The residents of a Cornish town who drank water contaminated with aluminium
sulphate eleven years ago have suffered 鈥渃onsiderable damage鈥� to their brain
functions, says a medical specialist. Tests by Paul Altmann of the Radcliffe
Hospital in Oxford have revealed poor concentration and poor short-term memory
among those affected (British Medical Journal, vol 319, p 807).
Aluminium sulphate is usually added to water in small doses to prevent
cloudiness. In 1988, however, 20 tonnes were mistakenly added to the water
supply of 20 000 homes in the town of Camelford (New 杏吧原创, 2
February 1991, p 26). Altmann argues that people may have absorbed far more
aluminium than previously estimated.