Shock revelation

The powerful headline over a Glossop Chronicle front page story that revealed how up to 5,500 people could face mass evacuation from a deadly cloud of chlorine gas.

The shock news came in January 1986 after County Councillor Dave Wilcox leaked a confidential document to journalist Joanne Simms.

The secret file gave details of evacuation plans if a cloud of the gas should ever be released from the Arnfield water treatment plant at Tintwistle.

It was stamped ‘do not remove’ by Derbyshire County Council Emergency Control,  but the crusading councillor believed local people had a right to know and called the Chronicle.

The worst-case scenario if the nightmare had happened could see up to 5,500 residents of Tintwistle, Hadfield, Brookfield and as far away as Crowden rushed to special rest centres.

The area at risk contained hundreds of homes, six schools and a number of factories and other places of work. Moving thousands of people to emergency rest centres set up by the county council would have been a colossal task.

 There were only 50 copies of the document, some going to selected people who needed to know, local councils and emergency services in Derbyshire and neighbouring Tameside.

Cllr. Wilcox made no apologies for going public.

Speaking to the Chronicle after first reading the report, he said: “I think my first reaction was shock that there was an industrial process for which it was considered necessary enough to give an emergency plan.

“My second thought must be ‘thank goodness there are plans developed to offer assurance to people that there has been something done about it’.”