Author Archives: swanny

Oh Rose (Lane)- Thou Art Sick#1

In the case of the now little known Rose Lane of Oldbury, “invisible worms” came by lorry under the guise of some “transport” haulage company or “waste disposal” operation and left the land saturated with chemical sickness. Rose Lane ran in … Continue reading

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Perverted planning- An attack on local democracy and urban green space

Swearword box at the ready. This Conservative Government is increasingly becoming worse in its policy decisions. The recent outlined changes to the planning system, which have been progressively watered down over the years to the benefit of Tory party political … Continue reading

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The Dukes of Bio-hazard- Albright and Wilson’s blazing trains

  There are very few documented cases of the environmental release of white phosphorus on a large scale, (apart from its misuse in war….oh sorry “smokescreening”), but one such instance occurred in Ohio in the US in 1986, and yes … Continue reading

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White Phosphorus misadventures#4 Toebal warming

A story from The Wakefield and West Riding Herald from 27th July 1907 reveals how it got a little steamy beneath the sheets for a husband and wife who had retired to bed.  😛 It probably wasn’t the kind of … Continue reading

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Albright’s toxic archives #24 Another Albright “alarming explosion”

    I have set out previously many explosions associated with the Trinity Street site and its chemical firm fiends Albright and Wilson.   Take this example from 1899 which killed a man and seriously burnt others.  Not only do … Continue reading

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Mr Albright’s boys

  The pompous fake legacy of this Quaker chemical manufacturer became well established and cemented in the area where his company really wrought havoc, pollution and death. Civic society and libraries have disgraced themselves in promoting the philanthropic fable for … Continue reading

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More Barnett family falls and fortunes

I have previously outlined how workers at Samuel Barnett‘s dangerous Rattlechain brickworks site had died but had received little in the way of public attention. Another had seriously broken his leg leaving him unable to work.  The main architect of … Continue reading

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An extraordinary #Rattlechain Brick and Clay record

Well, I thought I had found all there was available to find with the former Rattlechain brickworks, which forms the bowl of the hazardous waste lagoon of today, but how wrong I was! I have found an extraordinary article from … Continue reading

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White Phosphorus misadventures#3 Grange Spill

    It defies belief that white phosphorus appears to have been present in school science lessons well into the 1980’s at least. The amateur chemist teachers obviously believed it would be a good trick to make their class sit … Continue reading

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White Phosphorus misadventures #2 Irish cake and The Black Widow Mary Wilson

Murder and white phosphorus were a common occurrence when the deadly poison was still easily available with few questions asked. As the following story shows from The Belfast Telegraph dated 15th November 1956, it was used particularly in food to … Continue reading

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