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The tale of Toxic Trow

Fifty years ago, the council in charge of what was then the South Shields Corporation, allowed landfill waste dumping at the closed limestone quarry near Trow Point, commonly known as Trow Rocks. The waste dumped included building waste, with asbestos, along with a toxic cocktail of cadmium, lead, arsenic and other assorted nasties. This was deposited in layers across the base of the quarry, and covered with a three feet 'cap' of soil. You can see the layers from these photographs of sections of soft cliff face of the southern part of Trow.

Presumably, those in power in the Corporation at the time thought this was perfectly safe, and would pose no risk to residents. Additionally, they didn't consider the effects of coastal erosion on the quarry site. Of course, there is the possibility that the Corporation didn't care about the effects their actions have on future generations. A solution has yet to be presented, but will probably include some method of further capping and sea protection.

This solution could come up against some problems. The first is the effect of global warming on sea levels, which are predicted to rise. The additional water levels will increase the severity and speed of coastline erosion, so it will be difficult to predict the level of works necessary to form an effective protective barrier from the elements. 

Second, Trow Rocks is a popular recreational beauty spot. It's image would hardly be improved by eight-foot concrete protective sea walls, and such building work may come up against local public opposition if it's appearance is viewed as intrusive.

For a local online discussion of the Trow Quarry issue, visit Curlys Corner Shop.

Marsden madness

Unfortunately, our attitudes to waste disposal in South Tyneside haven't
really come far since the 1950s. The current council has given permission for the quarry at Marsden to be used as landfill for so-called 'inert' building waste.

It's questionable how we can gauge something as inert, and what we judge as inert now, may be viewed differently by future generations, who may have to fix our mistakes, as indeed we have to fix the mistakes made by the Corporation 50 years ago.

Concrete, the building material of choice, has hidden dangers when broken up in demolition. Many concretes have chemicals added during setting to aid the curing process. These can be released during the decay of the concrete. Some concretes (and concrete 'cinder' blocks) were made using fly ash, the by-product of incinerators.

Considering the situation surrounding
the Byker incinerator fly ash, the prognosis is not good. Just these two issues with a so-called 'inert' waste material should be cause for some alarm for locals as the aquifer which provides the local water supply is close to Marsden quarry. Indeed, the proximity of the aquifer is one of the reasons South Tyneside Council blocked the application to use the Marsden Quarry site as a domestic landfill site some years ago.