Say hello to cyclohexanone, the new, super-duper additive that could be in Thanet's water supply!This six-carbon, cyclic molecule with a ketone functional group is a colourless, oily liquid with an odour reminiscent of oil of peppermint and acetone, and is used as an industrial solvent. Apparently local printing ink manufacturer Sericol, which is owned by Japanese giant Fujifilm, dropped a bit of an old bollock, along with seemingly vast quantities of this stuff, at its Pyson's Road factory twelve years ago. It appears the Environment Agency has now confirmed that the clean-up operation is still ongoing, and that they've so far recovered 470 tonnes of cyclohexowhatsit, and that the underground water supply has been damaged.
A quick flick through my National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards tells me that cyclothingywhatsitdoodah targets the eyes, skin, respiratory system, central nervous system, liver, and kidneys. So, the full mixed grill then. Presumably our beloved council was charged with the controls on this site. As one commentator said recently: 'I wouldn't trust them to be able to control their own bowel movements'.
Full marks to campaigning biblio-bloke Michael Child for going public on this, based on some excellent research by, of all people, our very own Irritating Bloke, Rick!
Click here to read more on Thanet Online
Click here to read Environment Agency's FOI response re Sericol
This article has NOT been approved by the Politburo. Comrades are reminded that Sericol provides much-needed jobs in this area, as do other developments on the State's aquifer such as Kent International Airport and China Gateway. For the avoidance of doubt, the People's Central Committee for Health has reported no ill-effects from cyclohexanone and furthermore have carried out tests which suggest it may well be beneficial to health (e.g teeth whitening).
25 comments:
That would certainly explain some of the mannerisms of Thanet people then.
Yeah an what ya gonna do bout it then 12.05 A....... by the way ECR - Thanet Coast Life is looking for you!
Yes the suspected developmental toxicant effect ? Effecting foetus which causes behavioural problems which worsen as the child grows.
But be aware the Environment Agency wording. They state that the problem probably existed throughout the life of the underground factory feed pipe.
Actually you have Dr Moores "Thors Hammer" thread for me cottoning on this was a bigger incident than cllrs believed.
A cllr named the chemical (getting it slightly wrong) and I knew the water abstraction had been switched off. ergo there was a large volume involved.
If I had bounced this right away with an FOI request then I would have blown the opportunity to establish that there was also theft of cyclohexanone a chemical used by drug pushers to malke angel dust and also can be used to make improvised explosives devices.
I have also had a reply from KCC re FOI request about Kent Adventure Training Corps. The pseudo cadet group has not enjoyed KCC Youth Group affiliation status since 2003.
When I wrote some time back that maybe an epidemiological study should occur around the area of Westwood (Sericol and Thor) I was being serious. If you check out Margate Road and Newington how many young person deaths with brain aneurisms ?
Tony Beachcomber should be giving Michael a copy of the 6 page Environment Agency response.
I will be replying to EA and in that reply asking for an assessment of the recent massive Pfizer development site and whether site pipe and vessel welds failed contractual standards but were not reworked.
Don't want another incident of a chemical plant pipe being faulty from its installation in Thanet eh ?
Yes that would be the Pfizer site where the weld isnpectors allegedly heard former Petbow production welders admit to nobbling welds when they worked on backup genny production in the 80s.
Tangled webs ECR.
I would say most worrying here is that covering the issue up means that anyone effected and exhibiting symptoms, would have been far less likely to be diagnosed, and therefore far more likely to get more ill than necessary or even possibly die.
There is a further problem here that is the boreholes for agricultural irrigation and crop washing are not monitored by the environment agency, so contaminants could enter the food chain undetected.
With the two big planning applications that I have some involvement at the moment China Gateway and Pleasurama both designed by the same architects, I am concerned that people may have been prepared to compromise public safety, in order to attract the developers investment.
Don't build anything anywhere in Thanet....it might spoil the aquifer.
Hi 4:24 You aren't quite right there. The aquifer is in a specific area and is well mapped. There are lots of places you can build without affecting it. Unfortunately, TDC seems hell bent on putting unsavoury developments in those areas where the most damage could be done. A simple remedy would be to make the tenants of any new development legally liable for damage to the aquifer. With the bill likely to run to billions, I can't see any of them being able to afford the premium (asuming any insurance company was stuipd enough to give them cover). The fact that tenants will not be expected to obtain cover for damage to the aquifer tells you something about TDC's approach to environmental issues.
Rick - I'm sorry I ever doubted you!!
But then it was never the info, so much as the way you tell 'em!
If you can keep it short and to the point in future, you're definitely un-barred!
5.48 I believe the new polluter pays legislation means they are, the problem with China Gateway is that it is situated on the most sensitive part of the aquifer, and I am not sure that the council have been open with prospective tenants about the potential liabilities
Summary
Pollution from diuron and its metabolites is, like nitrate pollution, a ubiquitous problem
within the Isle of Thanet aquifer. The widespread diuron pollution is symptomatic of a much
larger problem of historic pollution within the aquifer system. Diuron was observed in 90% of
samples (0.4-214 ng/L). In 60% of these metabolites were more prevalent than diuron. Mean
total diuron concentrations were above the Prescribed Concentration Vale (PCV) at nearly
30% of sites and showed a large concentration range (2.2-1161 ng/L). Maximum
concentrations for diuron and its metabolites were in the following order
DCA>DCPU>Diuron>DCPMU, all four compounds exceeded the PCV on at least one
occasion. There is some evidence to suggest that diuron occurrence could be spatially related
to areas of urban and industrial development. Results from groundwater tracers (SF6) support
the idea that high diuron concentrations were associated with the unusually high recharge
observed in the winter/autumn of 2000-2001.
The Isle of Thanet Chalk aquifer has characteristically short residence times, as evidenced by
the response to historic reductions in applications of other pesticides such as atrazine and
simazine and recent groundwater tracer studies. This is both a benefit as well as a drawback in
terms of overall groundwater quality. While the problem of diuron may be only transient,
given improved application practices, the aquifer is still vulnerable in the short-term
depending on the quantity of diuron stored in the unsaturated zone. Much more needs to be
understood about the transport and occurrence of diuron in the unsaturated zone to determine
more fully the future risk to groundwater from pesticides such as diuron.
Despite some evidence to suggest that the metabolites of diuron may be more toxic than the
parent compound, there is currently no requirement to monitor metabolite concentrations in
groundwater. Should this change there could be potential implications in terms of future
management of the groundwater resource in the Isle Thanet aquifer, and across the UK as a
whole.
A Taste of Things to Come.
Goodness me. This all reminds me of that scare we had about ten years ago, when they discovered that thousands of tons of dihydrogen monoxide had leaked into the aquifier.
I recall that it was hushed up at the time, but you can't keep something like that under wraps for long.
This stuff, in relatively small concentrations, can kill a person almost instantly if they breathe it in!
Wow! Thanet's cliterati have been stimulated by ECR's musings on cyclohexanone.
I have this Deliverance-like image of the backwoods of Kent,where Gods forgotten creatures, the creepy redneck hicks of ECR's blog gather to hatch schemes to save their world and keep out the city boys.
Or is it more like Beavis and Butt-head, where Thanet's finest (in their own eyes) fantasise about taking control of their universe on the back of half baked theories or ideas, although they have no real-world experience of anything.
Keep it up people. It may be crap, but your self congratulatory hype is hugely entertaining.
Ladies and gentlemen, a big hand for Ken Wills there!
As we are all in a mood for outing people your troll is more likely to be Maisiegrace, ECR, who as we all know is Dr Fiona Sherriff, local property developer and saviour of the Margate Harbour Arm. You can tell by the fawning, mindless praise of TDC on her blog that 10:18 and her are one and the same.
This woman, who the local papers always simperingly defer to as a Doctor of Biology from Oxford (if she was so good at that why did she come to Margate?) seems to regard herself as God's gift to Thanet. Clearly the letters after her name have impressed poor old Sandy and co, just as the letters after Simon Moores' name did a few years ago. And we all know how that turned out.
By the way if she is that good at business how did she manage to get £20,000 in cash stolen from her home the day the harbour arm opened? Come to that, what was she doing with £20,000 in cash lying around at home in the first place?
480 tonnes ! that puts the PCB's on the old GEC site in the shade.
12:19 & 1:16 you are a long way off, but I am honoured to be put in the same frame as those achievers, rather as one of the losers like you all clearly are.
Wrong 1:16! Unfortunately not a squillionaire. In addition to the usual requests for brevity from Rick, can I suggest that blogs would make more sense if anonymous bloggers at least used a pseudonym? Then maybe we could tell whether we have one point of view or six? Call yourself Ermintrude or anything you can think of.
Maisiegrace I have come to the conclusion that there is little one can do to get brevity from Rick, I have spent a considerable time ploughing through Rick writings that I had previously skimmed through. I can’t fault any of his science or engineering, so I find I have to take the rest of what he has been saying more seriously.
O and yes can I second all ye anonymi please adopt pseudonymi or even a number, 6?
10:18/2:14 - I quite agree with you, Thanet is the arse end of beyond. I am sure you would agree that Whitstable is so much nicer, with its population of intelligent, sophisticated, middle class, former North Londoners who wouldn't give a fig if their water supply was contaminated as long as the blacks don't move there.
When are you planning your next fire 2:14?
10:18, I am a city boy, and its pricks like you that may keep others like me out of Thanet.
Alas the anonymi don't appear to be taking heed completely although it's a slight improvement. Don't be afraid - just click on Name/URL and go for it!
So am I correct in thinking that the Thanet water supply even today is unsafe to drink? and has been for the past 12 years?
Kind of worried now.
I wouldn't worry too much. It has to vie with the hormones, heavy metals and other assorted goodies the water supply nationwide has.
Calm down everyone, it's only a blog!
Clearly 10:18/2:14 etc is an irregular visitor and presumably does not know what a tolerant, liberal, accepting kind of person I am. He or she has every right to express an opinion here, as does everyone else, whether it be for or against, and it is therefore in that spirit that I say to him or her: Fuck off cunteyes.
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