Anthrax or Plague warning over London Crossrail site (March 2010)

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

The government has warned that traces of bubonic plague or anthrax could be found at a site on the route of ^16bn cross-London Crossrail scheme.
Lord James of Blackheath warned that an area in the City of London to be used for tunnelling may be a missing 16th Century anthrax burial ground.
Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said that a compulsory purchase of the area, a car park, was expected to go ahead.
A decision on the purchase of 10 Hayne Street is expected on Friday.
"We may very well have here at Number 10 Hayne Street the missing anthrax burial ground that has been lost for 488 years," Conservative Lord James said. He said that churches in the area had "refused to accept the bodies of the 282 victims of the anthrax outbreak that wiped out the whole population of Hayne Street at that time".
The threat of diseases being released was raised by Lord James at the passing of the Crossrail Bill in 2009.
Human remains were found in May 2009 in a deep exploratory bore hole in Farringdon, central London, but they showed no traces of plague or anthrax.
Deadly anthrax spores can lie dormant for centuries but if disturbed can spread through the air. The bacteria which causes bubonic plague can also survive in plague pits.
Lord Adonis said he accepted it was an issue that needed further study. "Crossrail understands that there is a very small possibility of buried human remains being encountered during the works at 10 Hayne Street," he told peers. But he said it was "highly unlikely that the works would release any anthrax spores or bacteria causing plague".
The Crossrail scheme is intended to link towns to the east and west of London with Heathrow, the West End, and Canary Wharf from 2017.

[inspector_blakey]

The media and the public get so overexcited about anthrax 

It's certainly a nasty disease, but here are a few down to earth reassuring facts:

a) anthrax can't spread from one person to another: it can only be passed by the bacterial endospores, so you won't catch it from anyone else coughing or sneezing - it would need to have directly contaminated them or their clothing;
b) although the bacterial endospores are robust and long-lived, they're reasonably easy to decontaminate using oxidizing agents like peroxides or, to a lesser extent, household bleach solutions...autoclaving and burning are also very effective;
c) there are good vaccines against anthrax infection available and...
d) even if you do get infected some forms of anthrax respond well to antibiotics.

Ain't science great?

[Electric train]

It is also likely that if these are "Plague Pits" the bodies would have been buried with quick lime which was the standard way of burring bodies with infectious diseases before cremations

[paul7575]

Seems to be a standard straw for last minute objectors to clutch at.

Same question was raised about the M3 Winchester bypass IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly), and I firmly believe it is a standard sort of check the eventual contractors do anyway under the heading of 'site investigations'...

Paul

[Btline]

It's a good job most of the Tube was built ages ago before H&S^▸ (Health and Safety)! Imagine if there was this amount of hoo-haa we'd be lucky to have anything more built than the Waterloo and City!

And these "mega diseases" stories are ALWAYS made up/ exaggerated by the press. Taking a look at the science (as IB did) puts things into perspective.

[Electric train]

The other precaution is that all the shafts, stations (that is all the ground level to subterranean works) will be watched and monitored by archaeologists who will stop the digging at the slightest signs of a grave

[grahame]

... anything more built than the Waterloo and City ...

"You CANNOT be SERIOUS .... you can't build a railway line that small under water!" 

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Crossrail archaeology dig unearths mass burial ground

Archaeologists surveying the ground at Liverpool Street station in preparation for Crossrail tunnelling have unearthed hundreds of skeletons on the site of a historic mental health hospital.

Opened in 1247, St Bethlehem hospital was the first institution dedicated to mental health patients and is believed to have led to the coining of the word "bedlam".

The site now lies beneath what will be Liverpool Street's new Crossrail ticket hall.

There are 20 archaeology digs along the Crossrail route and they have to be completed as part of the planning regulations.

[JayMac]

Dunno about skelingtons, but I was caught short today trying to get to Tottenham Court Road on the Northern Line. Missed all the signs and announcements that TCR was closed. Still, not to far to walk to where I needed to be from Goodge St!!!

[Ollie]

Missed all the signs and announcements that TCR was closed.

to Northern Line services only.

[JayMac]

Aye. Heading north from Waterloo.

[Ollie]

You should have stayed for the evening to see We Will Rock You at The Dominion Theatre

[inspector_blakey]

but I was caught short today trying to get to Tottenham Court Road on the Northern Line.

Sounds messy...!