Imagine Gaslighting a whole town to save face. I feel for the lady who took all the calls too, she must have felt so guilty, after going against her gut feeling in the end.
Yeah, in America- there's a gigantic (and actually, rightfully so- at least in the 90s,) amount of movies and even cable channels of American women doing the right thing to help- and they were: threatened termination, lost friends or even put in mental institutions for simply *_*standing their ground with facts when they knew that they were right._** 🥲🦅🇺🇸🤍🦆🇬🇧
This shit happens all the time in the US too. One current example is in St. Louis. There has been an underground fire burning at a dump where nuclear waste from the Manhattan project was illegally dumped. Several years ago, the fire was 700 feet from the nuclear waste. This is in a residential area, there is no plan to relocate the residents and there are extremely high number of cases of cancer especially in children. The EPA and the owners of the landfill keep insisting there is no danger despite all evidence to the contrary. People who live there have to be ready to flee at any time in case the fire meets the nuclear waste. HBO did a documentary about it called “Atomic Homefront” a few years ago but I hardly ever hear anything about it. If you live in the US look up how many superfund sites are in your area. It’s terrifying.
It's funny how many British people believe the US govt is more shady than their own. It's also funny how during both world wars they expected the US to come to their rescue for free - when the US had to fight a massive war just to get themselves out from under the exploitation of the British.
Regardless of the severity of these disasters, what always gets me is the extensive cover up/denial efforts made by those responsible. Really makes my blood boil.
My favorite part was "There's absolutely nothing wrong with the water at all... but you might want to mix it with orange juice to cover up the bad taste..."
I'm so angry that I think I need to get offline for a bit. I can't say the things I want to do to every single member of the water authority without youtube deleting my comment.
What worries me the most about this incident was that there was NO ONE there to man the station. I mean, if a tanker driver managed to do that by pure accident, imagine what someone could do with pure malevolence? And that instruction given of “on the left” reminded me of that Lee Evans gag:- “It’s on the side.” “WHAT SIDE?!?!” Seriously, though, it is disgusting that the water board and government officials are claiming that this water was safe to drink to this day, when the evidence really does point to the contrary. I mean, it was an aluminium chemical and the people who have died have died with abnormal amounts of aluminium in them. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together (but then again, it looks like it does...)
If you're standing behind the clock, clockwise is counterclockwise. Chew on that for a minute. If you've ever tried to loosen a rusty bolt from the other side, "lefty loosey" is utterly meaningless.
I used to drive by the water treatment plant on my way to school every day. I used to think how someone with bad intentions could wreak havoc easily by introducing poison into the water supply.
Sir, if you knew how open to tampering water supplies are in every country on earth you wouldn't be sleeping well at all. Remember The Goodies "Snooze" episode? That's not far from the truth even today.
I lived just outside of the affected area in North Cornwall. The cause of the incident was known very quickly but the effects met with denial and obfuscation from the start. For years people who had health issues as a result were treated with suspicion by the GP's, the possible long term effects were denied and there were some very questionable and intimidating approaches to the idea of compensation. It's good to see this incident covered like this and made known to a wider audience, thank you.
@@clray123 Why would you even take it? It's totally worthless, you can still get sick, and you can still get others sick. It's a total scam by big pharm. Also, whats with the cryptic spelling, lol? Just wire vaccine, lol. Sacre of the bogeyman? lol.
What baffles me in a lot of these incidents is the blasé attitude the people in charge have to the emerging situation. You've suddenly got a flurry of calls complaining the water is discolored, smells weird and is having odd effects. Presumably this is a completely unusual and concerning event for the company, not something that happens every day, and they're just like 'Yeah, it's probably fine. Tell people they can still drink it'. If that were me, I'd immediately be dispatching people to figure out the cause and telling anyone that called not to drink the water until we had figured out the problem. A simple thing to do. It's so infuriating hearing stories of major incidents that were caused by people not giving a solitary shit about their responsibilities.
Public employees for ya. If that was a private company they'd be taking action ASAP to mitigate the legal and financial damage. Gov agencies like these can always count on being covered up for.
@@majungasaurusaaaa i have seen enough examples of private companies doing the same. It all boils down to greed and ego. We cant lose money and we cant be seen as at fault for this.
I work for a water utility we have unique locks for each tank along with labels. Additionally we don’t give out the keys to drivers. One of our staff members meets each delivery and verifies the chemical being delivered before removing the lock
That is how it is supposed to be. Theoretically, a sample of each delivered product should also be drawn and sent to a lab to ensure it is a) the right product and b) meets the "food grade" (or whatever the proper term in English is, it's not my native language) specifications. After all, the delivery papers can say it is food grade aluminium sulphate (or however this is spelled), and the place where the tanker was loaded actually put something completely different in there.
@Runescape State that's how all such facilities should be operated.. especially concerning water to accessed by many communities, for numerous uses. This definitely wasn't the last incident.. there have been, unfortunately, many more tragedies similar to this. Those in "power" should be ashamed, but they just keep on wrecking lives.
@Madame d'Badger I would say not directly since prior to 2016 we received chemicals a bit differently. Chlorine came in cylinders fluoride and phosphate came in barrels and so on. Now everything is a pump off directly into the building and since then we’ve had the policy that: operator makes contact with driver, verifys the c of a, inspects placard on truck or tote,signs bill of lading, verifies all locks in place, unlocks correct tank, watches tank begin to fill to ensure no leaks
@@St.Linguini_of_Pesto I’m perplexed as to how their plant is set up to allow finished water storage (what we call our clear well) to be mistaken for the hookup to a tank. Our clear well is located below a locked hatch behind a locked door. Even if all of our safeties failed, chemical could theoretically end up inside the wrong tank, but not in the clear well
Ahh yes, a series of livestock and wildlife deaths, caused by hysteria of the townspeople as these things usually are. 🙄 I'm disgusted by the Water Authority's handling of things but even more so by the continued lies and deception. In any case, if someone reports BLACK water coming out of their tap, you probably should investigate BEFORE you tell people that water is safe.
A lot of doctors will just call your illness all in your head or just anxiety if they can't figure it out super quick because your problems don't fit into their easy to diagnose boxes. I don't trust anyone really with my health anymore after how I've been treated. The water facility here in my city will often have problems or suddenly dirt and stuff will come out of faucets and they will just tell us to boil the water. Yea, no thank you.
Honestly seems like the kind of thing that these people's grandkids and the handful of remaining folks who, god forbid, had their formula mixed with the contaminated water as infants, will be receiving the compensation for. It's just going to take until everyone with a personal stake in the administrative side is gone and their positions are occupied by people who aren't super hostile to the idea of ever giving compensation for anything... so a long time
@@anhondacivic6541 You can bet they are today, the driver wouldn't even be allowed on site without a high vis jacket, might even have to fill out a risk assessment form first before unloading.
I studied water treatment in college as part of my environmental engineering program and the blood drained from my face when I saw this man had unknowingly dumped alum into the contact tank instead of the mix tank. Of course, you do not need an environmental engineering degree to realize that this is VERY bad, and Fascinating Horror did a great job of explaining alum's role in treatment. The real issue here though, is the insane negligence of the authorities. Telling people to drink this obviously contaminated water for DAYS ON END and even AFTER THEY KNEW WHAT WAS WRONG was disgusting. I can't even blame the driver who dumped the alum for this; he was given so little instruction on what to do.
Your observations are on point and IIRC what was reported at the time, the tanker driver was used as something of a scapegoat after this incident. Perhaps that was just the media but it was convenient for the water authority in covering their much deeper negligence.
if something is wrong, tell them to do it first as a demonstration, if they don't do the simple task of doing it for the public; they won't and have never cared enough to do things properly.
@@enemyofthestatewearein7945 i am in no way an expert on any of these topics, but i say the tanker driver is not at fault. it doesnt take much expertise to know how one key to unlock every door/valve/manhole is bound to lead to accidents. then, he was told "the tank on the left" in this maze of different pipes and again, his key fitting every single lock. he couldnt have known better, he was probably a replacement for the usual driver and didnt even know anything about water processing or this particular site. the entire blame should go to the executives of the water company, as they created and upheld a system that was inevitably leading to minor or major accidents like this one.
@@ottovonbasedmark One key that can unlock ANY tank. ZERO labeling on anything. NO ONE around to supervise an inherently dangerous procedure. A facility that anyone can enter at any time. No alarms or sensors to detect the contamination of water about to be sent out or that the tank containing it had been accessed when it shouldn't have. It's not a surprise there was an accident - conditions made that inevitable. This is critical infrastructure treated like an expendable afterthought. Then the authorities completely bungled their handling of the whole affair. Clearly they were concerned only with covering their own collective asses rather than making sure people aren't harmed by their incompetence. Municipal water supplies should be safe and reliable but shit like this undermines public confidence in that water supply. The result is people shifting to buying bottled water which pumps more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere (manufacture and transport) and produces even more plastic waste - waste that is now itself a major contaminate of water supplies around the world. And yes he was a replacement. He's described as a "relief driver" in the video.
I moved to the area as a child and even now I remember how upset people were that it remained with me. The locals used to tell me about green curdled tea and fear to trust the water supply lasted for many years. I don’t think it has ever been forgotten by those remaining in the area. The negligence and lack of apology and acceptance of error is frankly both disgusting and horrifying..
Absolutely incredible how deceptive the information relayed to the public was, even days later, and that they insisted it was safe when really, they didn't know. Really makes you think how little we know and understand of the risks we're in because someone has an interest in making us believe there aren't any.
The people in that town apparently didn't have a good lawyer on their side and/or they didn't press the issue hard enough. If large amounts of this chemical was found in the bodies of residents even may years after the fact, they had a legitimate law suit on there hands, even whether or not it could be proven to be connected to any pathology. Those poor folks were all law abiding, patriotic Suckers for Authority. They were all too busy "saluting the flag" to notice that they were being Screwed.
The water company is definitely at fault, but I'm also puzzled how guillable those people are. I would stop using the water entirely if it appears slightly brown, and these people had water that appears and does even more crazy shit.
Yes, absolutely. I'd change over to store-bought water entirely, even if it meant I'd have to go unwashed for some time. I'm certainly not going to bathe in anything that so clearly is not clean. 😬
This was the 80s, so cheap bottled water wasn't readily available, and this little town looks to be out in the middle of nowhere. They likely had no choice. Sort of like folks with low income in Flint, Michigan, who had no choice but to drink water from the lead pipes. As consumers, we're all at the mercy of the corporations. Who really knows what's in bottled water these days?
Every time they insist the water was safe to drink, I think about that scene in Erin Brockovich where the water company worker was told the water she had taken a drink of was brought in special for her from the area that was contaminated.
It's frightening that there was no staff, no security personnel at the facility, and how easy it was to put this chemical into the wrong tank. What an easy target that would have been for terrorists!
Literally doesn't matter if a single person got sick...the entire water treatment process should have been overhauled and those in charge replaced. It's inexcusable to have this level of negligence and complacency for such a crucial system.
The problem though is that this means shutting off the plant and shutting off people's water supply. That's a hugely expensive process that causes a lot of disruption and if it's a false alarm causes a lot of backlash.
Its in no way the man who delivered the tank's fault, he was given vague instructions. Given a key to open EVERYTHING. Whoever hired him is to fault for given him the key and the poor instructions.
Of course he was at fault: he couldn't identify the tank that was for precursors. So he should have gotten help. Instead, he winged it. "The tank on the left" is not valid instructions. I also work as a delivery driver...for food. If the instructions you're given don't make sense, you leave the goods at the door. You don't make up your own rules.
@@bernlin2000 There was no one to find, no way to contact anyone, and there was a possibility to lose his job by not doing this. He assumed because there were things at risk, and because no one was there to question. It's an "everyone's at fault" if anything.
As someone with long-term health problems caused by contaminated tap water, I can only begin to imagine what these people went through. "People are sick and dying." "Nah, it's all in your heads. Those dead fish and the aluminum contamination? You imagined those too."
@@josephnickell6652 DuPont's C8 (perfluorooctanoic acid) dumping in Parkersburg, WV. There's a fantastic documentary about it called The Devil We Know. My immediate family and most of the people I grew up with have been ravaged by cancer and debilitating gastrointestinal problems... all in the name of cheaper non-stick cooking pans.
I lived about 6 miles away at the time and our water was affected. I knew people who were seriously affected by this. They were ridiculed by their doctors, shamed by SWW and left to deal with the consequences unsupported. Both myself and my daughter went on to develop auto immune problems and I can’t rule this out as a catalyst for that.,
IF you read the book medical medium there a lot of good protocols on how to get metals out of the body there is a way to do that, you don't have to be stuck to your fate, really its worth a read.
Two words: Flint, Michigan. Entirely different scenario, but another frustrating, negligent case of lack of action with contaminated drinking water provided to the masses. Thank you for highlighting this North Cornwall case. 👏🏼
Most reservations in Canada and the US too, the government is supposed to provide clean water most are under boil water advisories and some are so bad their water looks like tar
The reason the Flint water agency took water from that source was because that was all they could afford. The root cause of the problem was a city policy that they cannot shut people's water off for nonpayment. As a result, the water company started running out of money and had to cut costs wherever they could.
"We have investigated ourselves and determined that there was nothing wrong." I like that they don't tell you what they consider "safe" either. Gotta keep the population in the dark about everything.
I find it incredible that (1) A single key could be used to "unlock" any of the tanks (2) There was no telephone at the site. I live in Cornwall, I know Camelford and South West Water is my water supplier but I can not fathom the stupidity of them and their "practices" - did they actually even have any? As for having their "customer service department" to frob off any people enquiring or complaining by issuing a "yeah yeah yeah, it's fine to drink, stop whinging" response I am totally gobsmacked. Jesus wept, have things changed for the better???
This does worry me, at my work so many of the processes are out-of-date, and I bet many other organisations have ineffective and old processes that need updating.
Please report those out of date processes to your manager or, if they do not listen, report them to the HSE/OSHA depending on where you live. As a worker you have a duty to point out unsafe process management, for your safety and the safety of others.
This stresses me out as our local council - on the other side of the country - dump some sort of antiseptic or something in the water occasionally and assume we don't notice despite it tasting bad and affecting our stomachs. We've taken to drinking tap water often when they do this, which isn't cheap. I suspect if rhis happened, we'd assume they were at it again.
report it. you would not believe the consequences of bad procedures. one example is American Airlines Flight 191, due to improper maintenance and a small overlooked design flaw, it crashed a minute or two after losing an engine during take off at O'Hare international airport. American Airlines picked an "easier" method of engine repair. it snapped the connector connecting it to the wing pylon. It is the deadliest single accident on American soil as far as I'm aware
Hard to believe nowadays that something so simple like different locks for different tanks was not done. Or even that a driver from a different company was allowed to deliver without any kind of supervision.
Please consider watching the accident report "Mixed Connection, Toxic Result" by USCSB (U.S. Chemical Safety Board) here on UA-cam. It covers an accident in the U.S. with a very similar root cause... in 2016.
If every tank had a different key then the delivery company would give the driver a key for every tank that the company delivers material for. "or even that a driver from a different company was allowed to deliver without any kind of supervision." The problem was not that the external delivery driver did not know what to do, but the fact that he was able to do it. The hose on his tank should have a connector that simply does not fit on any tank that he is not supposed to connect to. Many chemical planmts have learned the hard way that having identical connectors *will* result in the wrong stuff being pumped in, no matgter the labelling, keys or whatever.
This reminds me of a similar case called the Minamata Disease, except that one had much more devastating consequences, as the dumping of methylmercury lasted between 1936 and 1968 (and the problem was only identified in 1956). Many of the town's residents live with birth defects and malformations due to exposure to the methylmercury, whether through consumption of fish or swimming in the water.
small correction: the dumping was of of various compounds of mercury, methylmercury is a byproduct of the metabolism of mercury in bacteria, the methylmercury concentration is then magnified through the food chain since it has high affinity to fats. Minamata disease is contracted through highly contaminated fishes up in the food chain (tuna, dolphin, shark) and not by swimming, since the concentration is not high enough in water, but requires a food chain to manifest in dangerous concentrations. source: degree in chemistry
Larger correction: methyl mercury is not a "purer" form of mercury. The purest form of mercury is metallic mercury, which is *relatively* non toxic. What methyl mercury is, is the most biologically available compound of mercury.
The fish died from years of contamination suddenly being flushed into their river, which sounds like a separate but possibly related issue and definitely doesn't make the plant look more trustworthy. The *guinea pigs are unfortunately in the same boat as the people here. I wish the pet shop owner had gotten necropsies done on them to prove that it was aluminum poisoning that killed them, because without that there's no way to say that they didn't die of something else, like the preexisting illnesses the plant was insisting all the people had. Guinea pigs are not particularly hardy animals, and pet shops in the 80s weren't the healthiest environments. It's too easy to say that they might have been sick from something else. The livestock are probably the biggest red flag out of all the animals affected. AFAIK most livestock are pretty hardy; for them to suddenly start dying in large quantities indicates that there is something unusually wrong. If no major infectious herd animal disease or other source of poisoning was found in the area, then I don't know what else it could have been besides the water. (Again, necropsies might have been helpful here, but were probably not within the struggling farmers' budgets.)
Thank you sooo much ! This is what my town and counties water has been looking like for YEARS now.. The few times someone spoke up about it, they got ran out.. All of the symptoms clicked, when the man was holding up the jar, that was picture perfect comparison to our water.. now, I'm gonna start taking samples, and gonna have to take it to the state or something .. here's to hoping I don't go missing, but Fascinating Horror you are amazing. Thank you.
My grandfather was hospitalized from an accidental water poisoning in Walkerton Canada back in 2000. 6 people died and 2000 got sick. This number always shocks me because at the time, the town only had 5000 residents. The water was improperly treated after heavy rain carried cow manure into the water system. Ended up with a town well being contaminated with e. coli. The reason it effected so many people so quickly was because the town had 3 different wells, but only one would be drawn from at a time. The bacteria had time to fester, and then it was that well's time to be the only source of water for the town.
The technicians responsible for testing the water there saw definite results of quality failure but they fudges the results. In the end one of the brothers went to jail. After the disaster, Ontario tightened people and product standards, including increasing fines for breach of trust.
It’s horrific what governments and companies get away with. This reminds me of that scene in Erin Brockovich where she offers the lawyers water from the affected town and none of them would drink it.
Yes, we all know that anxiety causes hair to turn green. The top executives of the water treatment facility should’ve chugged the black gluey water to show how perfectly safe it is 🤦🏻
I remember this incident well. When I was young, I used to visit North Cornwall on family holidays, but the year of this poisoning frightened me, as I was young at the time. I can't believe how badly this was handled, how there should have been a second enquiry, and how easy it was to allow this to happen. And it's sad how people are still affected so long after it happened
You mean, like You went there during a holiday? Like Xmas, or Easter? Or do you mean you just went on vacation with your family? Like, it's not the same thing. Or if you happened to take off around the actual holiday, you would call it, "I took some vacation days off work, before and after the holiday next month(although most people would just say "before and after 'specific name of said holiday(Xmas, easter, July 4th, and now our 2 new greatest holidays Jan 6th or June 24th),
@@kdolo1887 We don't really have another word for it. We'd just say something like "I'm going on holiday [vacation] to Spain over Christmas [holiday]".
@@eadweard. No shit. It's sarcasm Cause its stupid. Cause you can't use the same word for 2 different things. One is like a mandatory thing you get off for your work, they other is something you have to request for to be authorized
From my experiences as a disabled person, ANY authority figure will always blow off your symptoms to say it's fine or just anxiety if it doesn't make sense to them no matter what it is
Or in this case, the reports were so numerous and simultaneous, that there was a certainty that an incident had occurred, and it appeared the only thought was to avoid panic and wait until an investigation could determine what had happened. The public health aspect should have dictated that a general warning should have been broadcast about stopping water use until the problem could be understood. But, that would have been a big deal, would have necessitated intervention from the national government and water hauling for drinking. It was too big, and they didn't even invoke that after they knew. It was all a horrible tendency to wish something away rather than admit the vulnerabilty of a failed safety system and no safety net at all.
Sadly, to this day women have this issue in general as well. Everything concerning feminine health gets written off as psychosomatic, especially by male doctors. The origin of the word "hysteria" alone speaks volumes.
This reminds me of the Walkerton, Ontario, Canada, E. coli outbreak where the authorities blamed everybody but themselves. It was a truely tragic event.
The government will always bury or blame everyone but themselves. It’s why indigenous communities in certain parts of canada don’t have access to drinking water
another banger; this man's dedication to his craft and absolutely pitch - perfect narration show his empathy for those involved in these accidents and their families. thank you Fascinating Horror for showing these historical sacrifices that have helped make life (hopefully) a little safer for the world
I find over-annunciation of every word to be HIGHLY annoying. That's how you talk to dumb ass kids. See. What. I. Mean. When. You. Read. Like. This? It's. Insulting. That. He. Believes. We. Cannot. Understand. Normal. Speaking. Levels.
I don't know how many times I have had to bail on channels with really interesting content because of a wretched narrator - too fast, screechy, full of vocal fry, shouting, not to mention LOUD repetitive "music" (nothing anyone would ever listen to) running monotonously in the background and competing with the narration so you have to strain to hear it. So many creators don't seem to think the quality of the audio matters.
i live 45 minutes from Camelford & spent 6 months working for SWW in 2022, the infastructure & layout of their plants is seriously outdated, the only thing to do on site for Operators is check things, fix things, or wait for someone to fix things, the work can be extremely dangerous for almost minimum wage, and we still get brown cloudy water through our household taps about 4 times a year (at least).
Just the fact it was found those pipes/tanks weren't cleaned in 5 years should make them responsible. Blaming mass hysteria is not just a way of relinquishing blame, but also another condescending dig at the victims.
This is terrifying. 12 days, they waited 12 days and even then they only put an ad in a newspaper!!! “Mix with orange juice”? Dying animals? “Safe to drink”? “Psychosomatic”? Blaming the victims is absolutely appalling. When big companies totally deny that an issue even exists and say that it’s merely “hysteria” and “all just in your mind”. It makes me so upset. We put so much trust in the people and organisations that provide goods and services to our families and our communities, Soooo much trust. Especially when that service is “clean” drinking water, a necessity for ALL life. A £10,000 fine, is woefully inadequate in my opinion. Again, this is just so scary.
There was an incident in Scotland years ago and I remember reading the judge was not fining Scottish Water despite being guilty, as he said all it would have done is reduce the money they had to sort out the problem. If you are deciding whether or not to fine a non profit company that is paid for through taxes, it makes sense when you think about it.
@@iainwalker8701 okay well how bout instead of fining the company, root out the individuals in charge of the illegal lies and safety negligence and throw em in prison? Accountability is important, because without it, you cant trust literally anyone.
This is why you should be way of anyone and everyone telling you something is safe when you or a lot of other people are saying it actually might not be. Big companies have every reason to lie. So does the government. Lots of money to lose if people find out you effed up and people got hurt. Big groups of people can be wrong but they have much less reason to lie compared to the company. I'm not saying automatically believe people, either, I'm saying be careful, think critically, and whenever possible, err on the side of caution and don't drink the water, etc
If the water treatment plant admitted that they f***** up they would have had to pay out huge sums of money. That's why they denied it because it would make them look extremely incompetent.
The fact that black tapwater was coming out and people thought "Yeah, I can use this, let's just phone it in" makes me wonder how bad the water of Camelford usually was...
That was EXACTLY what I was thinking!! 😳 "Hang on, they went ahead & ingested this? What were they used to??" Based on historic images used, it looks like eventually locals did seek/receive an alternative drinking water source, but clearly too late for many alas 😔 The episode commentary suggested experts in aluminium toxicity were NOT actually involved in any of the inquiries to date too, but that seems a bit unlikely, given the level of publicity...? 🤔
When I began watching this I was like "I hope they blame who's in charge and not the driver" but nope, it was worst than that, since they tried covering it up and saying it was "safe".
Trevor Kletz, the founder of modern chemical process safety, once said that in a properly designed plant, one error by a worker should never lead to an accident. This kind of cross connection error is unfortunately common - the US Chemical Safety Board did an investigation video on a similar case where acid and bleach were mixed at a wastewater plant thanks to an unlabeled connection. The result was a huge green cloud of chlorine. The investigation of this poisoning was a disgrace - aluminum may be safe in the normal quantities we encounter, but the massive increase in aluminum combined with any materials introduced by the reaction of the alum and the remnants in these rarely flushed tanks and pipes could pose a significant hazard, especially over a long period of time. I guess it is proof that government can be just as callous and dismissive as business.
Wow that literally just happened at a Milk Specialties plant that I used to work at (acid and bleach). They had temporary employees refill a tank of cleaning solution (which should have never been allowed to be done by even a regular employee) They had to evacuate the plant and surrounding houses until the gas dissipated. Glad I quit that job 3 years ago, the plant is only 10 mins away from my house. Luckily no one got hurt! The usual problem of cutting costs, no training, and not following the simplest procedures. I know it will happen again, that place is deplorable!
Seriously, why was that fresh water tank even accessible from outdoors? And why the hell did it have a fill valve if it's there to collect outgoing clean water? Such a stupid design
Yep, this shit always blows my mind. In a lab environment you'd get your ass handed to you by an auditor for not clearly labeling containers or documenting procedures, but there's so many industrial plants where nothing is clearly labeled and no one's writing anything down and no one notices until the roof gets blown off.
I remember it well. It's amazing how authorities can tell people to stay calm and all is well when the reality is residents were being poisoned. The connection between aluminium and the brain is a clear one. It's devastating effect on brain function is clear and evident. There are even certain recommendations with regards the use of aluminium cooking containers - I bet few here realise that fact alone. I remember these were grim times for water authorities and this event is one of many of that era. Can anyone remember the gassing of visitirs to a new treatment complex? I'm not sure if it was drinking water or human waste waters but just before opening, the authority gave a tour to locals to show why their lives had been disrupted during construction. It was inside a building where many were gassed. A fascinating series. Things like this occurred in more recent times and yet they get buried to protect those guilty. Keep them coming.
Apparently no security or anything, not even a guard or nightwatchman. If this truck driver managed to do this by accident, think of the damage that could be done by someone with the right knowledge or malicious intent.
exactly, someone shoud've made them do the Krusty eating the metal krusty O thing "But sir, that'snormal, uncomtaminated water!" Executive, cltchign stomahc in pain: "It's poison."
I’ve watched a lot of your videos, and I notice a lot of similarities with these incidents. It seems most places just half-ass it on safety, staffing, training, and communication, and eventually enough of those deficiencies line up and it ruins a lot of lives. Oh and let’s not forget cover-ups after the fact.
On the other hand, he drove a truck for a chemical company, and he rationalized away the discharge of a serious chemical into a public water system. He wasn't a seven year old who could have been forgiven for being scared and hiding. His duty was to return to his plant, or to a place where he could call on a phone, and get clear directions. Instead, he guessed and made an entire region sick with poison. Claiming he has "zero fault" is making him little more than a child. If he was old enough and competent enough to be given a commercial driver's license for a large truck, he was presumably able to comprehend the safety training that all tanker drivers must undergo. Boobery of this level is only funny when it is done by cartoon characters like Homer Simpson. Should we have compassion on Mr. Stevens? Yes, but that doesn't mean exempting him from responsibility and accountability for what was a lazy and irresponsible and deadly action.
I wouldn't say zero, when it comes to the handling of a dangerous chemical your instructions should always be cast-iron in nature, if there is even the tiniest doubt in your mind then the best thing to do is stop. John Stevens admitted that he was unsure of what to do and only pumped the aluminium into the first tank on the left because his key fitted it - he simply did it because his key fitted the lock.
Greetings. I am so glad you covered this story. Many local people are still suffering from the aftermath of the poisoning. Just one pointer though: Cornwall is a Duchy - not a county.
I spent many years delivering thing in what you in the UK call lorries. Delivery instructions were nearly always vague, and finding someone onsite is often impossible, even in this time where everybody apparently has a mobile phone. The pratcice is usually to blame the poor bloke that drove the truck. My time in the military taught me to never do something unless I had someone above me to sign off. The poor bugger driving in this case was screwed from beginning to end. but it wasn't his fault In those days he would have had instructions to do his job. He had no choice, unless he *knew* there was a problem. He was a driver, how could he?
What I'm glad to see is that they never scapegoated the driver, as seems like a common approach in these things. Put the blame on someone low on the ladder, or outside the organization. When it really wasn't his fault, he did the best he could with the information he had. Better signage was really needed, or someone there to meet him.
Any corporation. They would throw your mother into their machinery if it meant increasing profits then tell you its because she wasn't being careful enough.
I remember this. I was a young child and we were just outside the affected area. I remember being terrified about drinking the tap water. The green hair was something that really struck me for some reason.
I lived in Camelford fro the age of 6 till 29. The amount of talking still going on around this subject is a lot. So many people died from cancer over the years since it happend. Young, old, health! It didnt matter. The reported amount of cases of cancer or death from another illness there were much higher and trightly grouped. It stood out! 😞💚
not to undermine your experience, but cancer is incredibly common (>50% of people get it) and it does tend to clump - that’s genetics. i don’t think there’s any evidence that aluminium can be carcinogenic.
South West Water has a long history of negligence and improper conduct when dealing with complaints about it, it doesn't suprise me something like this could happen, having dealt with them in the past.
I looked up the MSDS pdf for aluminum sulfate to see what that had to say about it, and it was definitely telling. The list of possible effects in Section 11 is pretty long, but what stuck out to me was the potential risk of reproductive/developmental harm. I wonder if anyone has compared data regarding birth defects/miscarriages/infertility in Camelford vs the unaffected surrounding areas, if there even is data of that sort.
It's a food additive. It's literally safe enough to eat. You can poison yourself with water too but that doesn't mean drinking it regularly is a bad idea.
@@abebuckingham8198 Safe in small amounts, sure. But the levels of aluminum sulfate in the water in this case was not a small amount by any means. There is a very big difference between a small pinch of the stuff being added to food sometimes, and a huge amount winding up in a town's water supply.
Reminds me of the whole debacle surrounding the drinking at Camp Lejeune NC. Same scenario: water tasting funky due to chemical contamination, people getting strange illnesses years later, and denial by the US Navy.
This is why, if I were in the driver's shoes, I wouldn't make the delivery at all unless I was 100% sure - and had confirmed with someone who works there and knows their way around - that the tank was correct. Nobody on site? I'll come back later. Nobody there again? Return the delivery and let them pay to get another one, properly handled this time. They wasted my time by not being there to receive the load properly. Always better safe than sorry. I don't blame the driver for this, though. He may not have fully understood the dangers of the chemical he was carrying, and he certainly didn't have the benefit of hindsight. You can't blame someone for just being ignorant. And the system 100% set him up for failure through its own negligence. A very interesting and infuriating case. Thanks for covering it!
I love your videos so much, they're so respectful and without shock factor or dramatic, anxiety-inducing pauses. If I might suggest a subject of a future video: The Cherry Mine Disaster of 1909? It was a catastrophic event, and hasn't been covered by many. I'm moving into the area near where it happened, and it came to my attention!
This reminds me so much of the Minamata poisoning. Instead of investigating for both incidents, the people who should've been protecting those at risk gaslit them and allowed so many people to get hurt or die. Truly tragic and infuriating
I am the manager of a municipal drinking water plant in Canada with 11 years experience. If anyone is curious for a bit more detail on the process and chemicals used here, first of all the Alum (as we call it in the trade for short) is typically injected into the raw water tanks as mentioned, and this process is called coagulation, which leads to flocculation (the forming of a floc or the "clumps"). The clumps it forms in the water is due to the negative charge on the particles being attracted to the aluminum. The resultant floc is then settled out in a standard plant, or in some plants, such as mine, we directly filter the floc to a 0.1 Micron membrane filter rack. The person who accidentally put the Alum into that tank that fed to the treated water tanks was likely either the disinfectant tanks (chlorine usually) or the pH adjustment tanks (where either Sodium Carbonate or lime are used) to bring the finished product back to a nice neutral 7 pH as Alum treatment drags the pH down having a pH of only 2. In our plant, without adjusting end product pH with Sodium Carbonate the water would be leaving the plant with a pH of 4.8, which is sour on the tongue and not good for pipes.
@@Amidamaru717 Okay, that makes sense. I was a bit confused. Acidic is sour, basic is bitter, and don't ammonia with chlorine, are about the limit of my chemistry knowledge.
@@Amidamaru717 Okay, that makes sense. I was a bit confused. Acidic is sour, basic is bitter, and don't ammonia with chlorine, are about the limit of my chemistry knowledge.
@@emordnilap4747 chemistry is hard lol I never in my life thought I'd end up doing such a chemistry heavy job, I hated chemistry in school. Funny little fact, even though chlorine and ammonia are a big no-no it's actually the standard practice to use ammonia to find a gas chlorine leak. Suit up in hazmat gear, take a spray bottle of ammonia and mist the chlorine lines, when you get a "smoke cloud" you found the leak, mark it, shut it down and make the repairs.
On the other hand, sheep are sheep. If your water stinks, and if it's discolored, and if it is killing animals and turning hair green, the consumer should have been demanding to know why and abstaining without an appropriate answer. The problem is, those residents wouldn't know for days how widespread the problem was, so may have felt it was a local plumbing failure. And most customers may have seen little wrong or fewers evidences, so assumbed pipes were being flushed or similar. But, the SWWA certainly knew the number of reports was obvious. And making up bullshit answers was criminal.
And if it were a private 'for profit' business - there would have been official investigations, possibly people arrested, and tens of millions of dollars paid out in lawsuits. The issue that happens is the concept of 'sovereign immunity' where public agencies and officials cannot be sued. When the EPA went and polluted an entire river due to their negligence - they were able to ignore all of the legal actions through the use of sovereign immunity. Just like when they made a test well to see if fracking was contaminating the water supply. They found hydrocarbons loudly announced their finding to the world - and then literally walked away from the open well. When the state came to properly abandon the well, they discovered that the source of the hydrocarbons the EPA found was from them spilling a tank of fuel and not cleaning it up. The fuel went down the well (wells flow in both directions) and this is what the EPA detected. And the state had to pay for the multimillion-dollar cleanup of the underground water that the EPA contaminated.
Wow. How awful! I was just graduating High School and don't remember hearing about this. Thank you for all the hard work and incredible detail you put into these videos. I can just about put myself right there the way you talk about these terrible events. ❤️🙏 for the communities that suffered and continue to suffer.
This reminds me of the Antelope/The Dalles* poisonings. You should totally do a video on that if you haven't! If you need a bit of context, a cult family in Oregon* poisoned an entire town with a home-brew of salmonella. **Edited for correct info (Thanks, J2Kerrigan!)
Down the Rabbit Hole (another high-quality channel, for nicher subjects) has covered the cult behind it, Rajneeshpuram. You'll need to find a reupload though, as Rajneesh's followers (they sadly still exist) flagged the original and got it removed.
I live right by Flint, MI. When authorities tell you it's safe to drink just take a bottle of your tap water to a city counsel meeting and ask them to drink it.
This video brings frustration and anger for me, I had at the time three small children and everybody told me the water was safe to drink. Nobody took responsibility for this not even the Water Authority All my children have been affected by this their body age is older by 10 years from what they are one of my daughters has dementia I too now I have early onset dementia
These stories are so interesting and they make me so angry, how people can make a mistake and refuse to admit it so intensely that people are sickened and die. 🤦🏻♀️
Just think about this accident. And how the government appears to try and cover it up and deny compensation... Now look at recent events in the same light.?
I've seen nearly all your videos and this surprised me as being among the worst case, in terms of those in charge completely shirking any responsibility. No accountability, no changes, no compensation, wow.
Holy shit, finally someone in this genre who doesn't hold the title for World's Worst Voice. So relieving to find someone who just sounds like a guy and not like a valley girl with a bad head cold.
Geez. I didn't think I would heard of another U.K. incident on this channel where the victims arguably got treated even worse than that Welsh town that got covered under coal slurry, but here we are it seems. I'm guessing no one from the water authority was ever punished either given how sadly typical that is even before the actual gaslighting at play here. This despite the utter negligence of the water company on multiple levels, including that the plant had no one else in it at the time to help truck driver out with the horrible "on the left" instructions. Were they all on tea break with water that conveniently didn't curdle milk?
They weren't actually any victims here so there wasn't any reason to compensate them. There isn't any gaslighting, we know aluminum sulphate is safe to ingest because we've been putting it in our food for a couple centuries now. Mass hysteria is a real thing and psychosomatic symptoms happen in this sort of situation all the time. It's practically textbook.
@@abebuckingham8198 Right, sure.... I never said anything about compensation unless we're counting handing out actual punishment for the *provable* negligence on the company's part suddenly counts as that. I said "treated even worse", which they were on at least a psychological level since even if I believed what you're saying and that *all* the symptoms here were solely borne of mass hysteria, we both know that you generally don't effectively treat hysteria by just telling the affected that they're hysterical and essentially leaving it at that. Even just being clearer about their own utterly avoidable fuck-up instead of pretending nothing happened even after they found out would make them look less scummy even if I agreed that this was strictly mass hysteria, which I don't given the symptoms of the people who died given the sheer amount* of the aluminum sulfate that seems to have been dumped into the treated water. (*The amount of which you seem to be ignoring is the *actual* problem here since even normally safe minerals tend to become poisonous in high enough amounts. Otherwise stuff like Vitamin A poisoning wouldn't be a thing.)
@@abebuckingham8198 Certain theme to your posts here. Work for a chemical company PR department perhaps? You seen to like repeating the "food" fallacy which is a common misdirection tactic they use. Small amounts may be harmless, but that doesn't mean large amounts are also harmless. Many food additives ranging from salt to preservatives are harmful at high concentrations. Not to mention whatever was released from the downstream pipes due to the altered pH (as happened in Flint) and other chemical reactions.
@@michaelinners5421 Large amounts of everything are toxic, including water. I don't work for anyone I'm just not an idiot. It's baffling that even after it's confirmed to be safe people still become hysterical. It's like you're trying to wrong on purpose but you're not, are you? You just really believe in your imagination more than reality.
I had to repeatedly check that I wasn't watching an April Fools reupload. Legit sounds like the plot to a grisly dark comedy movie. I lost it when people's hair started turning green.
If you want to see how sufferers were silenced have a look at the paper by Simon Wessely - he produced the original claims that effects from the water were psychosomatic. He is now a Sir. He has written about Gulf War Syndrome, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, and the adverse affects of the recent jabbing programmes. Whenever a result is needed to show that the results of certain problems are psychosomatic he's your man. I have spoken with other relevant professors who just wish he'd keep quiet.
Excellent video as always. I would love to see Fascinating Horror cover the e-coli water contamination that occurred in Walkerton, Ontario, Canada in May of 2000. 2300 people got sick and seven died. Very similar circumstances to Camelford with people being allowed to drink the water even though it was known something was wrong. A TV movie called Betrayed was made in 2003 based on the Walkerton catastrophe.
I can only imagine how the truck driver felt after this. I’m sure a lot of people would have made the same assumption, that the key would only open the correct tank. Human error is constant, but it’s the response to those errors which must catch them before something terrible happens.
Ever heard of the Flint Michigan water crisis? It super similar to this, 12 people died and a ton of kids got lead poisoning because the government and water treatment plant didn’t take the residents concerns seriously.
Reminds me of the Gloria Ramirez situation where they tried to say that over 60 experienced emergency medical staff that suddenly became ill after being exposed to one specific patient dying of mysterious circumstances, were all just "participating in a group psychosis."
Good god, that was an easy mistake to make, way way way too easy mistake to make. But then the neglicence at the center… now that is just vile. How on earth could you even think fresh aluminium sulphate would be safe? Edit: They found aluminium in the lady’s brain and said “oh lol could’ve been something else.” Bruv?????
Yeah, he arguably should have known better than to just put the contents of his truck in a random place, but more importantly it shouldn’t have been possible for him to do it.
@@Law-and-Disorder The notion that a truck driver for a chemical plant is to be excused like some Homer Simpson is abhorrent. They have to take safety training to drive a tanker. He made the lazy choice to avoide going back for instructions or even to a local phone. It only takes one person to create a distaster. ONE stupid seaman could open the port on a submarine and the ship will founder.
@@borderlineiq Having worked on the administrative side of a wholesale business I think it's important to factor in how much pressure delivery drivers are put under. They're not paid to think long and hard about what they do. Directions to delivery sites are often vague and instructions on what to do when they get there even vaguer. Middle-management only care about the numbers and a diligent delivery driver who did what you suggest every time there was a bit of uncertainty would quickly find themselves looking for another job. Yes he bears some responsibility but of all the parties involved in the chain of events I would argue that his is the least.
It is safe, that's one of the reasons they use it for water treatment. It's a food additive and a common ingredient in lots of household products that don't come with a poison warning. If no one is getting sick from it outside this one town this one time I find it hard to believe it's the aluminum sulphate. The reality is that when things smell funny people get hysterical even if their is no danger. This is a textbook example of mass hysteria.
@@abebuckingham8198 It’s safe in small quantities, because it’s added at the start of the process the leftovers are neglectable. Problem here is that it was added at the end, and that the quantities were way higher. They literally found excess aluminium in the townsfolk’s autopsies, that really says something.
Excellent video, as always! I appreciate having an industrial incident video on my birthday, as that is my field or close to it. If you want another industrial disaster from the UK to cover, try the Flixborough disaster. It is a well-studied explosion that cost 28 workers their lives, and led to massive changes in chemical plant safety alongside the Seveso tragedy.
Also it's crazy that they advised people to add orange juice to cover the taste, mainly because I remembered mixing tang into the water I got in Costa Rica, it's the healthiest water in the Carribean but it did have an overly chemical taste to it as a result that the tang perfectly covered, saved tons of money not buying bottled water but now I'm hoping it was all above-board
It is so weird that they needed to have the driver explain where he put the aluminum sulfate. Why didn't they just turn on the tap and test what came out?
Knowing exactly where it went into the system would be useful data for figuring out which parts of the system needed to be decontaminated. The tap at the end is not the only thing that needs work. It's not dumb to ask, the dumb part is them doing _nothing_ for ages and blindly reassuring people it was safe without having looked into it at all.
going for that good ol' plausible deniability, so they could pretend they didn't know about it almost immediately with the multitude of sensors these places have, even in the late 80s.
Camelford deserves an unbiased report about the water and poisonings. It is evident that the area's authorities do not want this because they know that they will be found liable. No one will admit guilt or wrongdoing and the residents will continue to suffer.
This is something I knew nothing about. Fantastically interesting information. Once again you have given us great content about unknown tragedy and human error we may never had heard of. Great job.
It will never fail to alarm me that things like this, where people scream about the dangers and side effects experienced, will be ignored and the people in charge will continue to gaslight us and insist that the unsafe thing is totally safe and effective and definitely not any cause for concern. Reminds me of things going on even today...
My father in law worked in a factory making aluminium windows for decades. He showed signs of dementia even before his retirement at 63. When he died at 73 it transpired that his closest colleague was also stricken with identical symptoms. I’ve often wondered if they had work related illnesses.
Imagine Gaslighting a whole town to save face. I feel for the lady who took all the calls too, she must have felt so guilty, after going against her gut feeling in the end.
Yeah, in America- there's a gigantic (and actually, rightfully so- at least in the 90s,) amount of movies and even cable channels of American women doing the right thing to help- and they were: threatened termination, lost friends or even put in mental institutions for simply *_*standing their ground with facts when they knew that they were right._** 🥲🦅🇺🇸🤍🦆🇬🇧
I’m betting all the “studies” they did were purposely designed to find the water “safe”
This shit happens all the time in the US too. One current example is in St. Louis. There has been an underground fire burning at a dump where nuclear waste from the Manhattan project was illegally dumped. Several years ago, the fire was 700 feet from the nuclear waste. This is in a residential area, there is no plan to relocate the residents and there are extremely high number of cases of cancer especially in children. The EPA and the owners of the landfill keep insisting there is no danger despite all evidence to the contrary. People who live there have to be ready to flee at any time in case the fire meets the nuclear waste. HBO did a documentary about it called “Atomic Homefront” a few years ago but I hardly ever hear anything about it.
If you live in the US look up how many superfund sites are in your area. It’s terrifying.
When they said it was because of "Anxiety" i could sense the bullshit.
It's funny how many British people believe the US govt is more shady than their own.
It's also funny how during both world wars they expected the US to come to their rescue for free - when the US had to fight a massive war just to get themselves out from under the exploitation of the British.
"It's safe to drink"
"It turned my hair green"
"It's all in your heads"
"My hair is literally green"
"I assure you, it's just your imagination"
"Don't trust your lying eyes. Or your anyone else's who agrees with you."
"Where are the ends of your hair located?"
"In my head"
"My point exactly ... case closed"
"My guinea pigs died!"
"Your guinea pigs were psychosomatic."
This sounds like some whacky dialogue from Dr. Who in conversation with an alien 😂
Not to mention the literal aluminium build-up in their brains... Insanity.
Regardless of the severity of these disasters, what always gets me is the extensive cover up/denial efforts made by those responsible. Really makes my blood boil.
My favorite part was "There's absolutely nothing wrong with the water at all... but you might want to mix it with orange juice to cover up the bad taste..."
The water is safe to drink but may cause hair greening
Right? Incidents like this make one less likely to trust the government when they issue public health statements regarding exposures in general.
I'm so angry that I think I need to get offline for a bit. I can't say the things I want to do to every single member of the water authority without youtube deleting my comment.
Yes, "managers" are always good at blame-avoidance and credit-hijacking. Don't you just love "managers".
What worries me the most about this incident was that there was NO ONE there to man the station. I mean, if a tanker driver managed to do that by pure accident, imagine what someone could do with pure malevolence?
And that instruction given of “on the left” reminded me of that Lee Evans gag:-
“It’s on the side.”
“WHAT SIDE?!?!”
Seriously, though, it is disgusting that the water board and government officials are claiming that this water was safe to drink to this day, when the evidence really does point to the contrary. I mean, it was an aluminium chemical and the people who have died have died with abnormal amounts of aluminium in them. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together (but then again, it looks like it does...)
Woody from Toy Story: *"Somebody's poisoned the waterhole!"*
If you're standing behind the clock, clockwise is counterclockwise. Chew on that for a minute. If you've ever tried to loosen a rusty bolt from the other side, "lefty loosey" is utterly meaningless.
I used to drive by the water treatment plant on my way to school every day. I used to think how someone with bad intentions could wreak havoc easily by introducing poison into the water supply.
Sir, if you knew how open to tampering water supplies are in every country on earth you wouldn't be sleeping well at all.
Remember The Goodies "Snooze" episode? That's not far from the truth even today.
The lack of someone guarding the location means someone in the water authority committed treason against the crown.
I lived just outside of the affected area in North Cornwall. The cause of the incident was known very quickly but the effects met with denial and obfuscation from the start. For years people who had health issues as a result were treated with suspicion by the GP's, the possible long term effects were denied and there were some very questionable and intimidating approaches to the idea of compensation. It's good to see this incident covered like this and made known to a wider audience, thank you.
Wow! Thats horrible! I hope this comes to light
@@Yosenku Uh.............
It has come to light? I mean, didn't you just watch a video about exactly what happened?
Try complaining to your GP about effects of a certain va*cine nowadays.
@@clray123 Why would you even take it? It's totally worthless, you can still get sick, and you can still get others sick. It's a total scam by big pharm.
Also, whats with the cryptic spelling, lol? Just wire vaccine, lol. Sacre of the bogeyman? lol.
@@clray123 Try seeing a GP. (and they want a 30% pay rise)
What baffles me in a lot of these incidents is the blasé attitude the people in charge have to the emerging situation. You've suddenly got a flurry of calls complaining the water is discolored, smells weird and is having odd effects. Presumably this is a completely unusual and concerning event for the company, not something that happens every day, and they're just like 'Yeah, it's probably fine. Tell people they can still drink it'. If that were me, I'd immediately be dispatching people to figure out the cause and telling anyone that called not to drink the water until we had figured out the problem. A simple thing to do. It's so infuriating hearing stories of major incidents that were caused by people not giving a solitary shit about their responsibilities.
Public employees for ya. If that was a private company they'd be taking action ASAP to mitigate the legal and financial damage. Gov agencies like these can always count on being covered up for.
@@majungasaurusaaaa This Water Authority was privatised a year later in '89.
@@majungasaurusaaaa i have seen enough examples of private companies doing the same. It all boils down to greed and ego. We cant lose money and we cant be seen as at fault for this.
@@majungasaurusaaaa The multiple incidents with Boeing and the 737 rudder controls say otherwise.
@@majungasaurusaaaa If it was a private company they would hire private detectives to beat people into not making their complains public.
I work for a water utility we have unique locks for each tank along with labels. Additionally we don’t give out the keys to drivers. One of our staff members meets each delivery and verifies the chemical being delivered before removing the lock
@Madame d'Badger it was 1988 so possibly unmarked tanks was the norm...?
I didn't need to wear a high viz jacket until 1999...
That is how it is supposed to be. Theoretically, a sample of each delivered product should also be drawn and sent to a lab to ensure it is a) the right product and b) meets the "food grade" (or whatever the proper term in English is, it's not my native language) specifications. After all, the delivery papers can say it is food grade aluminium sulphate (or however this is spelled), and the place where the tanker was loaded actually put something completely different in there.
@Runescape State that's how all such facilities should be operated.. especially concerning water to accessed by many communities, for numerous uses.
This definitely wasn't the last incident.. there have been, unfortunately, many more tragedies similar to this. Those in "power" should be ashamed, but they just keep on wrecking lives.
@Madame d'Badger I would say not directly since prior to 2016 we received chemicals a bit differently. Chlorine came in cylinders fluoride and phosphate came in barrels and so on. Now everything is a pump off directly into the building and since then we’ve had the policy that: operator makes contact with driver, verifys the c of a, inspects placard on truck or tote,signs bill of lading, verifies all locks in place, unlocks correct tank, watches tank begin to fill to ensure no leaks
@@St.Linguini_of_Pesto I’m perplexed as to how their plant is set up to allow finished water storage (what we call our clear well) to be mistaken for the hookup to a tank. Our clear well is located below a locked hatch behind a locked door. Even if all of our safeties failed, chemical could theoretically end up inside the wrong tank, but not in the clear well
Ahh yes, a series of livestock and wildlife deaths, caused by hysteria of the townspeople as these things usually are. 🙄 I'm disgusted by the Water Authority's handling of things but even more so by the continued lies and deception. In any case, if someone reports BLACK water coming out of their tap, you probably should investigate BEFORE you tell people that water is safe.
Well said.
Absolutely.
The Cecil Hotel would like a word with you. [i know the staff looked into the issue immediately, it just sounded good]
A lot of doctors will just call your illness all in your head or just anxiety if they can't figure it out super quick because your problems don't fit into their easy to diagnose boxes. I don't trust anyone really with my health anymore after how I've been treated. The water facility here in my city will often have problems or suddenly dirt and stuff will come out of faucets and they will just tell us to boil the water. Yea, no thank you.
Honestly seems like the kind of thing that these people's grandkids and the handful of remaining folks who, god forbid, had their formula mixed with the contaminated water as infants, will be receiving the compensation for. It's just going to take until everyone with a personal stake in the administrative side is gone and their positions are occupied by people who aren't super hostile to the idea of ever giving compensation for anything... so a long time
imagine bringing yourself to tell random innocent people "yeah, the water is full of poison. try mixing in something to cover up the taste!"
Such disgusting negligence. And one of the few cases on this channel where nothing was done to remedy the issue.
Why was no one on site when that trucker came to deliver the compound? Not even a guard to keep out vagrants , animals, or possibly terrorists?
@@Nostripe361 or hell, why wasn't the tanks labelled
@@anhondacivic6541 You can bet they are today, the driver wouldn't even be allowed on site without a high vis jacket, might even have to fill out a risk assessment form first before unloading.
I'd have given the local authorities glasses of the water to drink on camera if they were sure it was so safe!
Most of the cases are like this. The lack of accountability is a universal trait through these stories.
I studied water treatment in college as part of my environmental engineering program and the blood drained from my face when I saw this man had unknowingly dumped alum into the contact tank instead of the mix tank. Of course, you do not need an environmental engineering degree to realize that this is VERY bad, and Fascinating Horror did a great job of explaining alum's role in treatment.
The real issue here though, is the insane negligence of the authorities. Telling people to drink this obviously contaminated water for DAYS ON END and even AFTER THEY KNEW WHAT WAS WRONG was disgusting. I can't even blame the driver who dumped the alum for this; he was given so little instruction on what to do.
Your observations are on point and IIRC what was reported at the time, the tanker driver was used as something of a scapegoat after this incident. Perhaps that was just the media but it was convenient for the water authority in covering their much deeper negligence.
Anyone may have made the same mistake he did. Who would think that they have a general key for all tanks?
if something is wrong, tell them to do it first as a demonstration, if they don't do the simple task of doing it for the public; they won't and have never cared enough to do things properly.
@@enemyofthestatewearein7945 i am in no way an expert on any of these topics, but i say the tanker driver is not at fault. it doesnt take much expertise to know how one key to unlock every door/valve/manhole is bound to lead to accidents. then, he was told "the tank on the left" in this maze of different pipes and again, his key fitting every single lock. he couldnt have known better, he was probably a replacement for the usual driver and didnt even know anything about water processing or this particular site.
the entire blame should go to the executives of the water company, as they created and upheld a system that was inevitably leading to minor or major accidents like this one.
@@ottovonbasedmark One key that can unlock ANY tank.
ZERO labeling on anything.
NO ONE around to supervise an inherently dangerous procedure.
A facility that anyone can enter at any time.
No alarms or sensors to detect the contamination of water about to be sent out or that the tank containing it had been accessed when it shouldn't have.
It's not a surprise there was an accident - conditions made that inevitable. This is critical infrastructure treated like an expendable afterthought. Then the authorities completely bungled their handling of the whole affair. Clearly they were concerned only with covering their own collective asses rather than making sure people aren't harmed by their incompetence. Municipal water supplies should be safe and reliable but shit like this undermines public confidence in that water supply. The result is people shifting to buying bottled water which pumps more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere (manufacture and transport) and produces even more plastic waste - waste that is now itself a major contaminate of water supplies around the world.
And yes he was a replacement. He's described as a "relief driver" in the video.
I moved to the area as a child and even now I remember how upset people were that it remained with me. The locals used to tell me about green curdled tea and fear to trust the water supply lasted for many years. I don’t think it has ever been forgotten by those remaining in the area. The negligence and lack of apology and acceptance of error is frankly both disgusting and horrifying..
Absolutely incredible how deceptive the information relayed to the public was, even days later, and that they insisted it was safe when really, they didn't know. Really makes you think how little we know and understand of the risks we're in because someone has an interest in making us believe there aren't any.
The people in that town apparently didn't have a good lawyer on their side and/or they didn't press the issue hard enough. If large amounts of this chemical was found in the bodies of residents even may years after the fact, they had a legitimate law suit on there hands, even whether or not it could be proven to be connected to any pathology. Those poor folks were all law abiding, patriotic Suckers for Authority. They were all too busy "saluting the flag" to notice that they were being Screwed.
Did they have taps in the office?
I agree with your point, and would point out that the last couple of years has sort of highlighted this problem.
I wouldn't say deceptive, inconclusive, but not deceptive.
It's almost like it's run by the Russian government
If the water curled the milk in my tea, I doubt I'd drink it regardless of what assurances the water authority gave me.
The water company is definitely at fault, but I'm also puzzled how guillable those people are. I would stop using the water entirely if it appears slightly brown, and these people had water that appears and does even more crazy shit.
@@lifeloverNorris i'm sure most stopped to drink it but at some point you have to bath, drink water and cook...
I'm curious how the water authority could argue that was psychosomatic 🤔
Yes, absolutely. I'd change over to store-bought water entirely, even if it meant I'd have to go unwashed for some time. I'm certainly not going to bathe in anything that so clearly is not clean. 😬
This was the 80s, so cheap bottled water wasn't readily available, and this little town looks to be out in the middle of nowhere. They likely had no choice. Sort of like folks with low income in Flint, Michigan, who had no choice but to drink water from the lead pipes. As consumers, we're all at the mercy of the corporations. Who really knows what's in bottled water these days?
Every time they insist the water was safe to drink, I think about that scene in Erin Brockovich where the water company worker was told the water she had taken a drink of was brought in special for her from the area that was contaminated.
Agreed! I kept thinking of Erin Brockovich when watching this too. Seems this town didn't really get any resolution though 😢
It's frightening that there was no staff, no security personnel at the facility, and how easy it was to put this chemical into the wrong tank. What an easy target that would have been for terrorists!
Welcome to the Thatcher Administration.
@Aquatic Ape now the administration welcomes terrorist and criminals
@Aquatic Ape - ah yes, because there were no troubles back then...
@Aquatic Ape The UK: A notoriously peaceful place in the 20th century
he had been given keys to the gate and the tanks these sites are not manned all the time even now
Literally doesn't matter if a single person got sick...the entire water treatment process should have been overhauled and those in charge replaced. It's inexcusable to have this level of negligence and complacency for such a crucial system.
No indicators on the tanks and a "universal" key..like wtf🤯🤯
The problem though is that this means shutting off the plant and shutting off people's water supply. That's a hugely expensive process that causes a lot of disruption and if it's a false alarm causes a lot of backlash.
Its in no way the man who delivered the tank's fault, he was given vague instructions. Given a key to open EVERYTHING. Whoever hired him is to fault for given him the key and the poor instructions.
Of course he was at fault: he couldn't identify the tank that was for precursors. So he should have gotten help. Instead, he winged it. "The tank on the left" is not valid instructions. I also work as a delivery driver...for food. If the instructions you're given don't make sense, you leave the goods at the door. You don't make up your own rules.
Agreed.
All tanks should have been labelled properly like they are required to be now
@@shepherdboy9692 Shouldn't there have been at least one person at work that day? Why was no one there?
@@bernlin2000 There was no one to find, no way to contact anyone, and there was a possibility to lose his job by not doing this. He assumed because there were things at risk, and because no one was there to question. It's an "everyone's at fault" if anything.
As someone with long-term health problems caused by contaminated tap water, I can only begin to imagine what these people went through.
"People are sick and dying."
"Nah, it's all in your heads. Those dead fish and the aluminum contamination? You imagined those too."
What was the contaminate if I may ask?
@@josephnickell6652 DuPont's C8 (perfluorooctanoic acid) dumping in Parkersburg, WV. There's a fantastic documentary about it called The Devil We Know.
My immediate family and most of the people I grew up with have been ravaged by cancer and debilitating gastrointestinal problems... all in the name of cheaper non-stick cooking pans.
@@Propanesucka Thank you for sharing. Living in Dayton Ohio, I remember that incident well because it was rather close to where I live.
Did you get compensation for that? Sorry to hear it.
The first line of defense all bureaucrats use to diffuse public anger
I lived about 6 miles away at the time and our water was affected. I knew people who were seriously affected by this. They were ridiculed by their doctors, shamed by SWW and left to deal with the consequences unsupported. Both myself and my daughter went on to develop auto immune problems and I can’t rule this out as a catalyst for that.,
IF you read the book medical medium there a lot of good protocols on how to get metals out of the body there is a way to do that, you don't have to be stuck to your fate, really its worth a read.
Look into heavy metal detoxification. Also important to support your gut health with probiotics.
You drink out of tap ? I always filter my water to drink
@@CanMan125_ Yup exactly very important
@@CutieRingoJoy fella this happened in 1988 maybe you missed that part
5:30 Wait, no representatives from the water facility was there to oversee the delivery of the aluminum sulfate? That's criminal negligence.
9:45 - A comparable photo with a locked gate signposted as "No deliveries accepted unless staff on site" could have potentially averted it.
Two words: Flint, Michigan. Entirely different scenario, but another frustrating, negligent case of lack of action with contaminated drinking water provided to the masses. Thank you for highlighting this North Cornwall case. 👏🏼
I almost find Flint worse because a bunch of people embezzled federal funds sent “fix” the problems.
Most reservations in Canada and the US too, the government is supposed to provide clean water most are under boil water advisories and some are so bad their water looks like tar
I was thinking of it too.
There first mistake was taking water from the Flint river. That watershed drains farmers fields.
The reason the Flint water agency took water from that source was because that was all they could afford. The root cause of the problem was a city policy that they cannot shut people's water off for nonpayment. As a result, the water company started running out of money and had to cut costs wherever they could.
"We have investigated ourselves and determined that there was nothing wrong."
I like that they don't tell you what they consider "safe" either. Gotta keep the population in the dark about everything.
Typical behaviour from a private company public services.
Acceptable drinking water guidelines/criteria should be readily available in your area. As an example here Al has a limit of 50ppb.
The classic.
Hey, as long as the CEOs didn't have to drink the contaminated water, everything was fine.
"Activision/Blizzard has cleared ActivisionBlizzard of any wrongdoing" type of shit.
I find it incredible that (1) A single key could be used to "unlock" any of the tanks (2) There was no telephone at the site. I live in Cornwall, I know Camelford and South West Water is my water supplier but I can not fathom the stupidity of them and their "practices" - did they actually even have any? As for having their "customer service department" to frob off any people enquiring or complaining by issuing a "yeah yeah yeah, it's fine to drink, stop whinging" response I am totally gobsmacked. Jesus wept, have things changed for the better???
More obvious solution? Only "A" key connector fits the correct slot. Like printer ink.
This does worry me, at my work so many of the processes are out-of-date, and I bet many other organisations have ineffective and old processes that need updating.
Where do you work?
Please report those out of date processes to your manager or, if they do not listen, report them to the HSE/OSHA depending on where you live. As a worker you have a duty to point out unsafe process management, for your safety and the safety of others.
This stresses me out as our local council - on the other side of the country - dump some sort of antiseptic or something in the water occasionally and assume we don't notice despite it tasting bad and affecting our stomachs. We've taken to drinking tap water often when they do this, which isn't cheap. I suspect if rhis happened, we'd assume they were at it again.
@@EvanBear this !
report it. you would not believe the consequences of bad procedures. one example is American Airlines Flight 191, due to improper maintenance and a small overlooked design flaw, it crashed a minute or two after losing an engine during take off at O'Hare international airport. American Airlines picked an "easier" method of engine repair. it snapped the connector connecting it to the wing pylon. It is the deadliest single accident on American soil as far as I'm aware
Hard to believe nowadays that something so simple like different locks for different tanks was not done. Or even that a driver from a different company was allowed to deliver without any kind of supervision.
Please consider watching the accident report "Mixed Connection, Toxic Result" by USCSB (U.S. Chemical Safety Board) here on UA-cam. It covers an accident in the U.S. with a very similar root cause... in 2016.
Reminds me of this: ua-cam.com/video/Tflm9mttAAI/v-deo.html
If every tank had a different key then the delivery company would give the driver a key for every tank that the company delivers material for.
"or even that a driver from a different company was allowed to deliver without any kind of supervision."
The problem was not that the external delivery driver did not know what to do, but the fact that he was able to do it.
The hose on his tank should have a connector that simply does not fit on any tank that he is not supposed to connect to.
Many chemical planmts have learned the hard way that having identical connectors *will* result in the wrong stuff being pumped in, no matgter the labelling, keys or whatever.
@@GdotWdot 2016 ! great...
@@vinny142 simple label on the tank lid would help a lot
The fact that nobody was fired over this is shocking.
Probably given bigger bonuses
Those in charge should have been subject to community justice.
This reminds me of a similar case called the Minamata Disease, except that one had much more devastating consequences, as the dumping of methylmercury lasted between 1936 and 1968 (and the problem was only identified in 1956). Many of the town's residents live with birth defects and malformations due to exposure to the methylmercury, whether through consumption of fish or swimming in the water.
Distantly related: Love Canal in New York
Dancing Cat disease?
small correction: the dumping was of of various compounds of mercury, methylmercury is a byproduct of the metabolism of mercury in bacteria, the methylmercury concentration is then magnified through the food chain since it has high affinity to fats. Minamata disease is contracted through highly contaminated fishes up in the food chain (tuna, dolphin, shark) and not by swimming, since the concentration is not high enough in water, but requires a food chain to manifest in dangerous concentrations. source: degree in chemistry
Larger correction: methyl mercury is not a "purer" form of mercury. The purest form of mercury is metallic mercury, which is *relatively* non toxic. What methyl mercury is, is the most biologically available compound of mercury.
@@Metaphysician2 what about dimethylmercury?
Last time I checked hamsters, sheep and fish didn't get psychosomatic illnesses or death! 😬
No, just memory loss
It's all in the sheep's head! She's faking it for attention so she can get a bigger pen!
I was thinking just that!
They say the same old tired line about Havana syndrome
The fish died from years of contamination suddenly being flushed into their river, which sounds like a separate but possibly related issue and definitely doesn't make the plant look more trustworthy.
The *guinea pigs are unfortunately in the same boat as the people here. I wish the pet shop owner had gotten necropsies done on them to prove that it was aluminum poisoning that killed them, because without that there's no way to say that they didn't die of something else, like the preexisting illnesses the plant was insisting all the people had. Guinea pigs are not particularly hardy animals, and pet shops in the 80s weren't the healthiest environments. It's too easy to say that they might have been sick from something else.
The livestock are probably the biggest red flag out of all the animals affected. AFAIK most livestock are pretty hardy; for them to suddenly start dying in large quantities indicates that there is something unusually wrong. If no major infectious herd animal disease or other source of poisoning was found in the area, then I don't know what else it could have been besides the water. (Again, necropsies might have been helpful here, but were probably not within the struggling farmers' budgets.)
Thank you sooo much ! This is what my town and counties water has been looking like for YEARS now.. The few times someone spoke up about it, they got ran out.. All of the symptoms clicked, when the man was holding up the jar, that was picture perfect comparison to our water.. now, I'm gonna start taking samples, and gonna have to take it to the state or something .. here's to hoping I don't go missing, but Fascinating Horror you are amazing. Thank you.
My grandfather was hospitalized from an accidental water poisoning in Walkerton Canada back in 2000. 6 people died and 2000 got sick. This number always shocks me because at the time, the town only had 5000 residents. The water was improperly treated after heavy rain carried cow manure into the water system. Ended up with a town well being contaminated with e. coli. The reason it effected so many people so quickly was because the town had 3 different wells, but only one would be drawn from at a time. The bacteria had time to fester, and then it was that well's time to be the only source of water for the town.
The technicians responsible for testing the water there saw definite results of quality failure but they fudges the results. In the end one of the brothers went to jail. After the disaster, Ontario tightened people and product standards, including increasing fines for breach of trust.
ngl, this would make a good episode for the channel...
This episode immediately made me think of Walkerton.
It’s horrific what governments and companies get away with. This reminds me of that scene in Erin Brockovich where she offers the lawyers water from the affected town and none of them would drink it.
I bet the authorities went and got bottled safe water after telling everyone it was okay to drink it. Or resided in another zone of water supply.
Yes, we all know that anxiety causes hair to turn green. The top executives of the water treatment facility should’ve chugged the black gluey water to show how perfectly safe it is 🤦🏻
Its probably a public utility so it probably was protected from liability by the government.
I remember this incident well. When I was young, I used to visit North Cornwall on family holidays, but the year of this poisoning frightened me, as I was young at the time. I can't believe how badly this was handled, how there should have been a second enquiry, and how easy it was to allow this to happen. And it's sad how people are still affected so long after it happened
You mean, like You went there during a holiday? Like Xmas, or Easter? Or do you mean you just went on vacation with your family?
Like, it's not the same thing.
Or if you happened to take off around the actual holiday, you would call it, "I took some vacation days off work, before and after the holiday next month(although most people would just say "before and after 'specific name of said holiday(Xmas, easter, July 4th, and now our 2 new greatest holidays Jan 6th or June 24th),
@@mikeworkman3593 Holiday means vacation in British English.
@@eadweard. so then what's a holiday?
@@kdolo1887 We don't really have another word for it. We'd just say something like "I'm going on holiday [vacation] to Spain over Christmas [holiday]".
@@eadweard. No shit.
It's sarcasm
Cause its stupid.
Cause you can't use the same word for 2 different things. One is like a mandatory thing you get off for your work, they other is something you have to request for to be authorized
From my experiences as a disabled person, ANY authority figure will always blow off your symptoms to say it's fine or just anxiety if it doesn't make sense to them no matter what it is
Or if it will cause them to lose $$$!!!
Or in this case, the reports were so numerous and simultaneous, that there was a certainty that an incident had occurred, and it appeared the only thought was to avoid panic and wait until an investigation could determine what had happened. The public health aspect should have dictated that a general warning should have been broadcast about stopping water use until the problem could be understood. But, that would have been a big deal, would have necessitated intervention from the national government and water hauling for drinking. It was too big, and they didn't even invoke that after they knew. It was all a horrible tendency to wish something away rather than admit the vulnerabilty of a failed safety system and no safety net at all.
@Ann-Marie Paliukenas ESPECIALLY doctors
Sadly, to this day women have this issue in general as well. Everything concerning feminine health gets written off as psychosomatic, especially by male doctors. The origin of the word "hysteria" alone speaks volumes.
You could literally blow up a nuclear bomb and they'll call you hysterical for complaining about radiation poisoning.
I love how the water authority NEVER does testing BEFORE they tell everyone that everything is fine.
This reminds me of the Walkerton, Ontario, Canada, E. coli outbreak where the authorities blamed everybody but themselves. It was a truely tragic event.
The government will always bury or blame everyone but themselves. It’s why indigenous communities in certain parts of canada don’t have access to drinking water
another banger; this man's dedication to his craft and absolutely pitch - perfect narration show his empathy for those involved in these accidents and their families. thank you Fascinating Horror for showing these historical sacrifices that have helped make life (hopefully) a little safer for the world
another sausage? what?
@@User0000000000000004 🤣🤣
@@User0000000000000004 and mash? lol sorry Mr Mcfly I'm American, didn't think about how that may sound to the rest of the world hahaha smh
I find over-annunciation of every word to be HIGHLY annoying. That's how you talk to dumb ass kids.
See. What. I. Mean. When. You. Read. Like. This? It's. Insulting. That. He. Believes. We. Cannot. Understand. Normal. Speaking. Levels.
I don't know how many times I have had to bail on channels with really interesting content because of a wretched narrator - too fast, screechy, full of vocal fry, shouting, not to mention LOUD repetitive "music" (nothing anyone would ever listen to) running monotonously in the background and competing with the narration so you have to strain to hear it. So many creators don't seem to think the quality of the audio matters.
i live 45 minutes from Camelford & spent 6 months working for SWW in 2022, the infastructure & layout of their plants is seriously outdated, the only thing to do on site for Operators is check things, fix things, or wait for someone to fix things, the work can be extremely dangerous for almost minimum wage, and we still get brown cloudy water through our household taps about 4 times a year (at least).
Just the fact it was found those pipes/tanks weren't cleaned in 5 years should make them responsible. Blaming mass hysteria is not just a way of relinquishing blame, but also another condescending dig at the victims.
Well said.
This is terrifying.
12 days, they waited 12 days and even then they only put an ad in a newspaper!!!
“Mix with orange juice”?
Dying animals?
“Safe to drink”?
“Psychosomatic”?
Blaming the victims is absolutely appalling.
When big companies totally deny that an issue even exists and say that it’s merely “hysteria” and “all just in your mind”. It makes me so upset.
We put so much trust in the people and organisations that provide goods and services to our families and our communities, Soooo much trust. Especially when that service is “clean” drinking water, a necessity for ALL life.
A £10,000 fine, is woefully inadequate in my opinion.
Again, this is just so scary.
There was an incident in Scotland years ago and I remember reading the judge was not fining Scottish Water despite being guilty, as he said all it would have done is reduce the money they had to sort out the problem.
If you are deciding whether or not to fine a non profit company that is paid for through taxes, it makes sense when you think about it.
Gaslighting at its finest. People are deplorable sometimes
@@iainwalker8701 okay well how bout instead of fining the company, root out the individuals in charge of the illegal lies and safety negligence and throw em in prison? Accountability is important, because without it, you cant trust literally anyone.
This is why you should be way of anyone and everyone telling you something is safe when you or a lot of other people are saying it actually might not be. Big companies have every reason to lie. So does the government. Lots of money to lose if people find out you effed up and people got hurt. Big groups of people can be wrong but they have much less reason to lie compared to the company. I'm not saying automatically believe people, either, I'm saying be careful, think critically, and whenever possible, err on the side of caution and don't drink the water, etc
If the water treatment plant admitted that they f***** up they would have had to pay out huge sums of money. That's why they denied it because it would make them look extremely incompetent.
The fact that black tapwater was coming out and people thought "Yeah, I can use this, let's just phone it in" makes me wonder how bad the water of Camelford usually was...
That was EXACTLY what I was thinking!! 😳 "Hang on, they went ahead & ingested this? What were they used to??"
Based on historic images used, it looks like eventually locals did seek/receive an alternative drinking water source, but clearly too late for many alas 😔 The episode commentary suggested experts in aluminium toxicity were NOT actually involved in any of the inquiries to date too, but that seems a bit unlikely, given the level of publicity...? 🤔
When I began watching this I was like "I hope they blame who's in charge and not the driver" but nope, it was worst than that, since they tried covering it up and saying it was "safe".
They were helped in the cover up by Sir Simon Wessely.
Trevor Kletz, the founder of modern chemical process safety, once said that in a properly designed plant, one error by a worker should never lead to an accident. This kind of cross connection error is unfortunately common - the US Chemical Safety Board did an investigation video on a similar case where acid and bleach were mixed at a wastewater plant thanks to an unlabeled connection. The result was a huge green cloud of chlorine.
The investigation of this poisoning was a disgrace - aluminum may be safe in the normal quantities we encounter, but the massive increase in aluminum combined with any materials introduced by the reaction of the alum and the remnants in these rarely flushed tanks and pipes could pose a significant hazard, especially over a long period of time. I guess it is proof that government can be just as callous and dismissive as business.
Wow that literally just happened at a Milk Specialties plant that I used to work at (acid and bleach). They had temporary employees refill a tank of cleaning solution (which should have never been allowed to be done by even a regular employee) They had to evacuate the plant and surrounding houses until the gas dissipated. Glad I quit that job 3 years ago, the plant is only 10 mins away from my house. Luckily no one got hurt! The usual problem of cutting costs, no training, and not following the simplest procedures. I know it will happen again, that place is deplorable!
Seriously, why was that fresh water tank even accessible from outdoors? And why the hell did it have a fill valve if it's there to collect outgoing clean water? Such a stupid design
Mixing household bleach and vinegar will also produce chlorine gas.
@@jackzimmer6553 It's scary to know how many people don't realize this, always check before mixing any chemicals!!
Yep, this shit always blows my mind. In a lab environment you'd get your ass handed to you by an auditor for not clearly labeling containers or documenting procedures, but there's so many industrial plants where nothing is clearly labeled and no one's writing anything down and no one notices until the roof gets blown off.
I remember it well. It's amazing how authorities can tell people to stay calm and all is well when the reality is residents were being poisoned. The connection between aluminium and the brain is a clear one. It's devastating effect on brain function is clear and evident. There are even certain recommendations with regards the use of aluminium cooking containers - I bet few here realise that fact alone.
I remember these were grim times for water authorities and this event is one of many of that era. Can anyone remember the gassing of visitirs to a new treatment complex? I'm not sure if it was drinking water or human waste waters but just before opening, the authority gave a tour to locals to show why their lives had been disrupted during construction. It was inside a building where many were gassed.
A fascinating series. Things like this occurred in more recent times and yet they get buried to protect those guilty. Keep them coming.
how in the hell there was no people on sight at the water treatment facility?!! not a single person and it just ran on its own, what the hell?!
Apparently no security or anything, not even a guard or nightwatchman.
If this truck driver managed to do this by accident, think of the damage that could be done by someone with the right knowledge or malicious intent.
Who ever declared the water safe to drink should drink the same water for the same time as the poisened citizens.
ua-cam.com/video/BGX4nMrnxg0/v-deo.html
Poisoned
exactly, someone shoud've made them do the Krusty eating the metal krusty O thing
"But sir, that'snormal, uncomtaminated water!"
Executive, cltchign stomahc in pain: "It's poison."
@@mcdjinn6975 Thanks for a correction, kind sir!
Just trust the science and get vaxxed already ok???!!?
The way these people were treated really grinds my gears!!!
I’ve watched a lot of your videos, and I notice a lot of similarities with these incidents. It seems most places just half-ass it on safety, staffing, training, and communication, and eventually enough of those deficiencies line up and it ruins a lot of lives. Oh and let’s not forget cover-ups after the fact.
If only they spent as much money and energy on training and safety as they do on cover ups, they wouldn't need cover ups!
Agreed
Kind of tempted to poke through my work place's fire alarms just to be 100% sure they have current batteries. Am pretty sure but...
Just imagine how John Stevens must feel!
The poor guy propably struggles mentaly with what he has done.
Even though he has zero fault in it all.
On the other hand, he drove a truck for a chemical company, and he rationalized away the discharge of a serious chemical into a public water system. He wasn't a seven year old who could have been forgiven for being scared and hiding. His duty was to return to his plant, or to a place where he could call on a phone, and get clear directions. Instead, he guessed and made an entire region sick with poison. Claiming he has "zero fault" is making him little more than a child. If he was old enough and competent enough to be given a commercial driver's license for a large truck, he was presumably able to comprehend the safety training that all tanker drivers must undergo. Boobery of this level is only funny when it is done by cartoon characters like Homer Simpson. Should we have compassion on Mr. Stevens? Yes, but that doesn't mean exempting him from responsibility and accountability for what was a lazy and irresponsible and deadly action.
I wouldn't say zero, when it comes to the handling of a dangerous chemical your instructions should always be cast-iron in nature, if there is even the tiniest doubt in your mind then the best thing to do is stop. John Stevens admitted that he was unsure of what to do and only pumped the aluminium into the first tank on the left because his key fitted it - he simply did it because his key fitted the lock.
I blame the water plant, their inwards delivery system wasn't totally foolproof, it was only a matter of time before a real fool turned up.
@@borderlineiq i give him 10% of the fault
@@foggyfrogy And that's fair.
Greetings. I am so glad you covered this story. Many local people are still suffering from the aftermath of the poisoning.
Just one pointer though: Cornwall is a Duchy - not a county.
I spent many years delivering thing in what you in the UK call lorries. Delivery instructions were nearly always vague, and finding someone onsite is often impossible, even in this time where everybody apparently has a mobile phone. The pratcice is usually to blame the poor bloke that drove the truck.
My time in the military taught me to never do something unless I had someone above me to sign off. The poor bugger driving in this case was screwed from beginning to end. but it wasn't his fault In those days he would have had instructions to do his job. He had no choice, unless he *knew* there was a problem. He was a driver, how could he?
What I'm glad to see is that they never scapegoated the driver, as seems like a common approach in these things. Put the blame on someone low on the ladder, or outside the organization. When it really wasn't his fault, he did the best he could with the information he had. Better signage was really needed, or someone there to meet him.
That's why I never got involved in hazmat or tanker work.
Corrupt corporation 101: when responsible for a disaster gaslight the victims.
Any corporation. They would throw your mother into their machinery if it meant increasing profits then tell you its because she wasn't being careful enough.
Governments only response
The British water boards were publicly run at the time.
Go check out the Korean Sewol ferry disaster mishandling on a huge scale almost unbelievable gas lighting
@@WindTurbineSyndrome Oh yeah that was horrible... Such gross incompetence.
Ah, yes, water that glues your hair together and turns it green is completely safe to drink and any symptoms you experience are caused by anxiety 🙄
I remember this. I was a young child and we were just outside the affected area. I remember being terrified about drinking the tap water. The green hair was something that really struck me for some reason.
I lived in Camelford fro the age of 6 till 29. The amount of talking still going on around this subject is a lot. So many people died from cancer over the years since it happend. Young, old, health! It didnt matter. The reported amount of cases of cancer or death from another illness there were much higher and trightly grouped. It stood out! 😞💚
not to undermine your experience, but cancer is incredibly common (>50% of people get it) and it does tend to clump - that’s genetics. i don’t think there’s any evidence that aluminium can be carcinogenic.
South West Water has a long history of negligence and improper conduct when dealing with complaints about it, it doesn't suprise me something like this could happen, having dealt with them in the past.
I looked up the MSDS pdf for aluminum sulfate to see what that had to say about it, and it was definitely telling. The list of possible effects in Section 11 is pretty long, but what stuck out to me was the potential risk of reproductive/developmental harm. I wonder if anyone has compared data regarding birth defects/miscarriages/infertility in Camelford vs the unaffected surrounding areas, if there even is data of that sort.
It's a food additive. It's literally safe enough to eat. You can poison yourself with water too but that doesn't mean drinking it regularly is a bad idea.
@@abebuckingham8198 Safe in small amounts, sure. But the levels of aluminum sulfate in the water in this case was not a small amount by any means. There is a very big difference between a small pinch of the stuff being added to food sometimes, and a huge amount winding up in a town's water supply.
@@abebuckingham8198 So is salt. You still don't want to drink sea water.
@@abebuckingham8198 did you watch the video???
@@dk14929 Yes I did. The truth isn't always freely available on UA-cam. Sometimes you have to actually do the work yourself.
Reminds me of the whole debacle surrounding the drinking at Camp Lejeune NC. Same scenario: water tasting funky due to chemical contamination, people getting strange illnesses years later, and denial by the US Navy.
This is why, if I were in the driver's shoes, I wouldn't make the delivery at all unless I was 100% sure - and had confirmed with someone who works there and knows their way around - that the tank was correct. Nobody on site? I'll come back later. Nobody there again? Return the delivery and let them pay to get another one, properly handled this time. They wasted my time by not being there to receive the load properly. Always better safe than sorry.
I don't blame the driver for this, though. He may not have fully understood the dangers of the chemical he was carrying, and he certainly didn't have the benefit of hindsight. You can't blame someone for just being ignorant. And the system 100% set him up for failure through its own negligence.
A very interesting and infuriating case. Thanks for covering it!
It's not the gross incompetence that's shocking, so much as the complete absence of accountability.
I love your videos so much, they're so respectful and without shock factor or dramatic, anxiety-inducing pauses. If I might suggest a subject of a future video: The Cherry Mine Disaster of 1909? It was a catastrophic event, and hasn't been covered by many. I'm moving into the area near where it happened, and it came to my attention!
What really gets me is that not a single person at the plant or head office understood the danger of such low safety standards.
This reminds me so much of the Minamata poisoning. Instead of investigating for both incidents, the people who should've been protecting those at risk gaslit them and allowed so many people to get hurt or die. Truly tragic and infuriating
I am the manager of a municipal drinking water plant in Canada with 11 years experience.
If anyone is curious for a bit more detail on the process and chemicals used here, first of all the Alum (as we call it in the trade for short) is typically injected into the raw water tanks as mentioned, and this process is called coagulation, which leads to flocculation (the forming of a floc or the "clumps"). The clumps it forms in the water is due to the negative charge on the particles being attracted to the aluminum. The resultant floc is then settled out in a standard plant, or in some plants, such as mine, we directly filter the floc to a 0.1 Micron membrane filter rack.
The person who accidentally put the Alum into that tank that fed to the treated water tanks was likely either the disinfectant tanks (chlorine usually) or the pH adjustment tanks (where either Sodium Carbonate or lime are used) to bring the finished product back to a nice neutral 7 pH as Alum treatment drags the pH down having a pH of only 2. In our plant, without adjusting end product pH with Sodium Carbonate the water would be leaving the plant with a pH of 4.8, which is sour on the tongue and not good for pipes.
Interesting. Though wouldn't something with a ph of 4.8 taste more sour?
@@emordnilap4747 you are correct, I realized it after I posted, fixed now
@@Amidamaru717 Okay, that makes sense. I was a bit confused.
Acidic is sour, basic is bitter, and don't ammonia with chlorine, are about the limit of my chemistry knowledge.
@@Amidamaru717 Okay, that makes sense. I was a bit confused.
Acidic is sour, basic is bitter, and don't ammonia with chlorine, are about the limit of my chemistry knowledge.
@@emordnilap4747 chemistry is hard lol I never in my life thought I'd end up doing such a chemistry heavy job, I hated chemistry in school.
Funny little fact, even though chlorine and ammonia are a big no-no it's actually the standard practice to use ammonia to find a gas chlorine leak. Suit up in hazmat gear, take a spray bottle of ammonia and mist the chlorine lines, when you get a "smoke cloud" you found the leak, mark it, shut it down and make the repairs.
The abysmal negligence from the water company and lack of empaty with the suffering caused by the contaminated water are shocking.
So they didn't know what the problem was but they were sure it was safe to consume. Seems legit. 🤔
On the other hand, sheep are sheep. If your water stinks, and if it's discolored, and if it is killing animals and turning hair green, the consumer should have been demanding to know why and abstaining without an appropriate answer. The problem is, those residents wouldn't know for days how widespread the problem was, so may have felt it was a local plumbing failure. And most customers may have seen little wrong or fewers evidences, so assumbed pipes were being flushed or similar. But, the SWWA certainly knew the number of reports was obvious. And making up bullshit answers was criminal.
Feel like the obvious move whenever an authority or investigation says "nah it's fine" is to publicly offer them a glass of said water to drink.
@@alastormedial They'd just pull a "Gummer" and get a child to drink it instead :D
The US EPA declared the air safe at ground zero after buildings full of asbestos imploded.
@@katiekane5247 Also wrong.
The cover ups that happened and continue to happen with other such harms in our society to this day is what is truly frightening
And if it were a private 'for profit' business - there would have been official investigations, possibly people arrested, and tens of millions of dollars paid out in lawsuits. The issue that happens is the concept of 'sovereign immunity' where public agencies and officials cannot be sued. When the EPA went and polluted an entire river due to their negligence - they were able to ignore all of the legal actions through the use of sovereign immunity. Just like when they made a test well to see if fracking was contaminating the water supply. They found hydrocarbons loudly announced their finding to the world - and then literally walked away from the open well. When the state came to properly abandon the well, they discovered that the source of the hydrocarbons the EPA found was from them spilling a tank of fuel and not cleaning it up. The fuel went down the well (wells flow in both directions) and this is what the EPA detected. And the state had to pay for the multimillion-dollar cleanup of the underground water that the EPA contaminated.
Wow. How awful! I was just graduating High School and don't remember hearing about this. Thank you for all the hard work and incredible detail you put into these videos. I can just about put myself right there the way you talk about these terrible events. ❤️🙏 for the communities that suffered and continue to suffer.
This reminds me of the Antelope/The Dalles* poisonings. You should totally do a video on that if you haven't! If you need a bit of context, a cult family in Oregon* poisoned an entire town with a home-brew of salmonella.
**Edited for correct info (Thanks, J2Kerrigan!)
Happened where I live, in Oregon. They poisoned salad bars around here.
That would be an interesting story. I read about it awhile back.
@@j2kerrigan Look into that particular one a bit more 👀
I remember that one! Mid 80s I believe.
Down the Rabbit Hole (another high-quality channel, for nicher subjects) has covered the cult behind it, Rajneeshpuram. You'll need to find a reupload though, as Rajneesh's followers (they sadly still exist) flagged the original and got it removed.
I live right by Flint, MI. When authorities tell you it's safe to drink just take a bottle of your tap water to a city counsel meeting and ask them to drink it.
Reminds me of the poisoning of Michigan in the early to mid 1970’s. People are still suffering the aftermath of that disaster to this day!
A perfect example of a company doubling down tripling down etc.
Best horror story youtuber hands down. Some others are pretty good aswell but Fasinating Horror always stands out as the best
This video brings frustration and anger for me, I had at the time three small children and everybody told me the water was safe to drink. Nobody took responsibility for this not even the Water Authority
All my children have been affected by this their body age is older by 10 years from what they are one of my daughters has dementia I too now I have early onset dementia
Love to watch your videos. I enjoy to know about disasters that i didn't know and improve my english. Thanks for your content.
These stories are so interesting and they make me so angry, how people can make a mistake and refuse to admit it so intensely that people are sickened and die. 🤦🏻♀️
In almost every single case zero accountability
Just think about this accident.
And how the government appears to try and cover it up and deny compensation...
Now look at recent events in the same light.?
I've seen nearly all your videos and this surprised me as being among the worst case, in terms of those in charge completely shirking any responsibility. No accountability, no changes, no compensation, wow.
Love when fascilities with huge responsibilities don’t admit their mistakes it gives the whole incident a soviet era touch
A private corporation covering up something in the UK for financial gain - how soviet.
Something capitalist happens in a capitalist society: "WHAT ARE WE A BUNCH OF COMMIES?!?"
This kind of things already happened since the dawn of mankind
And these are people employed by the public: they're suppose to be held to a higher standard of responsibility. Not none at all.
... or China, ...Still
Holy shit, finally someone in this genre who doesn't hold the title for World's Worst Voice. So relieving to find someone who just sounds like a guy and not like a valley girl with a bad head cold.
Geez. I didn't think I would heard of another U.K. incident on this channel where the victims arguably got treated even worse than that Welsh town that got covered under coal slurry, but here we are it seems. I'm guessing no one from the water authority was ever punished either given how sadly typical that is even before the actual gaslighting at play here. This despite the utter negligence of the water company on multiple levels, including that the plant had no one else in it at the time to help truck driver out with the horrible "on the left" instructions. Were they all on tea break with water that conveniently didn't curdle milk?
Yeah, wtf. Didn't anyone that worked there drink the same fuckin water?
They weren't actually any victims here so there wasn't any reason to compensate them. There isn't any gaslighting, we know aluminum sulphate is safe to ingest because we've been putting it in our food for a couple centuries now. Mass hysteria is a real thing and psychosomatic symptoms happen in this sort of situation all the time. It's practically textbook.
@@abebuckingham8198 Right, sure.... I never said anything about compensation unless we're counting handing out actual punishment for the *provable* negligence on the company's part suddenly counts as that. I said "treated even worse", which they were on at least a psychological level since even if I believed what you're saying and that *all* the symptoms here were solely borne of mass hysteria, we both know that you generally don't effectively treat hysteria by just telling the affected that they're hysterical and essentially leaving it at that. Even just being clearer about their own utterly avoidable fuck-up instead of pretending nothing happened even after they found out would make them look less scummy even if I agreed that this was strictly mass hysteria, which I don't given the symptoms of the people who died given the sheer amount* of the aluminum sulfate that seems to have been dumped into the treated water.
(*The amount of which you seem to be ignoring is the *actual* problem here since even normally safe minerals tend to become poisonous in high enough amounts. Otherwise stuff like Vitamin A poisoning wouldn't be a thing.)
@@abebuckingham8198
Certain theme to your posts here. Work for a chemical company PR department perhaps? You seen to like repeating the "food" fallacy which is a common misdirection tactic they use. Small amounts may be harmless, but that doesn't mean large amounts are also harmless. Many food additives ranging from salt to preservatives are harmful at high concentrations. Not to mention whatever was released from the downstream pipes due to the altered pH (as happened in Flint) and other chemical reactions.
@@michaelinners5421 Large amounts of everything are toxic, including water. I don't work for anyone I'm just not an idiot. It's baffling that even after it's confirmed to be safe people still become hysterical. It's like you're trying to wrong on purpose but you're not, are you? You just really believe in your imagination more than reality.
I had to repeatedly check that I wasn't watching an April Fools reupload. Legit sounds like the plot to a grisly dark comedy movie. I lost it when people's hair started turning green.
If you want to see how sufferers were silenced have a look at the paper by Simon Wessely - he produced the original claims that effects from the water were psychosomatic. He is now a Sir. He has written about Gulf War Syndrome, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, and the adverse affects of the recent jabbing programmes. Whenever a result is needed to show that the results of certain problems are psychosomatic he's your man. I have spoken with other relevant professors who just wish he'd keep quiet.
Excellent video as always. I would love to see Fascinating Horror cover the e-coli water contamination that occurred in Walkerton, Ontario, Canada in May of 2000. 2300 people got sick and seven died. Very similar circumstances to Camelford with people being allowed to drink the water even though it was known something was wrong.
A TV movie called Betrayed was made in 2003 based on the Walkerton catastrophe.
I can only imagine how the truck driver felt after this. I’m sure a lot of people would have made the same assumption, that the key would only open the correct tank. Human error is constant, but it’s the response to those errors which must catch them before something terrible happens.
Ever heard of the Flint Michigan water crisis? It super similar to this, 12 people died and a ton of kids got lead poisoning because the government and water treatment plant didn’t take the residents concerns seriously.
Reminds me of the Gloria Ramirez situation where they tried to say that over 60 experienced emergency medical staff that suddenly became ill after being exposed to one specific patient dying of mysterious circumstances, were all just "participating in a group psychosis."
Given that aluminum exposure is linked to dementia, I'm not surprised so many of the chronic effects involve memory and concentration issues.
I love the attention to detail here. For instance: the late ‘80s telephones shown.
Good god, that was an easy mistake to make, way way way too easy mistake to make. But then the neglicence at the center… now that is just vile. How on earth could you even think fresh aluminium sulphate would be safe?
Edit: They found aluminium in the lady’s brain and said “oh lol could’ve been something else.” Bruv?????
Yeah, he arguably should have known better than to just put the contents of his truck in a random place, but more importantly it shouldn’t have been possible for him to do it.
@@Law-and-Disorder The notion that a truck driver for a chemical plant is to be excused like some Homer Simpson is abhorrent. They have to take safety training to drive a tanker. He made the lazy choice to avoide going back for instructions or even to a local phone. It only takes one person to create a distaster. ONE stupid seaman could open the port on a submarine and the ship will founder.
@@borderlineiq Having worked on the administrative side of a wholesale business I think it's important to factor in how much pressure delivery drivers are put under. They're not paid to think long and hard about what they do. Directions to delivery sites are often vague and instructions on what to do when they get there even vaguer. Middle-management only care about the numbers and a diligent delivery driver who did what you suggest every time there was a bit of uncertainty would quickly find themselves looking for another job. Yes he bears some responsibility but of all the parties involved in the chain of events I would argue that his is the least.
It is safe, that's one of the reasons they use it for water treatment. It's a food additive and a common ingredient in lots of household products that don't come with a poison warning. If no one is getting sick from it outside this one town this one time I find it hard to believe it's the aluminum sulphate. The reality is that when things smell funny people get hysterical even if their is no danger. This is a textbook example of mass hysteria.
@@abebuckingham8198 It’s safe in small quantities, because it’s added at the start of the process the leftovers are neglectable. Problem here is that it was added at the end, and that the quantities were way higher. They literally found excess aluminium in the townsfolk’s autopsies, that really says something.
Excellent video, as always! I appreciate having an industrial incident video on my birthday, as that is my field or close to it. If you want another industrial disaster from the UK to cover, try the Flixborough disaster. It is a well-studied explosion that cost 28 workers their lives, and led to massive changes in chemical plant safety alongside the Seveso tragedy.
Also it's crazy that they advised people to add orange juice to cover the taste, mainly because I remembered mixing tang into the water I got in Costa Rica, it's the healthiest water in the Carribean but it did have an overly chemical taste to it as a result that the tang perfectly covered, saved tons of money not buying bottled water but now I'm hoping it was all above-board
It is so weird that they needed to have the driver explain where he put the aluminum sulfate. Why didn't they just turn on the tap and test what came out?
Guaranteed they knew by then they were just trying to find out how it happened.
Knowing exactly where it went into the system would be useful data for figuring out which parts of the system needed to be decontaminated. The tap at the end is not the only thing that needs work.
It's not dumb to ask, the dumb part is them doing _nothing_ for ages and blindly reassuring people it was safe without having looked into it at all.
Probably because someone denied the accident could even happen that way, so the driver had to come there to tell them.
going for that good ol' plausible deniability, so they could pretend they didn't know about it almost immediately with the multitude of sensors these places have, even in the late 80s.
Right?! It could be just omitted from the script, but no one is *ever* described as testing the actual water or measuring the level of contaminants.
i’ve watched all of your videos and the most subjectivity i’ve ever heard is when you said “twELVE DAYS” around 6 minutes in.. I feel you
Camelford deserves an unbiased report about the water and poisonings. It is evident that the area's authorities do not want this because they know that they will be found liable. No one will admit guilt or wrongdoing and the residents will continue to suffer.
This is something I knew nothing about. Fantastically interesting information. Once again you have given us great content about unknown tragedy and human error we may never had heard of. Great job.
It will never fail to alarm me that things like this, where people scream about the dangers and side effects experienced, will be ignored and the people in charge will continue to gaslight us and insist that the unsafe thing is totally safe and effective and definitely not any cause for concern. Reminds me of things going on even today...
At least the harm was accidental in the past. Those were the days!
My father in law worked in a factory making aluminium windows for decades. He showed signs of dementia even before his retirement at 63. When he died at 73 it transpired that his closest colleague was also stricken with identical symptoms. I’ve often wondered if they had work related illnesses.
Only a £10,000 fine for this absolute sh*tshow of gaslighting?? What a miscarriage of justice.
Love your videos.
To the point, no fluff. Very informative and entertaining. 👍
Yes, his channel proves that real life is far more terrifying than anything a fiction writer could dream up.