On 6th July 1988, twenty tonnes of liquid aluminium sulphate solution was delivered to the wrong inlet at the Lowermoor Water Treatment Works owned and operated by South West Water Authority. The aluminium sulphate entered the water distribution network and formed an acidic solution which dissolved further contaminants from the antiquated distribution system into the drinking water supply.

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Environmental Assistance produced a report, 'The need for a public enquiry into the 1988 Camelford water pollution incident' at the request of the Camelford Action Group in 1997. This report outlines compelling reasons to hold a public enquiry into the incident. Paul Tyler, MP for North Cornwall, submitted the report to the Deputy Prime Minister in September 1997.

No public warning was issued to prevent the ingestion of the water. At no time did South West Water Authority inform their customers that the water was unsafe to drink. On 7th July 1988, and thereafter repeatedly, South West Water Authority informed its customers that the water was unsafe to use and drink.

None of the health authorities, hospitals or general practitioners in the local area was informed of the incident. The public and public authorities were not informed about the true nature of the incident until 17 days later on the 23rd July 1988, when it was reported on the bottom of the sports page at the back of the Western Morning News, a local newspaper.

The water was consumed by the local population who as a consequence suffered injuries to the mouth, stomach, and skin and other disorders. These effects lasted in some cases for weeks in the first instance. The long term adverse health effects have been slowly emerging since the incident. Five years after the incident hospital discharge rates in the population exposed to the contaminated water were still higher than in other parts of Cornwall.

No social support system was put in place by the relevant authorities for the affected population. In particular, disability allowance was denied to the victims of the incident despite appropriate medical evidence to support their applications. We are also informed that wrong advice was given by the Department of Social Security. In practice we understand that most applications for disability allowance became lost, and it was not until 1995, following the intervention of Environmental Assistance, that some people began to receive disability allowance for injuries attributed to the incident.

Although no proper study has been undertaken, Environmental Assistance believes that a number of people exposed to the contaminated water have died prematurely between the ages of 55 to 60 years old. Our attempts to investigate the registry of deaths and births in the area have failed because access to the public register has been denied. Similarly many of the victims of the poisonings have been refused access to their own medical records by their General Practitioners, contrary to the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 and the Access to Health Records Act 1990. Access was refused even though the General Practitioners were made aware of their patients’ rights afforded under the two acts.

Environmental Assistance organised The Lowermoor Water Poisoning Conference: Lessons to be learned, held on 6th and 7th September 1998. The water industry representative (Water UK) withdrew its speaker the day before the conference was due to start. At the same time as providing assurances to Environmental Assistance that a speaker was to be provided, Water UK was informing water industry personnel of there revocation of support for the conference several days before. Even after ten years the water industry was still having difficulty addressing its customers legitimate concerns. Water UK's Chief Executive later apologised for their failure to provide a speaker for the conference whilst acknowledging that their behaviour was totally unacceptable and that they had behaved in an appalling manner in connection with the conference.

Environmental Assistance is, to this day, continuing to work with the victims of the Lowermoor water poisoning incident.

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