{"id":25,"date":"2013-01-19T20:21:54","date_gmt":"2013-01-19T20:21:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/?page_id=25"},"modified":"2024-08-06T21:18:48","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06T21:18:48","slug":"eye-witness-accounts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/?page_id=25","title":{"rendered":"Eye Witness Accounts\/Your memories"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 class=\"entry-title\"><\/h1>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p><b>\u201cProphecy is fortunately no function of an industrialist, and we must leave the event to our historian\u2019s successor.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7394\" style=\"width: 243px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/sydney.png\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7394\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-7394 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/sydney.png\" alt=\"sydney\" width=\"233\" height=\"319\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-7394\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">If you see Syd , tell him!<\/p><\/div>\n<p><b>Sydney Barratt, former Chairman of ALBRIGHT AND WILSON.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>There are many stories and anecdotes surrounding the local history of this site, some of which have been retold to us over the years, and are consistently similar in description. In order to build a permanent record of what occurred on the site, so that its history\u00a0as a waste disposal site will not be swept under the carpet, we want to know of\u00a0your memories.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Did you used to play around this unfenced marlhole as a child?<\/li>\n<li>Do you recall seeing waste being disposed of into the lagoon either by canal barge or road tanker?<\/li>\n<li>Did you used to work for Albright and Wilson or Rhodia and have inside knowledge of what was being disposed of here- or what were you told about the waste being disposed of here by works management?<\/li>\n<li>Do you have any old photographs of the site or canals around it?<\/li>\n<li>Do you remember pollution\u00a0along the canals- especially around the Trinity Street area or Dudley Port?<\/li>\n<li>Did you ever see any dead birds in or around the area that appeared suddenly?<\/li>\n<li>Anything considered about Albright and Wilson\u2019s other toxic waste sites in the Whitehaven, Widnes or Bristol areas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>I have discovered eye witnesses who have seen dead birds on or around the Rattlechain\u00a0lagoon prior to 1999.<\/p>\n<p>Local man Robert Adams recalls an Albright and Wilson employee or tanker driver using a net to retrieve dead bird carcasses from the pool in the early 1990\u2019s. Mr Adams received a non committal response when he asked what had killed them.<\/p>\n<p>James Price\u2019s recollection goes back further and confirms the way in which waste was still being delivered by canal barge in 1969. Given the number of dead passerine species (perching birds, or songbirds) he recalls seeing, and the known low water levels and higher (and unquantified) levels of white phosphorus in the waste, it is hard to believe that wildlife was not being poisoned by white phosphorus spillages in the area. Men were transporting waste using a wheelbarrow bouncing up and down on planks. This material must have got everywhere!<\/p>\n<p>This is his statement &#8211;<\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">&#8220;After serving fifteen years in the army with the light infantry, my first job in 1969 was with the London steel works at Tividale. I worked a three shift system, 6-2, 2-10 and 10-6. I used to walk to work using the canal and by the tunnel, that\u2019s the one nearest Dudley Port<\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">One day about 5.45am in the summer of 1969, I noticed two dead birds near the tunnel entrance. As I went further along the path level with the marl hole (clay pit), the whole path was littered with dead birds of all types. But as I was near the filter beds on the left of the path a bit further along just a couple of birds dead and nothing after that.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">I saw dead birds many times after that but not as many as the first time I had seen them.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">One day I ended my night shift at 5.45am, and as I walked along the canal towards Oldbury, I came level with the marl hole. There were two men using a pump and large hose, pumping what I recognised as a liquid substance of Phosphorus out of a large steel barge. During the summer I often saw them pumping the substance down into the marl hole, always early in the morning.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">I had seen phosphorus on Salisbury Plain during army manoeuvres, when they used the mortar shells. So that is my conclusion why the birds died. They would have used the marl hole when the water was just rain water as all clay pits fill up when not in use. But when they used it after the phosphorus was put in, they would be poisoned and die very soon. Phosphorus burns like hell<\/span><\/em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em>.<\/em>&#8220;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>COMMENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem2.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15149\" src=\"http:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem2-300x57.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"95\" srcset=\"https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem2-300x57.png 300w, https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem2-1024x195.png 1024w, https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem2-768x146.png 768w, https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem2.png 1144w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">&#8220;Amazing what money can do to cover up dumping. Its horrendous that people are living in such close proximity to this dump. We discovered it after moving into Macdonald Close . The effect on wildlife is awful and nothing is being done!!!!!! Unfortunately birds dont understand warning signs and more appropriate measures should be taken. Its frightening how we didnt even know it was there until walking near it one day. Glad this website has been created had been reading the requests for information on what do they know. Do you have any information on long term exposure? Perhaps flyers should be created to locals to make them aware of this web site, because someone I spoke to in our street was under the impression it was completely safe now and no risk to anyone.&#8221;<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem3.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15150\" src=\"http:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem3-300x139.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"232\" srcset=\"https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem3-300x139.png 300w, https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem3-1024x476.png 1024w, https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem3-768x357.png 768w, https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem3.png 1147w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">&#8220;Thanks Matt for your astute comments. It is ultimately the local residents who will be affected by these sites and by the toxic contents within them. The nearer you live, the closer you are to being the involuntary subject of an experiment in long term exposure to certain hazardous waste chemicals. The so called \u201cpathways\u201d of exposure that environmental consultants and other theorists like to drool over are only as complete as their academic minds allow them to imagine. The trouble is that these people have a very nasty habit of getting it wrong because they lack imagination. Wildlife suffers, and people will suffer. It is the story of every chemical disaster the world has seen, yet still they do not see it. I remember one Environment agency manager telling me that \u201cphosphine is marsh gas\u201d. Another stated \u201cphosphorus isn\u2019t toxic, I\u2019m a chemist, I did A-level chemistry.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">The people who claim that such sites are \u201csafe\u201d are the ones who choose not to live by them. They are also the same people who do not want all the information to be widely known. If you have seen the film \u201cErin Brockovich\u201d you will know what you are up against when it comes to trying to convince the so called \u201cprofessionals\u201d, who were deaf, dumb and blind to the facts of the case and the real truth of the situation.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">We intend to put more pages and links up soon about the evil chemical that is white phosphorus, and other toxic materials that were deposited in the lagoon.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">It is our intention to tell the real truth that the local newspaper won\u2019t print.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">To answer your question, the long term affects of exposure to white phosphorus\u00a0are necrosis (death of bone and tissue cells) of the jaw (phossy jaw) and bones. Some animal studies have confirmed birth defects in newborns.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">While some people choose to live in \u201cparadise\u201d, it does not mean that others should be forced to live in hell.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Please help to spread the word.&#8221;<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/WLBCOMMEM1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15148\" src=\"http:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/WLBCOMMEM1-300x37.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"62\" srcset=\"https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/WLBCOMMEM1-300x37.png 300w, https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/WLBCOMMEM1-1024x127.png 1024w, https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/WLBCOMMEM1-768x95.png 768w, https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/WLBCOMMEM1.png 1142w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">&#8220;I must mention I live by this toxic pit it is horrible the smell that comes from it sometimes it\u2019s so bad the smell will burn your nose and the air quality is horrible I\u2019m asthmatic so I suffer when the levels are bad around it I have lived by it my whole life I remember when it was not blocked off at all I was always told not to go by it my parents said that if you go by it it might kill you so I have always known it was really bad.&#8221;<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15147\" src=\"http:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem-300x100.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"166\" srcset=\"https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem-300x100.png 300w, https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem-1024x341.png 1024w, https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem-768x256.png 768w, https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/wlbcommem.png 1142w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">&#8220;I have only just found your site.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">I was born in 1951 in Tipton.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">We were one of the first families to move to Jays Avenue in the early sixties and as a youngster the railways and canals were my playground.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">We used to walk along the Grand Union towards Birmingham from the top of Jays Avenue.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Not far along the canal was a derelict brick works and we used to play by it in the surrounding area.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Nearby, down a slope was what we used to refer as the Green Lagoon, which was quite famous. We found that by chucking bricks into the strange coloured water we could cause a small explosion and showers of bright fire sprays as the water mixed with the air.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">One day I moved a little way from where we normally threw from, looking for stones to throw. I walked onto a bare patch of ground and instantly went down up-to my waist.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Something stopped me going further and I managed to get out.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">I was wearing wellington boots and they were smouldering. I had walked onto some kind of underground fire.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">After that and the thoughts of what might have happened, we stuck to roaming the canals and railways.&#8221;<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cProphecy is fortunately no function of an industrialist, and we must leave the event to our historian\u2019s successor.\u201d Sydney Barratt, former Chairman of ALBRIGHT AND WILSON. There are many stories and anecdotes surrounding the local history of this site, some &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/?page_id=25\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":47,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"onecolumn-page.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15151,"href":"https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25\/revisions\/15151"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/47"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}