I have received a reply from The Food Standards Agency regarding the following open letter post.

I don’t really believe it answers my question as to why Jo Payne of the AHVLA did not communicate that white phosphorus systemic exposure had been demonstrated in a bird- on this occassion a canada goose- a predominantly grazing feeder.

“CHaIRS role is as a forum for sharing information in relation to chemical contamination incidents with the objective of improving communication and facilitating risk management.”

With this in mind not reporting this appears to negate the role and purpose of the group.

As far as the HPA study refered to in this letter, we will be looking more closely in the holes in this report in the coming weeks. This report was not an appraisal or promotion of how well Rhodia maintained this site, or the events which led to the report including the proven white phosphorus exposure and poisoning of wildfowl on Rattlechain lagoon. It was a paid for “get out” study for a chemical company exposed by public scrutiny of its practices. It is their choice that they failed to deflect this issue by rebuttle which went on for over a decade when they knew all along what the issue was. The fact that they described  the waste as “safe” now only makes their subsequent claims of site safety less plausible. The missing link for Rhodia/Solvay and their contractors ERM is why it took so long to address this issue with any seriousness, until it presented to them a potential future financial asset. “Protection of wildfowl” is the new catch line, the same birds they allowed to be poisoned between 1999-2012 and for decades before that before we exposed it.

These current works are nothing more than a pitch to sell of this site when their “monitoring” has satisfied the weak regulation that has gone before. Their aim is that people will forget with time. “Play the long game”. The same way in that many people who live on the Temple way estate now were not those who were living there in the 1990’s- they moved away with the lull in operations that were occuring on the adjacent dirt mound that regularly produced complaints to Sandwell council concerning dust over their homes.

Any housing developments on, near to or adjacent to this toxic lake will be vociferously opposed by us at every stage in the future- be in no doubt- there will  be no one who does not know what their potential property is next to and what lies at the bottom of their gardens.  Time will not heal rattlechain lagoon, burying the toxic waste is a time bomb ticking.

With regard to the letter, it is astonishing that the FSA do not routinely test wildfowl DNA in chicken products- especially considering the recent  horse meat fraud. YES YOU READ IT HERE FIRST FOLKS AND NOT IN THAT PAPER THAT TALKS ABOUT STATINS ALL THE WHILE ON ITS FRONT PAGE.

All I can say is that as someone who deals with lead poisoned birds, birds with various ailments and diseases or potential diseases, birds that swim in toxic lakes and lakes that contain human shit, the thought of these ending up in some dodgy foreign restaurant makes me glad that I don’t have any taste for eating such “chicken”. Isn’t this exactly the type of issue that CHaIRS should be investigating- forgetting for a minute the potentially white phosphorus poisoned farm animals near MOD land, or the potentially poisoned fish or marine  life exposed by naval flares?

If the regulator can’t confirm what bird’s on yer plate, God help you chicken stuffers when bird flu gets here. But don’t forget, it will be the farmer that gets compensated, not the consumer. BON APETITE RHODIA- FANCY A “CHICKEN CURRY” IN OLDBURY?

PHEW! What a scorcher. Quite a change in the weather in the last week. At the lagoon, several new views have opened up as a result of the North embankment desecration.

Looking towards the housing development in Callaghan Drive and The Steel works- note the slick of embankment soil junk that has collected alongside the flocculation contraption.

Wot no trees

Looking East, you can see where this is going.

More spoil into the water from the contaminated North embankment

The 3 amigos on the North embankment

Napoleon and Bonaparte continue to excavate and load up the little guy for tipping.

Wee Willy dumps his load

Of course this is all for future “site investigation” purposes. Will they find any white phosphorus now that this lot has been churned up to the extent it now has been- especially if it is conveniently shovelled under the surface and some new soil added over the top. Then the so called “samples” of these future investigations will sample shallow ground- not finding anything.

Over the weekend, the newly constructed causeway path was covered over with plastic blowing in the wind- perhaps to stop the handful of birds nesting? Now it’s removed, it forms the bridge over troubled water for the excavation crew to continue their work.

I recognised it straight away when I saw it this afternoon. To the untrained eye, just another piece of metal in the distance, but not to the Rattlechain lagoon stalker like myself. This was a piece of history.

All is revealed below in this picture of the lagoon entrance from The Albright and Wilson era. Note the large island mounds in the centre of the pool (A CLEAR LICENSE BREACH!) which the EA warned them of many times. But look at the Danger Keep out sign to the bottom right.

Yes that is what this was high up on the North Embankment this afternoon uncovered by Bonaparte and his chums. But how truely ironic that the name of “Albright and Wilson” is obscurred by mud- erased from history and now a piece of scrap metal not even fit for tat or even an E-BAY job.

The long arm of Bonaparte

WEE WILLY WINKIE

No matter how much they try, the associations with Albright and Wilson will remain, whatever name appears on the front gates, or whatever fate awaits the site ultimately. As long as the waste remains- so will the toxic legacy of this Oldbury company.

As the great man said

“You can stick lipstick on a pig- but it’s still a pig.”

OR HOW WILLY PETER MET BLUE PETER

And here’s one we made earlier. How to turn a piece of old pontoon, some old drainpipe and a bit of hose into a makeshift pump. Those ingenious buggers at Trinity Street certainly know how to make money out of old rope. Or with the MOD now piss poor, is it a new trial of a British army device- an AW bomb of the 21st century?

Spot the device in the middle, sly buggers.

Bonaparte doing a bit of digging on the North embankment

The finished article anchored in the water

Pipe going under the new causeway path

Hose link @ rattlechain

Sorted

And today it was working, pumping out water from “the cleanside” lagoon, that has just had a load of disturbance caused by a dredger being present. I do hope they tested the water-especially for P4-  oh but I just remembered- the EA can’t test for it unless they get an accredited laboratory to do it for them.Why not use Rhodia’s – I’m sure they are impartial.

I invented something myself today- I might just take it to Dragons Den.

It’s called “The Rubiks’s Albright.”

Nothing is so beautiful as spring—
  When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush;
  Thrush’s eggs look little low heavens, and thrush
Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring
The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing;
  The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush
  The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush
With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.

What is all this juice and all this joy?
  A strain of the earth’s sweet being in the beginning
In Eden garden.—Have, get, before it cloy,
  Before it cloud, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning,
Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy,
  Most, O maid’s child, thy choice and worthy the winning.

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Yes Spring is in the air. The nests have been built, the eggs laid and starting to hatch, the amphibians mating and the birds singing their songs much earlier than usual in the day.

A duck with ducklings in unpolluted waters

And then there is Rattlechain lagoon owned by Rhodia UK Limited- member of the Solvay group.

“Due to the plant life, abundant trees, and water the rattlechain area is a safe haven and home to a variety of birds including swans.”

Steve Hampson former Rhodia Works manager 2001.

Last night Rhodia’s contractors got the chainsaws out. Last night Rhodia’s contractors started to dig at the north embankment again. This morning.. the work continued with Napoleon smoting his ruin on the land once more.

“The sedge is wither’d from the lake, And no birds sing.”

Meanwhile Bonaparte continues wallowing in the phosphatic mud bath to the East.

The book “silent spring” by Rachael Carson changed the way in which people viewed the chemical industry, particularly the pesticides industry and its bullyboy tactics- and one firm in particular which continues to use these tactics on some American farmers. She inspired many to challenge this grotesque industry and challenge their latter day Messiah claims of how pesticides could save the world. And then the PR juggernaut of the chemical industry started to roll, in the same way that forests are destroyed to exploit the natural resources that they hold.

“If man were to follow the teachings of Miss Carson, we would return to the Dark Ages, and the insects and diseases and vermin would once again inherit the earth.”

biochemist and former chemical industry spokesman Robert White-Stevens stated.

Unfortunately the chemical industry believes that it itself created life rather than as it will eventually be found.. to have destroyed it. For every disease that they cure, for every insect and bee that they kill, with it so the human population will reproduce to doom itself into extinction. Lab coated specimens creating new biocides and chemicals today have a misguided God complex.

“The Garden of Eden” refered to in Hopkins poem had no such spoilage, unpolluted by unnatural chemicals , and certainly no organophosphates manufactured by religious cult nutters or the bile in a bottle known as “round-up”.

For all their certainty of themselves, their “saving the world” that their meddling has directly threatened, their Promethean methods and conclusions, the scientist continues to advance in the “dark ages” to no logical conclusion… except that one day they will themselves be pushing up daisies.

Still observing what Bonaparte is doing on the Eastern embankment. According to my “Environment Agency source”, it is to do with problems concerning weed in the pool and “a trial” (What another one!) to reduce water content within it before further treatment.

I swallow this as I would swallow white phosphorus. It is without doubt the strangest looking grey weed I have ever seen in my life- but perhaps an indicator of the type of crap that the wildfowl have been feeding on for many years. The source did make clear that no birds were buried here- obviously a reference to the last post- Glad you read the website guys- it’s “a tribute to you.” 😆

Yuk! Part of a new Rhodia facial creme trial?

As far as I can see this is disposal of contaminated material to land, whatever way you try to dress it up. The trial membrane laying scheme (the basis which guided this misguided operation) informed that that trial had been “a success”. So why are there problems here before “the Caapenslaag” has even arrived?

Would it not make more sense to utilise the technology so ably demonstrated on the Klaar website to bag up this rubbish for offsite “safe disposal” in sealed bags? Or is it the case that this would be classed as “special waste” due to the likely p4 contamination which would cost the French/Belgian misers a shed load of euro to dispose of?

They really can’t argue that removing it would compromise the resident’s safety when they park their cars so close to the waste itself! Or is the Klaar technology  not as safe as it is presented? You can’t have it both ways.

Meanwhile one of the guys was demonstrating his kayaking skills Hawaii five-0 style with a pole. Well impressed, there’s nothing quite like it for warming the blood. Are you any good at rescuing swans mate?

More activity today on the “beach area”. This time it was Bonaparte on duty, scooping up material and depositing it into a freshly dug hole on the Eastern embankment. Is this “a clean up” because it looks more like burial to me.

 The diggers appear to come with several interchangeable heads like Worzel Gummage. This one is the colander head, letting out water and retaining the crap in the shovel.

The hole was gradually filled in with top soil placed over it.

A hose pipe and taped off area were also in evidence. What else will be buried in these shallow graves. Perhaps this is where some of the birds have gone?

The day started with a couple of newcomers to the Rattlechain lagoon, a pair of greylag geese. Not seen any on here before, and don’t really want to either. The oddest sighting on here apparently was an escaped flamingo from Dudley Zoo which a bird watcher told me about some years ago- don’t know what the outcome was or whether it survived.

Observations have noticed a dramatic fall in birds at the site. Coots from around 65 to now around 25 at most. Geese doing their usual early morning fly out and return at night. Have the birds been scared off by the work or have they perished? Given the amount of craft on the pool it would be easy now to remove any evidence swiftly. We have seen dead birds elsewhere in the area since the works commenced, but they will not receive any post mortem let alone a test for white phosphorus.

The point is these works increase the risk, and the dredging has been demonstrated to have increased mortality in the past on this pool. This is undeniable, though no doubt those at Trinity Street would like to reinvent history as with everything else that they promote. The picture of a swan in a bag, caught by the RSPCA  was another PR stunt recently put out in their latest flyer. We called the RSPCA based on the fact that the last pair of swans to attempt to nest on here, before any works had started had seen the male swan dead- later confirmed to have been exposed to white phosphorus.

Later on, (the greylags had gone) Napoleon was up to his old tricks on the causeway path- halfway there now with Bonaparte and the small tipper keeping his advance swift and sure. But then what was I seeing in the distance……..

Napoleon imposter

Who the hell was this guy and what was going on at the beach?

It certainly looked as though two piles of sediment had been tipped on the bank. Was this a floccing test to see if it caught fire? Who knows but it had gone later in the day at the third visit. Should this identical twin remain on site it is going to be difficult to keep tracks with Napoleon, but I will call this one Louis for clarity.

The website now is approahing the magic 100 page barrier. There’s plenty more in draft in one form or another, and some of it will be held back until the time is right.

Sometimes people take credit when others campaign for a long struggle. In 1888 the matchgirls strike resulted in the ban of white phosphorus used in matches concerning their quaker owners Bryant and May- mates or should that be “friends” of Albright and Wilson. John Wilson- one of the clan, even later went on to be a director of this company for 11 years before his lights went out in 1932- must have been a busy man as an MP also.

There is  a great deal of detail contained about phossy jaw in the book “The Shocking history of phosphorus” by John Emsley. He notes that during the 1880’s the salvation army were seen as “troublemakers and activists” trying to bring about change to appalling working conditions that industry poisoned for profit.

The idea that the use of red phosphorus for matches BROUGHT ABOUT THE CHANGE- produced by non other than the same “peace loving” quakers, is a historical distortion of the truth. It is an early example of the PR lies of the chemical industry in that they pioneered the way with a cost based eco friendly alternative material.

The salvation army and the match girls brought about change- not Albright and Wilson as their advert here claims.

As it is, the pamphlet “The manufacture and use of phosphorus and some of its compounds”  published by Albright and Wilson on page 20 states of the modern “safety match”

“It is possible that when the match is struck, red phosphorus on the side of the box is transformed to white phosphorus, which then reacts and ignites the match head.”

Reassuring thought this. How safe are “safety matches” really?

So what’s “the link” I here you cry.

If you were a person unfamiliar with the rattlechain story, you would be forgiven for thinking that those nice chaps at Trinity Street had arrived at the idea that they suddenly wanted to “protect” birds at the Rattlechain site.

Sort of leave out the fact at how toxic the white phosphorus was in “small amounts”, but just focus on that word enough times and put it out in a flyer and people might buy it.

Also completely leave out the fact that the “trouble maker and activist” in Emsley’s words who had brought about the real change, had been doing this for years by removing the birds from the problem when they had been proclaiming that there wasn’t one.

History will record how the most contaminated pool in Britain was buried, it will also record the problems that later were associated with this cover up, and it might just record how a light was shone on this remote corner of the black country on a website called “What lies beneath Rattlechain lagoon?”

Tanker drivers used to complain to me that they had no light on the site. They can now see the way.