{"id":47,"date":"2013-01-19T21:52:23","date_gmt":"2013-01-19T21:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/?page_id=47"},"modified":"2020-07-19T19:10:43","modified_gmt":"2020-07-19T19:10:43","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/whatliesbeneathrattlechainlagoon.org.uk\/?page_id=47","title":{"rendered":"Site History"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of the 19th century<\/strong>, Rattlechain lagoon was a clay pit created by Samuel Barnett as part of his Rattlechain & Stour Valley Brickworks. In September 1899<\/strong> the nearby Birmingham Canal burst its banks<\/a>, flooding the clay pit to a depth of 300\u2019 (100m).<\/p>\n

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After this period there appears to have been some continued use of the pit for Etruria Marl extraction, in the manufacture of blue bricks<\/a>, until a new claypit was dug to the East of the old one in 1946. The Rattlechain brickworks continued to operate seperately.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the 1940\u2019s<\/strong> Albright and Wilson<\/a>, phosphorus and chemical manufacturers of Langley, Oldbury, were producing experimental white phosphorus <\/a>weapons and Molotov cocktail style grenades in the millions at their Oldbury factory for WW2, as they had in WW1 as a Ministry Of Supply agency factory.\u00a0The Home Guard nationally were issued with these “AW BOMBS”, <\/a>(over 7 million), but unfortunately, no records exist of what happened to these highly toxic and inflammable weapons, or their eventual destination.<\/p>\n

Around 1942<\/strong> <\/a>Albright and Wilson use and subsequently acquire the former Rattlechain clay pit for disposal of effluent waste. No licence, regulation, waste limit, health and safety or other conditions were attached to this disposal. Security at the site was non-existent \u2013 there was not even a perimeter fence.<\/p>\n

Most importantly no records exist of what they dumped for the next 32 years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Waste was carried by canal barge contractors Alfred Matty of Coseley, and tipped into the pool manually. Some waste was delivered in barrels. Some was moved in wheelbarrows across planks. It is also apparent that lorries delivered barrelled waste to the site.<\/p>\n

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In the 1950\u2019s and 60\u2019s<\/strong> children were reported playing in this unfenced dangerous site, lighting sticks dipped in phosphorus which caught fire when oxidising. Many eye witnesses recall skimming stones across \u201cthe blue lagoon\u201d to produce sparks across the water.<\/a> This was white phosphorus (P4) reacting to air exposure.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1957<\/strong>, press reports confirm that the then Rowley Regis council had concerns about this “peril to children and had questioned Albright and Wilson’s dumping at the site. <\/a><\/p>\n

In 1958 <\/strong>Rattlechain was again in the news concerning white phosphorus material catching fire and falling from lorries, as well as the tipping making people sick. <\/a><\/p>\n

A gravity-fed pipe, and then and electric pipe were added to the pool for more convenient dumping. One eye witness <\/a>recalls seeing dozens of dead birds on the nearby Birmingham canal embankment. The British Waterways Board also used the site as a dredging tip for canal areas polluted by Albright and Wilson operations. See this picture from 1955 \u00a9English Heritage reproduced by permission. <\/a><\/p>\n

In 1961<\/strong>–1963<\/strong> site boundary changes created a subsidiary lagoon <\/a>to operate a canal discharge<\/a>, within the original western edge of the contaminated lagoon claypit area.<\/p>\n

In 1970<\/strong> waste disposal reportedly switches to road tanker, though canal barge tipping anecdotally and evidentially \u00a0<\/a>(see also picture above) continued\u00a0and large discharge pipes were added to the south of the site.<\/p>\n

1974 is the first year that Albright and Wilson record what they are dumping in the lagoon.<\/strong> Site boundary changes <\/a>add concrete panel fencing, and changes made to the existing subsidiary lagoon and pumping equipment.<\/p>\n

In 1976<\/strong>, a lorry on route to rattlechain to deposit waste caught fire, as a direct cause of white phosphorus within the waste catching fire. <\/a><\/p>\n

In 1978<\/strong> Waste management\u00a0 sl31-licence<\/a>\u00a0<\/span> is granted by West Midlands County Council. This licence allow Albright & Wilson to dump –<\/p>\n