Evidence for cerebral dysfunction in people after the Camelford water incident

Just over 11 years ago 20 tonnes of aluminium sulphate were accidentally added to the drinking water reservoir serving 20 000 people in the Camelford area of Cornwall. There was delay in reporting the incident to the public, and those exposed started reporting various acute symptoms. Later, they started complaining of loss of concentration and short term memory, but in two sittings of a commission of inquiry their symptoms were attributed to anxiety. On p 807 Altmann et al report the results of studies done on 55 affected people who showed objective evidence of cerebral dysfunction. Anxiety levels had no effect, and unexposed siblings performed normally. Although no measures were available from before the incident, their accounts and the discrepancy with their premorbid IQ suggest that these individuals were affected by the incident, and it is likely that aluminium, as the major neurotoxic agent involved, led to the changes observed.

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Relevant Article

Disturbance of cerebral function in people exposed to drinking water contaminated with aluminium sulphate: retrospective study of the Camelford water incident

Paul Altmann, John Cunningham, Usha Dhanesha, Margaret Ballard, James Thompson, and Frank Marsh
BMJ 1999 319: 807-811. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]