So its been a full year since this website was set up to tell the long saga of Rattlechain lagoon. We said SOLVAYtion isn’t here , and that’s still our view of the situation. We still know very little about the long term future of this site, except that the owners want to change their name and eventually surrender the waste permit at which time it will be offloaded, buried toxic waste and all.
A year ago we were most concerned what effect the proposed dredging operations would have on the wildfowl at the site; and in truth we don’t know what effect it did have. Some 60 resident coot and moorhens have never returned once the waste pipe was removed, and it can’t be seen in other local areas where there has been a sudden increase of those which appearently “left” of their own accord when disturbed.
We don’t know what type of flocculent was used to allegedly solidify the waste material, nor if it were this simple why the owners of the site appeared to be incapable of doing anything previously except putting up helium filled balloons and a few old barrels across the water on their wildlife “safe haven.”
What we do know is the subsidiary lagoon has not been capped or remediated in any way, and seriously if this is something that the regulators are suggesting then maybe they should take a look at this page , which shows how part of the original lagoon was buried to create the current western embankment bordering John’s Lane, which was itself built on top of land previously within the Albright and Wilson site.
Solvay’s human health risk assessment dealt with the current site, not that of the whole site previously used for waste tipping- and we don’t accept many of the conclusions they found anyway and never will- particularly concerning phosphine gas. An assessment of this study will be up soon to explain why.
One old remnant, another to try to erase the sites waste dumping history disappeared over the last couple of weeks. RIP the old pumphouse.
Frame
Now you see it
Now you don’t
Some other development has been the dislocation and beaching of the pontoon pipe which replaced it.
The rattlechain pier, minus the pump
With this in mind and with the heavy rain of the last month, the causeway path is starting to look a little less than it did before, which is obviously quite purposeful on Solvay’s part. That would be “mechanically intevening.”
I should think it will be breached by Monday- more gravel anyone?
Another surprise was the visit of the four musketeers to the site, thankfully briefly.
It’s unusual to see a great deal of wildfowl anymore during the day at the lagoon, and on this point and probably this point only it will be one agreed by Solvay, whatever they say in public but say something else in writing to birdwatchers.
What’s next- who knows- but this blog will continue for the foreseeable future to record events at the site and explain the long backstory behind it.
