A long-abandoned factory and forests could still be a “biohazard” for humans, as experts warn that soil and water could be contaminated with mad cow disease.
Thruxted Mill, between Ashford and Canterbury, was one of five sites used in the UK for the disposal of the remains of cattle infected with the disease, known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
But now a scholarly paper says the abandoned seven-hectare complex may still threaten people’s safety – with one of the authors, Prof. Alan Colchester, even warning of housing developments on the land.
The University of Kent academic believes the former animal processing plant is dangerous because the molecules that cause BSE – as well as the human form of the disease – are incredibly difficult to destroy.
“The site is a biohazard,” said the emeritus professor of clinical neuroscience.
“It has always been known that the infected pathogens of mad cow disease are incredibly resistant to normal decay and destruction and there will undoubtedly be some long-term contamination in the soil.
“The point is that you can come into contact with it in different ways.”
In the 1990s and 1990s, truckloads of animal remains were transported to the site between Chartham and Godmersham where machines separated animal fats and protein scraps from the bone.
There were reports of piles of carcasses regularly being dumped in the yard and a pungent smell hung over the countryside. It was not unusual for the surrounding routes to become littered with chunks of dead cattle.
In 2008, a stray truck trying to find its way to the mill spilled tongues and lumps from a football-sized bladder in Beech Avenue, Chartham.
Villager Peter Hancox said at the time that the route “often had liquid spills, but this was a chunk of guts too far – the stench was horrendous”.
The derelict mill has been described as the perfect place to film a horror movie.
The symptoms of the disease that is transmitted to humans — called CJD — include memory loss, personality changes, abnormal jerking movements, and a loss of brain function and mobility.
“The worst-case scenario is that you can transmit the disease to animals or humans through environmental materials that have themselves been infected in the past,” added Prof Colchester.
“And with CJD, we’re talking about a seriously long incubation period — from a few months to several years.”
In 1998, Prof. Colchester, a neurologist at Guy’s Hospital in London at the time, said that “infected remains were lying about and contaminated material was probably still in the ground in large quantities”.
Despite this, developers wanting to build 20 houses pledged to rehabilitate the site at an estimated cost of £1.75 million in 2017.
They highlighted how soil studies showed evidence of matter, including asbestos, metals, petroleum oils and fats. No microbiological species were found, such as anthrax or salmonella.
In setting the plan, Ashford Borough Council recognized how the old mill had “the most dreadful legacy” and gave it the go-ahead.
But after a legal battle led by disgruntled resident Camilla Swire – whose daughter Eleanor worked on the recent study with Prof. Colchester – the authority’s ruling was overturned due to a lack of “expert evidence”.
An environmental impact assessment was required, but the application was withdrawn a year later.
And Prof. Colchester’s article “Out of sight, out of mind? BSE 30 years later” – published in the academic journal Land Use Policy – warns against residential or recreational developments in such locations.
“Nothing should be done to encourage human activity around Thruxted Mill or the surrounding woodlands,” continued Prof Colchester.
“If you have places in an urban environment that are polluted, then maybe there’s a reason to completely asphalt it.”
Thought to have been originally developed as a sawmill in the 1960s, Thruxted was converted into the animal processing plant by Canterbury Mills Ltd. Companies House documents show that the company was dissolved in 2010, two years after the factory closed.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “To avoid the risk of spreading disease from residues in soil, groundwater or air pollution, burying or burning fallen animals, including all farm animals, in the open Allowed. banned since 2003.
“Previously, guidelines for the safe and legal disposal of fallen stock were readily available.
“Biological hazard risk is addressed through local authority planning processes as historic cemeteries are redeveloped.”