International Photo-Journalist visits Rochdale asbestos site

Louie Palu photographing the Turners Factory

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Canadian photographer Louie Palu has been in Rochdale this week to take photos and do research into Rochdale’s internationally significant asbestos site, Spodden Valley.

Louie came to the Rochdale Online office on Friday 14 July to talk about his experiences and his hopes for the future of the TBA site.

Louie is visiting Rochdale as a guest of the Save Spodden Valley campaign after he met campaign leader Jason Addy at the European Parliament last year. He has been interested in asbestos related diseases as part of a three year project on the dangerous mineral due to its significance to his home nation. This project has lead him to Rochdale as much of the asbestos produced at the Turner Brothers factory came from Canada.

After an initial visit last week, Louie returned to Rochdale as he was shocked and alarmed by the exposed asbestos in the woodlands which surround the former factory.

Louie was keen to emphasize that he would remain objective and neutral throughout his study but that whilst that was the case, he was still alarmed by what was happening in Spodden Valley.

The Toronto Globe amp; Mail photographer told Rochdale Online: “It’s clear that everyone wants to see the site here cleared up but the key is how to go about doing that. It seems very unlikely to me that given the well documented amounts of asbestos that were dealt with here, that the site does not pose a danger that could become even greater if developments go ahead without the correct precautions.

“It is my personal opinion that the site needs deeper examination before the issues here divide the community further. There have been no accurate reports of what the dangers are and where the asbestos lies. Questions should be asked and neutral bodies consulted before private companies take over and I believe the government here needs to be involved at a higher level.”

Following his visit to Rochdale Online, Louie visited the site and walked around the public areas as he tried to learn more about the site and its history. Louie hoped that Rochdale would learn from its own history before stepping into the future and developing the site, he said: “People from the town have suffered at the hands of asbestos and we should bear that in mind when the site is cleared up. There is a famous saying that says ‘take time to gather up the past so that you will be able to draw from your experiences and invest them in the future’.”

Jason Addy emphasized the importance of opening up the debate over the asbestos site to all parties concerned: “It’s great that Louie is here. I think that it is equally important that as well as spending time with us whilst he is here, that he also meets the developers as part of the study. It is in everyone’s interests to open up the debate over the future of this site. It is time to get things out in the open, there are a lot of things to consider but I know a lot of people in this town are concerned and alarmed about what is happening.”