20 March 2023 , 12:27
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A factory where animals infected with Mad Cow Disease were destroyed amid a rampant outbreak across the country, "undoubtedly" contains dormant and dangerous disease that could threaten humans, almost 16 years on.
Thruxted Mill was one of five UK sites where cattle infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) were destroyed.
Scientists have warned against housing developments on the land, in a paper claiming the derelict seven-acre complex in Kent, may still be a safety threat today.
The “dreadful” horror movie-like setting has remained untouched for around 16 years, but that has not deterred prospective residential contractors from trying to build 20 homes there.
Professor Alan Colchester from the University of Kent has said human activity must never be encouraged near the mill and surrounding woodlands.
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The consultant neurologist believes the plant remains a threat because the molecules that cause BSE are extremely difficult to destroy and can incubate for several years.
The abandoned Thruxted Mill, between Chartham and Godmersham in Kent (KMG / SWNS)The former animal-rendering plant, where animal waste is turned into usable materials, sits in an Area of Outstanding Beauty between Ashford and Canterbury.
During the 1990s and noughties, truckloads of animal remains were ferried to the site where machines split fat and protein residue from the bone.
Piles of carcasses were reportedly dumped in the yard area repeatedly, leaving a foul smell hanging over the countryside.
A lost lorry heading to the mill spilled tongues and lumps of a bladder the size of a football on a village residential street nearby.
At the time, villager Peter Hancox said: "I have lived here for about six years and we have frequently had fluid spillages, but this was one lump of guts too far. The smell was horrible."
Nonetheless, in 2017 developers hoped to decontaminate the site and build 20 homes with an estimated cost of £1.75 million.
Professor Colchester said: “The site is a biohazard.
Scientists say it is still a biohazard (KMG / SWNS)“It’s always been known that the infected agents for 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 there are various ways you could come into contact with it.
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“The worst-case scenario is that you could transmit the illness to animals or humans from environmental materials that have themselves been infected in the past.
“And with CJD, we’re talking about a seriously long incubation period - from a few months to several years.
“Infected remains were left lying around and contaminated material is probably still lying in large quantities in the soil.
“Nothing should be done to encourage human activity around Thruxted Mill or the surrounding woodlands.
“If you have places in an urban environment that has contamination, then there might be a case that we should tarmac it over completely.”
Pitching the 2017 housing scheme, developers stressed soil studies showed evidence of matter including asbestos, metals, petroleum, oils and fats.
But no microbiological species such as anthrax or salmonella were found.
Ashford Borough Council gave the 2017 housing scheme the green light, admitting the site “had the most dreadful legacy.”
But plans were scrapped following a legal battle launched by disgruntled resident Camillia Swire, on the grounds they lacked expert evidence.
Ms Swire’s daughter Eleanor worked on the recent study with Professor Colchester on his paper: “Out of sight, out of mind? BSE 30 years on.”
A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesman said: “To prevent risks of spreading disease from residues in the soil, groundwater or air pollution, the burial or burning of fallen stock, including all farmed animals, in the open has been banned since 2003.
“Before that, guidance on the safe and legal disposal of fallen stock was made readily available.
"The risk of biohazards are addressed through local authority planning processes if historic burial sites are redeveloped.”