Coroner hits out at 'lack of Government assistance' over water poisoning deaths » Housing » 24dash.com

A coroner investigating the deaths of two Cornwall women who died after one of Britain's worst water poisoning incidents has attacked the lack of Government assistance as he was forced to adjourn an inquest already dating back four years.

In 1988 a lorry driver tipped 20 tonnes of aluminium sulphate into the wrong tank at Camelford water treatment works (pictured), in north Cornwall, affecting 20,000 homes.

West Somerset coroner Michael Rose opened inquests into the deaths of Carol Cross, 58, and Irene Neal, 91, after large amounts of aluminium were found in their brains.

Sampling showed "abnormally high" levels of aluminium were found present in the brain of Mrs Cross, who died in 2004. She had suffered from a neurological disease.

Her inquest was due to be held in November in Taunton, but has now been adjourned "with considerable reluctance" so further tests can take place.

The case of a second victim Irene Neal, 91, of Rock, north Cornwall, who died last year, will go ahead as planned, the coroner confirmed.

Mr Rose revealed that he had been forced to turn to the county council to pay for an expert investigation into the link, because the Government refused "to either finance of assist in such research".

In his full statement, Mr Rose said: "In November, I am due to hear an inquest at Taunton into the deaths of Carole Cross and Irene Florence Neale who were both resident in the Camelford area in 1988 when 20 tonnes of aluminium sulphate was put in the public water system at Lowermoor water treatment plant.

"Post-mortems have shown that both women had higher than normal levels of aluminium in their brains. In the case of Mrs Cross, the levels were abnormally high and there were also significant signs of congophilic amyloid angiopathy.

"In order to establish the consequences of the deceased having such a high level of aluminium, it was necessary to carry out more research.

"Unfortunately, Her Majesty's Government have so far not been prepared to either finance or assist in such research and therefore it has been necessary for me to seek the assistance of Somerset County Council in providing the finance for Professor Margaret Esiri, one of the country's leading neuropathologists, and Dr Chris Exley of Keele University, a leading expert on aluminium exposure, to carry out this work which is unique in that it is its first such project worldwide."