Work on contaminated pool in Oldbury ready to start
Long-awaited work to clean-up a contaminated Black Country pool that has been blamed for the deaths of more than 80 birds will start in January, bosses of the site said today.
More than 80 birds have died at the Rattlechain Lagoon waste disposal site in Oldbury. Residents blame the deaths on birds ingesting white phosphorus.
Now chemical company Rhodia UK Ltd which owns the site has announced a programme of environmental improvements will begin at the end of January 2013. Residents and businesses will be kept updated about the works through a public exhibition on January 10 at the Vision Point meeting centre on the Vaughan Industrial?Estate, off Tipton Road.
The lagoon on John's Lane has been owned and managed as a waste disposal site for more than 60 years, although it has not been actively used for six years. Rhodia – which took ownership of it in 2000 – has been working on a solution to cover the waste contained in the sediments at the bottom of the lagoon to help prevent birds ingesting them as they feed.
Work is due to start in late-January and last until early November. Rhodia spokesman John Moorhouse, said: "It is inevitable that a project of this size will be noticed by the local community but we are committed to minimising impact on our neighbours."
