Burying the truth: Monsanto's crimes in the UK
source: http://www.theecologist.org/The_Brofiscin_Monsanto_Files/777777/burying_the_truth.html
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- JanforGore
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In 1967 Gowan’s brief was to offer the union’s members (in those days there were 180,000 of them) advice on legal and financial issues relating to environmental concerns – an increasingly hot topic at the time – when he got the call from the Glanmorgan NFU.
Farmers in the area around Brofiscin and Marndy quarries near Pontypridd were reporting mysterious deaths and abortions among their livestock. Arriving at Brofiscin Farm to investigate, the owner Gwilym Miles took him into a field where he was shown a stricken cow – one of a prize winning herd of 60. The cow was listless, flaccid, and unable to stand. Gowan was then taken to a barn where he was shown an aborted calf – it had no ears, no tail and one leg was a stump.
The local vet confirmed to Gowan that it was one of several similar deaths among the herd and that an autopsy had shown that the dead cattle all had lethargy, an inflammation of the stomach lining and liver. This was confirmed by the ministry vet and led to the local abattoir in Cardiff monitoring cattle from the farm, with a view to condemning those showing such symptoms.
At nearby Maendy Quarry similar deaths and abortions had been occurring in sheep, having also initially shown a loss of muscle control. All were baffled as to what was causing the deaths – it was beyond their experience. While reported symptoms were the same, there was no clear pattern of deaths to indicate disease or mass fatality to suggest one-off poisoning.
Shocked by what he had seen, something else struck Gown – the sickly, sweet smell in the air. He was also alarmed by the foaming yellow and purple liquid he could see streaming from he quarry into the ditches and streams across the land. After consultations at the NFU he was given the go-ahead by the Union to investigate further. He was to concentrate on Brofiscin Quarry and the surrounding area due to the regular cattle deaths, abortions and reproductive problems being experienced on Miles’ farm.
The quarries at Brofiscin and Maendy had become landfill sites in 1965 and 1966 respectively. Planning permission for Brofiscin had been granted against the advice of the local Llantrisant council’s planners, Gowan was to learn, and the go-ahead was only given with a series of conditions to preclude the dumping of wastes that could interfere with the watercourses or groundwater, or the environment. Throughout the Fifties, protection of the increasingly absurd waterways has been an increasingly political hot potato, which led, in 1963, to the passing of The Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) Act 1961.
Monsanto fell foul of this new legislation. The company’s Newpoty plant had been routinely dumping chemical wastes into the River Severn and public waterways and sewers. Internal memos from Monsanto record that at least 3.4lb of PCB wastes were daily being dumped into the sewers. Criticised in the press, and beset by a parallel situation looming large at its now infamous US plant in Anniston, Alabama, Monsanto looked for a new way to deal with its burgeoning waste problem. This was a case of swings and roundabouts for the global company; as its problems at home intensified it ramped up production of PCBs in the UK.
It sought out and employed a local Bridgend haulage company Industrial Waste Disposal South Wales Ltd (IWD) to clear its wastes. IWD, with Monsanto’s assistance, identified the sites at Brofiscin and Maendy, secured planning permission and swung into operation. Despite both quarries being permeable – Brofiscin is limestone and Maendy sandstone – neither was lined nor capped against rainfall. Problems soon materialised.
Within months, the owner of Brofiscin, a reclusive spinster known only as Miss Morgan, told Gowan that she started to receive complaints from villagers in nearby Grosfaen about the strong phenolic smell coming from the quarry. In 1967, when the cattle deaths began to occur, Gwilym Miles had also complained to her of fiery coloured liquids entering the stream on his land. Gowan ascertained that the fresh water shrimp in the stream were dead or dying.
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This goes into more detail and the threats against Mr. Gowan's life. Unbelievable.
Farmers in the area around Brofiscin and Marndy quarries near Pontypridd were reporting mysterious deaths and abortions among their livestock. Arriving at Brofiscin Farm to investigate, the owner Gwilym Miles took him into a field where he was shown a stricken cow – one of a prize winning herd of 60. The cow was listless, flaccid, and unable to stand. Gowan was then taken to a barn where he was shown an aborted calf – it had no ears, no tail and one leg was a stump.
The local vet confirmed to Gowan that it was one of several similar deaths among the herd and that an autopsy had shown that the dead cattle all had lethargy, an inflammation of the stomach lining and liver. This was confirmed by the ministry vet and led to the local abattoir in Cardiff monitoring cattle from the farm, with a view to condemning those showing such symptoms.
At nearby Maendy Quarry similar deaths and abortions had been occurring in sheep, having also initially shown a loss of muscle control. All were baffled as to what was causing the deaths – it was beyond their experience. While reported symptoms were the same, there was no clear pattern of deaths to indicate disease or mass fatality to suggest one-off poisoning.
Shocked by what he had seen, something else struck Gown – the sickly, sweet smell in the air. He was also alarmed by the foaming yellow and purple liquid he could see streaming from he quarry into the ditches and streams across the land. After consultations at the NFU he was given the go-ahead by the Union to investigate further. He was to concentrate on Brofiscin Quarry and the surrounding area due to the regular cattle deaths, abortions and reproductive problems being experienced on Miles’ farm.
The quarries at Brofiscin and Maendy had become landfill sites in 1965 and 1966 respectively. Planning permission for Brofiscin had been granted against the advice of the local Llantrisant council’s planners, Gowan was to learn, and the go-ahead was only given with a series of conditions to preclude the dumping of wastes that could interfere with the watercourses or groundwater, or the environment. Throughout the Fifties, protection of the increasingly absurd waterways has been an increasingly political hot potato, which led, in 1963, to the passing of The Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) Act 1961.
Monsanto fell foul of this new legislation. The company’s Newpoty plant had been routinely dumping chemical wastes into the River Severn and public waterways and sewers. Internal memos from Monsanto record that at least 3.4lb of PCB wastes were daily being dumped into the sewers. Criticised in the press, and beset by a parallel situation looming large at its now infamous US plant in Anniston, Alabama, Monsanto looked for a new way to deal with its burgeoning waste problem. This was a case of swings and roundabouts for the global company; as its problems at home intensified it ramped up production of PCBs in the UK.
It sought out and employed a local Bridgend haulage company Industrial Waste Disposal South Wales Ltd (IWD) to clear its wastes. IWD, with Monsanto’s assistance, identified the sites at Brofiscin and Maendy, secured planning permission and swung into operation. Despite both quarries being permeable – Brofiscin is limestone and Maendy sandstone – neither was lined nor capped against rainfall. Problems soon materialised.
Within months, the owner of Brofiscin, a reclusive spinster known only as Miss Morgan, told Gowan that she started to receive complaints from villagers in nearby Grosfaen about the strong phenolic smell coming from the quarry. In 1967, when the cattle deaths began to occur, Gwilym Miles had also complained to her of fiery coloured liquids entering the stream on his land. Gowan ascertained that the fresh water shrimp in the stream were dead or dying.
________________
This goes into more detail and the threats against Mr. Gowan's life. Unbelievable.
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