A harrowing new documentary on BBC Two tonight will expose the full story of what is considered Britain's biggest mass poisoning, a public health disaster that shattered a community and raised serious questions about corporate greed and government cover-ups.
The 1988 Cornwall Water Contamination
The incident, which unfolded in north Cornwall in 1988, saw the water supply to approximately 20,000 homes contaminated with dangerously high levels of aluminium. The documentary, titled Poison Water, reveals that the aluminium concentration reached a staggering 620 milligrams per litre. This level was thousands of times higher than the European Community's acceptable limit of just 0.2 milligrams per litre at the time.
What began as a simple operational error—a misplaced delivery at a local water treatment facility—rapidly escalated into a catastrophic failure of public safety. The effects on residents were immediate and alarming.
Shattered Lives and a Search for Truth
The film powerfully presents moving first-person testimonies from those whose lives were irrevocably damaged. One such story is that of Dr Doug Cross, who recounts how his late wife, Carol, complained that the tap water was stinging her skin and turning soap bright blue. Tragically, Carol later died of a rare form of Alzheimer's in 2004, and post-mortem tests detected excessive levels of aluminium in her brain.
As the health consequences mounted, so did public suspicion. Poison Water explores the accusations of a cover-up that have persisted for decades. A leaked government memo is featured, which revealed that executives from South West Water feared a police investigation would spook the stock market. This was a critical concern, as the scandal erupted just as Margaret Thatcher's government was preparing to privatise the water industry.
A Legacy of Distrust and Corporate Accountability
The documentary provides a reflective look at the event 37 years later, featuring commentary from key figures of the time, including the head of operations at the former South West Water Authority and Michael Howard, the minister then responsible for water privatisation.
The narrative goes beyond the immediate headlines, placing the Cornwall poisoning within the broader, ongoing context of water company privatisation and its impact on public trust and corporate accountability. The community's desperate, decades-long search for truth forms the emotional core of this devastating story.
Poison Water airs on BBC Two on Wednesday 26 November at 9pm.
