all parties involved in the affair. Keeling was fined £100 and got six months in prison for the dumping of the cyanide in two locations and also for being a benefit fiddler. His compatriot, also fined £100 and also a thief off the tax payer however had his six month sentence suspended.

It is difficult to see how Singlehurst was cleared, and today legislation WOULD have rightly found him as culpable for the crime as the two pillocks he had paid to dispose of waste from his joke of a “company”.

A further article from 4th July reveals that the fines of both men were subsequently halved at Crown Court- adding further downgrade to the seriousness of the offence.

This case saw the DOPWA come into force and the basis of the legislation was the placing of responsibility of the deposit of waste on industry. A maximum of five years imprisonment and unlimited fines for the dumping of poisonous, noxious or polluting waste was brought in. Unfortunately however as time would prove- it simply increased the rush to deposit poisonous waste under the cloak of legitimacy.

I’m not sure what is going on with the electric company Western Power at the moment, but they have been like a bad dose of the clap in Winter’s chill in the Black country area in recent times. Road sides and pavements dug up and cordoned off, temporary traffic lights abounding also. They and their contractors also made a right spectacle in Wednesbury, 

sparking a biblical flood and hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage.

In terms of Rattlechain, they even made it down John’s Lane leading to Temple Way of all places, stopping right outside the front turquoise gates of everyone’s favourite Hazardous waste area site!

If this was all part of some co-ordinated programme of works dealing with properties in neighbouring Callaghan Drive, one has to wonder whether it was just pure coincidence that Rhodia/Solvay’s contractors Belgian firm Heyrman De Roeck turned up at the same time and were pottering about inside the hazardous waste area. I can’t imagine why Belgian owned Solvay wouldn’t be thinking of “finding it local” in Sandwell and using Belgian firm Heyrman De Roeck instead? 🙄

Or perhaps they were more worried in case a similar scenario to the one in Wednesbury unfolded with a mini digger near to the white phosphorus laced lagoon. It would be a real disaster wouldn’t it if a leak was sprung and the lot went down the pan into the sewers ?

It was clear that the Flemish fellows had had boats on the water, but what were they up to?  Another round of dosing the pool with acidic substances to lower the ph, in order to fiddle the ERM “monitoring” figures?

Here’s a reminder of what I caught them doing dumping in 2014 with aluminium sulphate.

Later in the week they were strimming the South side of the lagoon banks . But what looked suspiciously like a dead gull, lesser black backed or herring was dead in the same area.

At the same time a group of nine swans decided they had had enough and took flight from the site. By no means whatsoever does the appearance of birds at this site indicate anything regards “safety” of the site. There were birds on here that survived for long periods of time when they were still dumping waste, and there were those that died from white phosphorus poisoning after just hours of being on there. “Rhodia roulette” you might call it when dabbling in the shallows.

This blog will be taking a little summer break over the next month to work on some more pages and investigations. There are also the ludicrous “garden city” plans still in the air which has no local support. Of course, we should be aware of how some would like to bury a toxic history for commercial gains, but things have a very perculiar way of coming to the surface, like for example the phosphine gas that was bubbling to the surface even as the Belgians were actively engaged in green management. Hopefully they didn’t suffer any “instant radiation” or loose their hats this time:lol:

Take it away Diana……………….

I have previously outlined how “the toxic trail” formerly delivered phosphorus contaminated waste, as well as barrels of waste from the Albright and Wilson factory in Trinity Street. In the previous post, I also outlined how this had affected the canal network further afield. When this hazardous and environmentally damaging practice finally appeared to cease around 1974, the operation to deposit toxic and harmful hazardous material from the same source simply continued via road haulage. It also appears evidentially that this practice had been going on at the site on an ad hoc basis right from the start of tipping there however.

The nature of the material- still apparently containing white phosphorus AFTER the company had claimed that phosphorus production had discontinued at their factory  site, shows that this was a mute red herring. WHITE PHOSPHORUS WAS CLEARLY STILL BEING TIPPED AT RATTLECHAIN LAGOON.

The article below appeared in the May 16th 1976 edition of the Sandwell Evening Mail. It details how a barrel of phosphorus had caught fire en route to a “Tividale tip”.

The text isn’t very clear I’m afraid but I’ve typed the whole piece below and then I will make comment on some interesting quotes and claims within it.

“PROBE LAUNCHED IN CHEMICAL LORRY FIRE

Sandwell Mail Reporter.

An official enquiry has been launched into the incident in which highly combustible phosphorus waste caught fire in Oldbury while being transported by open lorry to a tip.

A full scale police and fire brigade alert was started when a 40 gallon drum containing the waste burst into flames. It was being driven through Oldbury to a Tividale tip from the Langley works of chemical manufacturers Albright and Wilson Ltd.

Mr Ken Harvey the county council’s waste disposal officer said “I would not consider this a satisfactory method of transporting such materials.

I am aware of the Albright and Wilson waste tipping operations but I am not aware that waste is being handled in this manner.

We intend to pursue this matter through discussions with the company because after this incident one must accept that present transportation arrangements are not entirely satisfactory.

Sentro waste disposal officers were sent to the scene of the incident in Shidas Lane, Oldbury.

SEALED DRUMS

There they met fire officers and safety officials from the company who had earlier used special fire fighting equipment in the blaze.

Mr Harvey said the firm had laid down procedures for transporting such materials.

It is normally regarded as safe to move such materials in sealed drums as Albright’s were doing, but the incident has highlighted a weakness in the rather loose legislation which exists,” he said.

We don’t have the power to impose conditions on companies moving their waste and we have only limited power controlling disposal of wastes.

Stringent

“But under new legislation to take effect,  sites like the Tividale one will have to be licensed with councils and comply with stringent conditions on tipping and type of materials.”

Mr Harvey said inquiries had indicated there were a number of factors which had led to yesterday’s incident.

They would be discussing it with the firm to see if a more satisfactory method of transporting wastes could be found.

The companies divisional secretary Mr Raymond Woodhead said the material concerned was completely safe as long as it was not exposed to air.

Tankers

They were carrying out a full investigation to see how and why the drum ignited.

“This material is no more dangerous than thousands of other substances carried by road every day- in fact it is no more dangerous than a petrol tanker or a private car , and when it is dumped underground it remains safe, ” he said. “

The first alarming statement in this article is that it appears to suggest that this highly flammable and toxic material was being carried in a “open lorry”.

The “Tividale tip” is not named, though the mention of Shidas Lane is interesting. Of course it was going to rattlechain, but this appears to suggest the route being taken from Trinity Street. The council’s refuse tip is located in Shidas Lane, as was the Apollo Lagoon owned by Accles and Pollock- but neither of these are in Tividale, and would not be used for phosphorus waste disposal in any case. This shows that this 40 gallon drum had not got very far from the works before setting on fire- threatening not only the driver but anyone breathing in the load of gassing venom en route.

The pictured barrels are identical to those I have seen deposited in the lagoon, and it is consistent with documented evidence of the fact that these barrels were simply “rolled into” the lagoon or even “sunk by rifle fire” on pallets!

Limited PPE is being worn but the gauntlets and spades indicate that they were fully aware of the hazard involved- something not afforded to any member of the public caught up at the scene- let alone any unfortunate wildlife in the wet tip!

KEN HARVEY

I am fully aware of this useless bloody idiot and his role at the county council not being fit for purpose.

“I would not consider this a satisfactory method of transporting such materials. “- no shit Sherlock but do you therefore consider it satisfactory to simply dump it in the open air just a mile down the road?

He then blames “loose legislation” which in some aspects is probably true, but at this point in history the deposit of poisonous wastes act 1972 had been passed, as well as the Control of Pollution Act 1974– so implementation was entirely on his watch.

That he considered such transport as “safe” is part of the problem, though like all apologists, he points to something in the future down the line that will somehow wave a magic wand and make it all “safer” still- this of course implies the site licensing that he and others approved of and would become waste disposal licence SL31 passed in January 1978.

“stringent conditions on tipping and type of materials”- The main criticism of his approved licence under his watch and the fools who approved the licence was that it did nothing of the sort and was completely vague- and still allowed the deposit of the same toxic hazardous waste- that no doubt was still being considered “safe” when dumped under water.

Raymond Woodhead.

His name appears in frequent Albright and Wilson correspondence at this time- and the site licence application. Like all other Albright and Wilson officials he is a liar with several statements in this article. It is not and never will be “safe” unless exposed to air. This absolute rot implies they were unaware of their Long Harbour pollution fiasco and the environmental disaster this release caused in and under water– LIAR WOODHEAD.

Comparing this material’s transport to a petrol tanker or car is another red herring , but not dissimilar from what other works managers like the liar Peter Bloore would state about “toothpaste” and calcium phosphate in the waste at Rattlechain. Liars of the chemical industry thrive on attempting to downplay their activities and harmful substances by attempting to compare them to mundane and “harmless” materials- as do so called “environmental consultants” attempting to gloss over contaminated land for that matter.

“and when it is dumped underground it remains safe, ” he said. “

Of all the idiotic statements this one really does take the piss. Is he stating here that this material was not only being dumped into rattlechain, but also into the “disused” mineshafts that mysteriously his deceitful company appeared to know little about?

What about groundwater? What about wildlife and the soil being poisoned? What about the toxicity of white phosphorus and its toxic breakdown products systemically damaging to human health ?

I have no doubt that once all the nasty stuff had been scooped up and put into another barrel under water it would soon have been allowed on its way to rattlechain without further delay to poison the birds there.

THAT THIS UTTER CRETIN WAS IN CHARGE OF ALBRIGHT AND WILSON’S ACTIVITIES ONLY DEMONSTRATES HOW LITTLE A SHIT THEY GAVE ABOUT ANY OF THIS ONCE END OF PROCESS HAD BEEN REACHED.

NO CHANGE AT ALL- JUST DIRTY BUSINESS AS USUAL.

I have looked in detail about the waste disposal license approval and what happened next HERE.

Nothing changed in the matter of barrels being dumped- as another fire incident at the site demonstrated in 1989. Once again we see vagueness from local officials, promises of investigations and looking to the future from the company.

Once I came on the scene in 1999 and started reporting just how damaging the practice of depositing waste at this site was, they once again just employed the same deliberate lies and deceptions about the “safety” of the chemicals under water.

They now continue in the same vein with their “geotextile membrane” and sand and crushed brick burial under water, as the gas beneath rises to the surface.

If it wasn’t fatal explosions killing their own staff and gassing local Oldbury residents , it was of course their dire pollution record and this lasting legacy that defines Albright and Wilson.

I have dealt previously with their toxic trail from the old Chemical arm to rattlechain, and also provided accounts of those who observed the dire trade being carried out. These articles however from the excellent British newspaper archive and the Birmingham Daily Post reveal how further widespread the company were polluting the Birmingham canal via their appalling Alfred Matty contractors of Coseley.

From 13th February 1968 we learn of an incident following which  boaters were urged to not use the Netherton tunnel on account of the “deadly fumes” that had been unleashed from within the large structure. These fumes were a direct result of Albright and Wilson’s canal cargo- phosphorus and its breakdown products  i.e the stuff that they were dumping into Rattlechain lagoon.

This should come as little surprise that Alfred Matty were spilling this material liberally into the canal.

The entrance to the Netherton tunnel, some 2768 metres long

A further letter then appeared in the same newspaper supporting the claims made by the other inland waterways users. This also warned of “the extreme danger”  posed by the Albright and Wilson phosphorus waste. It also suggests the glow that this material was having in darkness.

By 03 May 1968 the Albright and Wilson spin machine appears to have become operational. We get the usual statement about how much money they claim to have spent putting right their own pollution issue. This of course was a regular tactic of this deceitful company. They did it repeatedly with the “Oldbury smell” as well as fatal explosions from their factory. Unfortunately as these articles often do, they appear more like advertisements for the company. The claims of cutting waste are not the issue at all, but the one which they attempt to spin. As revealed in the account concerning Alfred Matty contractor Enoch Clewes , the danger was not reduced by the danger of the chemical still being dumped.

It is interesting to note from this article that British Waterways were stated as threatening possible legal action against Albright and Wilson, which is difficult seeing that their own organisation were also directly being allowed to tip from this industrial polluter into the very same marlhole at Rattlechain that was the issue.

I wonder what deals were done between the two parties? 🙄

By 11 September 1968 we get “no rest till tunnel cleared” . This comes from the boaters who had reported the problem concerning the Netherton tunnel issue to start with.

What appears to have escaped these people’s thought is where this material when cleared from the Netherton tunnel would be deposited. It is perhaps merely selfish that when this tunnel was cleared for boat cruising, that it didn’t really matter where it went, as long as it wasn’t in the canal.

Unfortunately this whole attitude was one associated with the canal chemical traffic to start with. I shed absolutely no tears that it is dead in the water and will never come back, because I have seen first hand as to what those involved with it did- they killed wildlife and poisoned the environment and little else, whilst making Albright and Wilson a great deal of money for little cost of getting rid of harmful waste that is still all there and still a danger.

I have also had the great misfortune to go through the Netherton tunnel following behind diesel powered narrow boats belching out foul pollution of their own- and this continues to the present day. I have had to deal with the direct pollution that these boats cause from leaking diesel into the water, and evidence of discharge, particularly around mooring stations are not hard to find on the BCN network. ALL DIESAL POWERED CRAFT SHOULD BE PHASED OUT AND BANNED FROM BRITAIN’S CANALS- THERE SHOULD BE  NO USE OF DIESAL AT ALL- IT IS THAT SIMPLE.

Then there are those fucking idiots who have gone on “boat marathons” , up every nook and disused arm even when told by locals that they will get stuck and there is no access, but still they selfishly continued, only to leave behind dead fish and displaced drowning chicks in the water after stirring up decades of industrial pollution that the boat chemical traffic caused and that British waterways failed to clear up.

Of course, British waterways no longer exist, and in that I am also glad because they were an absolutely shite organisation, in bed with the polluters, and not chasing them to stop it. One can see from this letter below from 1970, and after these articles appeared, that they were still pursuing Albright and Wilson about the pollution around the tunnel, but only to tip it somewhere off their patch- that patch of course being rattlechain lagoon.

Strike a light! In March 1967 an explosion at the cursed Trinity Street plant killed another of their hapless workforce. The early report in the Birmingham Daily Post of 4th March reported an explosion that rocked the town. It was reported that this took place in the oil additives processing area. Bare in mind that these wretched chemicals introduced by W.B Albright during the war were already the cause of the foul “Oldbury smell”.

Observers from some distance away saw the explosion and it appears to have sent debris over a large area.

“The whole area was cordoned off by the police”

The article reported that additional firefighters were sent to the factory when two missing men were reported. It incorrectly states that no one was harmed by the explosion.

The following day the same paper reports on the death of Thomas Gough, 43 of Warley.

We learn here that Albright and Wilson graciously decided to “stop work” on a new chemical in the building concerned. The accompanying spin is just typical of their PR spin machine. An advert of how many people they employed- (2000) (wow that’s a lot and we’re so important an employer in the area) contrasted by the fact that it was the first fatality in 15 years    (ergo what a great record we have).

“considered “negligible” by the company”

On 8th March from the same paper we have the usual band wagon of the amateur politicians thanking the emergency services. This borough, formed out of Oldbury was of course so rotten and packed with Albright and Wilson shills that it doesn’t really warrant any further comment. I’m sure for Thomas Gough’s family , it was a “catastrophe”.

And then on 23rd March at the inquest the paper also reports on yet another whitewash and unsatisfactory explanation as to what caused this explosion and a man’s death. The verdict of “death by misadventure” is totally unsatisfactory as this implies some dangerous risk that was taken voluntarily. The fact that Albright and Wilson’s spokesman states that it was not an experiment but a normal process operation just drops them even further into the shit.

If Mr Sigsmith didn’t know then who the bloody hell would? So secretive were this lot of their process operations and experimental procedures that they would have absolutely no intention of making public knowledge of anything that went wrong- because scientists can never be wrong can they? The claims that a replication of the “experiment”- ( oh so it was an experiment and not a normal process operation then) do not constitute the conditions that occurred in the controlled conditions of the plant?

The fact that the coroner points out the bright light explosion thus looking for an explanation from AW does not appear to have been followed up when Sigsmith provides the answer that this could have been an electricity flash. Given that people from Sutton Coldfield and Yardley saw this explosion, I think it rather unlikely that they would have observed such an event from such a distance.

It just surprises me that a phantom fag thrower hadn’t been blamed like that of the deaths in 1951- though of course , that was not proven either in that set of circumstances as to how Albright and Wilson staff had set out to work one morning, never to return home.

I have found no further information as to what bullshit explanation Albright and Wilson would eventually come up with.

This post deals with another fatal explosion at the Albright and Wilson factory in Langley, this time from 1951. This year was of course the much celebrated “centenary year” of the enterprise between the two chemical proprietors.

The Yorkshire Evening Post from 10th July 1951 was quick off the mark, detailing early reports of what had taken place at the Research and Development plant.

More detail came later in the Birmingham Daily Gazette the following day detailing how the toss of a coin proved eventful for one man and left another dead. Joseph Cutler aged 30 of Smethwick died from his injuries when the drying oven exploded.

A quote from a survivor is quite telling.

“The work in this department is dangerous because phosphorus burns the flesh. We have to wear long coats and rubber boots”

The article reveals that the dead man’s father also worked at the factory before quoting W.B Albright– who immediately attempts to pour cold water on any blame for the factory- a typical ploy that resurfaces many times in the future, just as it had about the God awful cat piss smell that they and particularly he had created.

The article also confirms that several other men were badly burnt and hospitalised, with one, Joseph Partridge of Langley “dangerously ill”

It would transpire that he also died from his injuries, as the article from 12th July in the Birmingham Daily Gazette confirms.

I believe that the building in question had been given planning permission just one year earlier reference OB/48/50  ” proposed erection of research laboratory” and had been approved on 28/6/50 by that rotten borough council.

If one had any doubt about how little this company cared for its workforce, shifting blame to almost anything to escape questions which should have been asked about its own shabby operations, then what transpired out of the official subsequent inquest some time later should leave no doubt. The article from The Birmingham Daily Gazette of 28th September 1951 reveals a company desperate to shift blame onto anything but itself.

How is it possible that the cause of this explosion was not known? Was coroner Playne on the AW payroll, given their connections with health boards in the area? The idea that a cigarette end could have been dropped is total speculation, and I believe highly unlikely given the manner in which the staff at this company would have been fully aware of the risks involved- unless of course they were utterly stupid.

The most interesting thing to come of this hushed up whitewash and cover up of an inquest is the relevant question asked from the fire brigade as to why they had not been called- as professionals to deal with the fire. The pillock Jackson, obviously so in charge of the situation that one of his own died and others were burnt , was obviously briefed on what to say, and then chirping in we have Messrs Topley and Inglis who appear able to conclude that their chemicals, the way in which they were stored and handled had nothing to do with the explosion. Topley is perhaps best known for providing the formula for the disastrous joke known as AW bombs– which are even today causing flammable problems wherever they are discovered.

In the centenary book the following is noted on page 322

“His services to the company were many and various. Not least of them was his tactful handling of an indignant (Barking) Lady Mayor and Corporation when an explosion, which they believed was due in part to phosphide getting into the works drains, blew up a row of sewer manholes in River Road.”

I have to say that Albright and Wilson escaped here with corporate manslaughter- that is what would be investigated today by legislation designed to root out employers such as them. The toss of a coin was obviously in the hands of a fate already sealed by poor industrial practices with chemicals dangerous to the employees and the wider community at large.

The Albright and Wilson factory site at Langley is regarded by some misguided individuals as a “heritage” site- usually those who were or are involved within the chemical industry themselves and believe that in some way we should all be very grateful to those who established these polluting environmental death sites in one small place.

But Albright and Wilson’s dire record in not only polluting the local environment is perhaps only surpassed by the manner in which some of its staff paid the ultimate price with their lives for making the insidious cult of money making Quaker weirdo’s a shed load of money so that they could live in comfort in leafy Edgbaston and other such more prosperous none black country industrial locations.

This article from 1899 from The Bromyard News. is one such early example of a fatal blow at the Trinity Street factory- the year before  founder Arthur Albright at 89 popped his clogs.

Poor Eli Guest (54), of Langley along with two other men were burnt when a boiler exploded, and he did not survive.

Making phosphorus, as well as using it at all was a very dangerous business. The photo below from nine years prior to this incident shows a group of men, one of them also named Guest with phosphorus retorts, the old way of making this insidious chemical. Given the manner in which whole families worked for the two controlling families, it would not be unreasonable to believe that they may have been related.

Though the pure fantasy of the company presented in the centennial book “100 years of phosphorus making” attempts to portray the Quaker families as some form of moral heroes overcoming adversity, the reality of the situation is that the Albright and Wilson’s were at the very centre of high society and its potty traditions, and controlled matters of law/commerce for their own personal monetary gain. Part of this was class servitude of other local families- and it would continue over generations in this way.

From 100 years of phosphorus making (1951)

Some of these old retorts still exist in Oldbury used to make a wall, their contents long since spilt or dumped in some piece of ground or cut, and no doubt still lurking somewhere it shouldn’t.

Why?

Albright and Wilson the company would boast long and loud over the years about its convalescent homes and providing their employees with care, but the Quaker philosophy was really one of managing living automatons to replace others, and damaged goods would be better out of sight than a reminder to others of the very real dangers that their workforce faced.

After drawing attention to the mystery surrounding the sudden deaths of healthy birds on this chemical “hazardous waste” lagoon in the late 90’s, some articles appeared in the Express and Star newspaper concerning this and the eventual direct link with the chemicals contained in there being entirely responsible for the deaths. Comments made by Rhodia at the time– particularly by their health and safety director Tom Dutton, are now quite laughable, but entirely consistent with the liars at Trinity Street’s previous rebuttals of how their operations at their factory site affected the environment going back many years previous.

The article below appeared in the local paper on 18/3/2008. The linkage of the sediment to the deaths was of course the entire issue, the issue that Rhodia spinners like Dutton and other dishonest work managers at the factory had not gone into at meetings where they appeared mystified by why birds were dropping dead on their waste facility.

The fears that the birds had swallowed toxic materials were entirely accurate. The article deals with the then most recent death of a swan captured on video for the first time– which we now know from experts in the US was entirely consistent with white phosphorus poisoning of wildfowl seen in Alaska. So protective of their chemical endeavours, Rhodia did not even bother to inform those undertaking post mortems of the risks posed by those chemicals- as was revealed when I enquired to the AHVLA conducting them. I called here for the sediment to be tested- which of course would reveal the level of p4 in the accessible sediment.

From Express and Star 18/3/2008

The quote from Dutton below gives away nothing, just spin and no direct answer to my hypothesis which he knew was correct.

In January of 2009, the serious chemical fire at the Rhodia Trinity Street factory brought renewed attention on their entire operations. The claim by Rhodia that “the lagoon does not contain any chemical that caused  the fire at the Rhodia Oldbury site on January 2nd”   is absolutely false.

From the HSE report into the fire on 2nd January 2009 at Rhodia’s Oldbury plant.

There is no difference between white phosphorus and “yellow” phosphorus in terms of toxicity.  They are one and the same.It is also a distraction technique to try to not link the issues of human heath and safety and the obvious bird deaths caused by the same chemicals. The breakdown chemicals from Albright and Wilson’s/Rhodia’s operations should not be used disingenuously to try to negate their linked environmental damage.

Fires in connection with this site appear to have been occurring throughout the disastrous period of dumping here and allowed to “burn themselves out”. The incidents also occurred when this site was under licence and still receiving waste far more recently than this- indeed a suspicious fire occurred when they removed barrels put on to allegedly stop birds landing on the pool with the sediment on them igniting, as did other licence breaches which I recorded at the time.

From Express and Star 13/1/2009

There certainly ARE conclusive links between the chemicals contained in the pool and the bird deaths– but no thanks to the Rhodia spin and deception trying to conceal this.

Subsequent to these conclusive links between the pool contents allowed to be dumped under licence, (and in no way this licence regulation stopping this from happening), Rhodia then suddenly announced that they were putting cctv cameras at the pool. This was of course in response to the fact that they knew that I would be recording any future issues and had already sent these videos to experts in the US who agreed with our conclusions.

The Health and Safety executive are shown on record in minutes I obtained via an FOI request about advising Rhodia about safety issues at the site, though when I asked them what advice they had given, they claimed that this comment had been erroneously minuted. Frankly I don’t believe this was the case.

The timing of this camera installation being installed AFTER the conclusive links between the birds being poisoned by the chemicals within this installation put there only by the site operators, I will leave people to draw their own conclusions.

Here’s a video of when they were chasing swans off the site using a motor boat.