What Lies Beneath Rattlechain Lagoon?

Let’s open door 19

Rhodia removed barrels  in May 2009, which they had added to the lake supposedly to deter swans from landing.

On 25/5/09 on a very hot bank holiday Monday they inexplicably caught fire needing the attendance of West Midlands Fire service. Though Rhodia tried to claim that this had started due to “a grass fire” there was no evidence of this. It is more likely that sediment on the barrels containing white phosphorus had fully dried out and spontaneously ignited what it was in contact with.

This alerted residents to the issues on the lagoon.

Let’s open door 18

Once white phosphorus had been identified as a likely cause of death, Rhodia finally got around to undertaking white phosphorus testing in dead birds retrieved from the lake. There had been a long prior history of inconclusive post mortems– because they had not been transparent about the nature of the waste and its toxic properties. To date 12 birds of 5 different species have found the chemical within their remains, present in significant quantities. Systemic poisoning of wildfowl at rattlechain lagoon has been demonstrated.

Let’s open door 17

That’s when good neighbours become bad for ” the friends”. The advent of building houses on a former sewage works that had lain dormant for several years ended the dumping legacy for Rhodia. It has become clear talking to people who bought houses that were built on this site, only after a planning appeal which controversially overturned the rejection that Sandwell council made, that they were not given the truth about the history of this site. The hazardous waste sign disappeared off the front gates when Barratt Homes were selling the new homes. People as well as animals are victims of industrial pollution.

Let’s open door 16

Chase the birds. In their attempt to divert attention away from their toxic waste causing the deaths of birds, Rhodia took to trying to prevent them stopping on the lake. Like German paratroopers had been considered a threat in the 1940’s, so swan invaders were repelled with bizarre methods at first- a helium filled balloon on the end of the pipe with a scary face, a model boat, barrels stretched across the lagoon on ropes and finally chasing them with a motor boat. All bizarre to the passer by, but the more serious problem remained beneath the water when the birds took flight.

Let’s open door 15

In 2008, the specific clinical signs that we had observed in some dying swans at rattlechain over the previous 9 years was recorded on video for the first time.

This gave a clear indication of the suffering caused by spending time at this toxic waste dump. It is a reminder that despite claims of safety and compliance with licensing, and even the waste itself, the fools who both allowed and regulated this site were and are responsible for allowing this to happen.

Following research conducted by us via the internet of similar symptoms in a US army firing range contaminated by white phosphorus where wildfowl had also died, we contacted the scientists who had researched this, who were of the opinion that the symptoms shown in the video were very similar to those seen in observation there. They stated that testing of white phosphorus was required in the dead birds, Rhodia reluctantly agreed.

Let’s open door 14

A birds eye view of Rattlechain lagoon at the end of the 1990’s, when Rhodia were still calling it “rattlechain mere”.  The luminosity of the water is caused by the emission of phosphine gas. You could see it from space, yet to a bird it would just be a quiet open area of water to feed or roost.

Let’s open door 13

When confronted with the insoluble mystery of bird deaths at their toxic waste lagoon, Rhodia put forward some bizarre claims about how their site was not to blame. These lies from works management would eventually unravel, yet their PR spin continued to be pumped out like the toxic waste that came before it. THEY DID NOT VOLUNTEER ANY CREDIBLE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TOXICITY OR HEALTH ISSUES RELATING TO WHITE PHOSPHORUS- (P4), DESPITE ALLOWING US ONTO THE SITE TO RESCUE OR RETRIEVE DEAD BIRDS.

Let’s open door 12

Dead birds! At the heart of the entire story, and how we were alerted to this toxic waste dump.

It was clear that one death of a swan was unusual when it had not been eaten, but several later, and several other species later, there was only one common link- the pool and its contents. We did not know at that time what the lagoon really contained and were misled by Rhodia at several meetings that we attended, where the Environment Agency also appeared incapable of making a link between the nature of the waste and the consequences of dumping it in shallow waters.

Let’s open door 11

Barrels! These appear to be inextricably linked to rattlechain in terms of them being randomly dumped at the site- many before site licensing. The upshot of this is that we do not know what they contained. Even the accounts from Rhodia and the environment agency are sketchy, and no attempt to remove the barrels lying in the waste during the so called “clean up” in 2013 was made, save for the ones impeding the progress of spreading out the geotextile membrane.

An account of  a fire resulting from the tipping out of white phosphorus contaminated waste at the site reveals the truth- undoubtedly this shovelling away the evidence under water would have contributed to subsequent wildfowl deaths at the lake.

Let’s open door 10

The waste management licence saw the arrival of waste tankers carrying toxic sludge supposedly mixed with calcium phosphate to disguise what was really contained within the waste stream. Two different points at the site were used at different times. One named “the beach area” saw a solidified area of white solid often build up above the level of the water. This sometimes caught fire or began to smoke.

The long iconic centre pipe was mainly used in the end phase of waste operations, where it also became a roosting point for many wildfowl- thus attracting them to the site. Deluded individuals within the company believed that this operation was a first class example of how to run a waste management site. They were also the same characters who were misleading people about what the lagoon really contained.