Rattlechain lagoon and tip, Tividale, 1994 - historic photo showing lorry discharging liquid waste. The lagoon is a controversial waste disposal site, formally a clay pit, adjoining a brickworks, which was acquired by Albright and Wilson in 1948 (later Rhodia) for disposing of chemically contaminated sludges, containing mainly calcium phosphate, and ceased usage in 2006. It is now believed the sediment of the lagoon also contains significant quantities of white phosphorus. The Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) has carried out post mortem tests on dead birds (swans and geese) found on or near the the lake, and confirmed that in at least one case death was by phosphorus poisoning. Beyond the lagoon is a separately owned hazardous industrial waste tip containing demolition waste as well as waste from steel works and foundries, and toxic materials from earlier unregulated usage