Monthly Archives: December 2014

Let’s open door 14     A birds eye view of Rattlechain lagoon at the end of the 1990’s, when Rhodia were still calling it “rattlechain mere”.  The luminosity of the water is caused by the emission of phosphine gas. … Continue reading →

Let’s open door 13 When confronted with the insoluble mystery of bird deaths at their toxic waste lagoon, Rhodia put forward some bizarre claims about how their site was not to blame. These lies from works management would eventually unravel, … Continue reading →

Let’s open door 12 Dead birds! At the heart of the entire story, and how we were alerted to this toxic waste dump. It was clear that one death of a swan was unusual when it had not been eaten, … Continue reading →

Let’s open door 11         Barrels! These appear to be inextricably linked to rattlechain in terms of them being randomly dumped at the site- many before site licensing. The upshot of this is that we do not … Continue reading →

Let’s open door 10     The waste management licence saw the arrival of waste tankers carrying toxic sludge supposedly mixed with calcium phosphate to disguise what was really contained within the waste stream. Two different points at the site … Continue reading →

Let’s open door 9   BANG!!! Not the kind of explosion that you would want to be anywhere near, but this detonation of AW bombs took place in 1983. We certainly believe that it was not the first! We have … Continue reading →

Let’s open door 8     Following the end of canal haulage of waste by 1974, the rattlechain site has been accessed by one road for many years. John’s Lane has a changing history with the site, and there have … Continue reading →

  Let’s open door 7     New legislation in the 1970’s began to limit the types of waste that Albright and Wilson and other polluting chemical companies could dispose of into the environment. Unfortunately this new regulation did very … Continue reading →

Let’s open door 6 The Trinity Street Factory had convenient canal links for disposing of its toxic waste. The sites at The Gower Tip and at Rattlechain were the end of the line. Alfred Matty boats transported the cargo by … Continue reading →

Let’s open door 5     AW BOMBS. A mass produced incendiary grenade by Albright and Wilson and issued to the Home Guard. Utterly unfit for purpose, these “anti-tank” weapons were discarded and forgotten, but destroyed in large quantities. They … Continue reading →