Tl;dr: uk.gov lying and secrecy about mass marine deaths from pollution because Brexit flagship freeport construction likely to result in more of same.
After an inexplicable rash of dead shellfish appeared on beaches in the North East of England, a cursory government investigation showing every indication of being a sham, blamed on the slenderest of pretexts, a toxic species of algae which thrives in temperatures between 20 and 24C.
Inconveniently for the government account, local water temperatures averaging 13C make this virtually impossible.
As the Guardian version of this story reported:
> freedom of information requests revealed . . . levels of a pollutant called pyridine in the north-eastern crabs the government tested were up to 74 times higher than those found in crabs caught in Cornwall.
Heavy industry in the area is likely to have resulted in the high concentrations of pyridine derivatives which were found in local sediments.
Local fishermen engaged marine ecologist Tim Deere Jones to conduct their own investigation, which offered sediments drifting down the coast from pyridine contaminated mud dumped after local dredging operations as a likely cause of the problem.
Such contaminated sediments are not uncommon in the area, and as the Guardian reported:
> In July, work begins on the Teesside freeport, the biggest and most spectacular of the government’s fabled “Brexit opportunities”. The project is being overseen by the Conservatives’ favourite mayor, Ben Houchen.
> Constructing the Tees freeport will require a massive dredging operation.
New in the Independent’s story, the pollutant seems to have caused anomalous backbone growth in local Tories:
> For Houchen, something of a poster boy for the Tories’ pledge to “level up” the nation, the issue is difficult politically on a local and national level.
> He has put himself at odds with the view of his Conservative colleagues that a cause has been identified, telling The Independent: “I don’t think you can ultimately be satisfied with a report that cannot confidently identify the causative factor for this incident. I say this without criticism of the scientists and agencies conducting the research.”
I went to Gibraltar Point near Skegness and walked along the beach. I’m not sure if this is normal but there were thousands of dead starfish. I’m not exaggerating, the beach was littered with them. The smell was overwhelmingly revolting. It was like a sweet, sickly smell mingled with decay. I’ve never seen or smelled anything like it.
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Tl;dr: uk.gov lying and secrecy about mass marine deaths from pollution because Brexit flagship freeport construction likely to result in more of same.
This story is essentially that told by the Guardian last month: [*The dead shellfish littering our beaches tell you a lot about safety and secrecy in Britain*](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jun/06/dead-shellfish-beaches-safety-secrecy-britain), which this Independent story oddly neglects to mention.
After an inexplicable rash of dead shellfish appeared on beaches in the North East of England, a cursory government investigation showing every indication of being a sham, blamed on the slenderest of pretexts, a toxic species of algae which thrives in temperatures between 20 and 24C.
Inconveniently for the government account, local water temperatures averaging 13C make this virtually impossible.
As the Guardian version of this story reported:
> freedom of information requests revealed . . . levels of a pollutant called pyridine in the north-eastern crabs the government tested were up to 74 times higher than those found in crabs caught in Cornwall.
Heavy industry in the area is likely to have resulted in the high concentrations of pyridine derivatives which were found in local sediments.
Local fishermen engaged marine ecologist Tim Deere Jones to conduct their own investigation, which offered sediments drifting down the coast from pyridine contaminated mud dumped after local dredging operations as a likely cause of the problem.
Such contaminated sediments are not uncommon in the area, and as the Guardian reported:
> In July, work begins on the Teesside freeport, the biggest and most spectacular of the government’s fabled “Brexit opportunities”. The project is being overseen by the Conservatives’ favourite mayor, Ben Houchen.
> Constructing the Tees freeport will require a massive dredging operation.
New in the Independent’s story, the pollutant seems to have caused anomalous backbone growth in local Tories:
> For Houchen, something of a poster boy for the Tories’ pledge to “level up” the nation, the issue is difficult politically on a local and national level.
> He has put himself at odds with the view of his Conservative colleagues that a cause has been identified, telling The Independent: “I don’t think you can ultimately be satisfied with a report that cannot confidently identify the causative factor for this incident. I say this without criticism of the scientists and agencies conducting the research.”
I went to Gibraltar Point near Skegness and walked along the beach. I’m not sure if this is normal but there were thousands of dead starfish. I’m not exaggerating, the beach was littered with them. The smell was overwhelmingly revolting. It was like a sweet, sickly smell mingled with decay. I’ve never seen or smelled anything like it.