Pissed off Avonmouth residents, who have been subjected dangerous pollution and public health hazards from the port, have started a campaign of direct action against BRISTOL PORT COMPANY.
Meanwhile the city’s business, political and bureaucratic elites have closed ranks around the MERCHANT VENTURER owned big business to suppress the truth about the port’s activities.
Residents have been complaining for years now about dust from the port, some of which is potentially carcinogenic wood dust from biomass stored on the dock and some is metal dust from the SIMS METAL MANAGEMENT PLANT containing LEAD, CADMIUM and ARSENIC.
More recently, over the last month or so, residents have been subjected to a plague of flies that has been traced to waste being exported by local company BOOMECO. The company’s boss OLIVER ‘TWATTER’ LATTER has verbally admitted responsibility for the infestation but is refusing to pay residents the small cost of fumigating their homes.
Meanwhile the two regulatory bodies, THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY for the Port and the CITY COUNCIL for public health matters relating to its residents are passing the buck to each other and effectively washing their hands of the matter.
It also has come to light in recent weeks that the city council has secretly authorized the storage in the open air of ‘bottom ash’ on land they own at the port just a few hundred metres from people’s homes. This ash is what’s left after waste is incinerated and residents say, “literally anything could be in this waste, including TOXIC AND RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL from stuff like hospital waste. It’s obviously a danger to public health so near to our homes”.
Residents held their first demo at the port on Friday 30 May and they promise they’ll be going “on tour” throughout the summer until the authorities start doing their job and looking after them rather than poisoning them.
A resident says, “the time for tea and biscuits with these people is over. Direct action has moved us more forward in one week rather than the three years we have been trying to resolve things.
“I’m up for embarrassing the politicians and Councillors and giving glorious George and cuddly Augustus a bloody nose every time they appear spouting their false ‘green’ agenda.”