Re: agent orange history?

[Ralph Ryder <ralph@tcpub.demon.co.uk>]

I dont know if you are interested but here is some general info nearer
to home.

On April  23 1968 there was an explosion at the Coalite factory in
Bolsover, Derbyshire. the company manufactured 2,4,5-trichlorophenol
(TCP) in the production of 2,4.5-T. One chemist was killed by falling
masionary.

Between May and December of that year 79 cases of chloacne were reported
with the majority recovering within 6 months. 

the plant was extensively cleaned after the accident but this failed to
stop 2 contractors working at the plant 3 years later developing
chloracne after being exposed to a tank that had been contaiminated
during the explosion. The wife of one of these workers and the son of
the other also developed chloracne.

Ref: G.May "Choracne from accidential production of TCDD. "Brit J Ind
Med 30 pp 276-283 (1973)

Dr May maintain 3 years later there had been other cases of chloracne in
other companies in the area but these had been covered up. He said one
factory had been closed for several months.

Dr May, was commissioned by the Health and Safety Executive and 3
outside consultants were pulled in. Dr Anthony Ward, Dr Eric Blank and
Dr Jenny Martin (who I interviewed last year) were commisioned to re-
evaluate the effects on the coalite workers after the Seveso accident in
1976. Coalite told Dr Martin after she had completed her work they did
not want the results published.

what was the reason for this? could it have had something to do with the
fact that during the research Dr Martin discovered the findings of the
first study by Dr May were worthless as the control group included
management staff, some it was claimed by worklers afterwards, hadn't
even been at work on the night of the explosion. 

Although Dr Martin had said in her report there was a difference in the
blood parameters of the exposed workers and the control group. Coalite
released an abbreviated version of her study stating there was no
difference

Dr Martin undertook a second study without the involvement of Coalite
and using the blood from  8 of the Coalite workers who suffered from
chloracne matched with those of a control group. the results were
published in The Lancet in FEB 1979.  Dr Martin papers were stolen from
her house shortly afterwards, she had no other copies. nothing else was
taken. 

The HSE could not get the full report from Coalite, so they accepted the
finding of the shortened version. 

Coalite refused any futher testing "if the results were to be
published." 

NOW THATS WHAT I CALL "COMMERCIAL CONFIDENTIALITY." 

See: A Hay "Company suppresses dixon report", Nature, 284, pg2, (1980);
Coalite health survey talks", Nature, 285 p 4 (1980)  
Dioxin hazards: secrecy at coalite. Nature 290, p 729 (1881)
A Hay The Chemical Scythe pp. 109-121 (New York: Plenum Press, 1982).

After the 2nd citizens conference on dioxin in 1994 a gang of us from
Europe stayed with Betty woods on her island in the St.Lawrence River.
there was lots of talk and it was said a German Scientist was working on
dioxin in the 40s. I was going to follow this up last year for a book I
was researching for and was going to write with a collegue at the time
on: Dioxin - the Communities view. Unfortunatly this collegue collect
the cash advance and pissed off with. I believe he is now writing the
book on his own. Some nice people we have calling themselves
'environmentalists' are exploiting genuine people more than the
industries we are fighting. 

Wishing you all, except that b*****d, good health

Ralph
Regards

Ralph Ryder

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