The Tesco leaflet

Some people got leaflets, and others did not.  I hope Tesco will not object if I publish material taken from their leaflet - without modification - so that more of us can see what they have to say.

Page 2 tells us about the infill source . . .

Then there is a new diagram of the infill site . . .

This needs a little study; however one point is worth emphasising. Item 11 is the new flood relief channel, which appears for the first time, and only after Tescowatch complained about it's absence.  Tescowatch has thus made a major contribution to the safety and viability of the project; so, can we expect a Tesco hamper for our efforts ?

The other processes are easier to follow after looking at the next page . . .

Stage 5 is interesting.  What exactly are they testing the water for ?  Presumably to see if all the sediment has settled out in stage 4.  If not, they can wait a little longer.  But what about the toxic metals ? 

The Environmental Health Officer has determined that the site is contaminated with Chromium and other poisonous materials soluble in water.  How much of this will be collected by the seawater which is going back into the bay ?  It is all very well waiting for sediment to settle: it will do this all by itself (unless there is a lot of clay); but toxic metals in solution do not go away with time: they can only be removed by complex and expensive chemical processes, and I don't see any provision for these.  They do not even seem to be testing for toxins, let alone treating them.

Another point arises about the Axe estuary, which is a Special Conservation Area.  The site is in hydraulic continuity with this estuary and marshes - which means that water from the site can seep into the river and the marshes through the porous silt.  If they pour millions of gallons of sea-water onto the site, how much of the toxic metal will be flushed into the estuary ?  I don't know, and nor does Tesco . . . but they should be finding out.  What about it, guys ?