One of the richest local authorities in Britain today stands accused of the ‘social murder’ of over eighty residents in one of its council-owned tower blocks. Grenfell Tower
The allegation is that council officials knowingly authorised, specified and paid for an otherwise fire-safe, high-rise tower block that housed some hundreds of their council tenants, to be retro-clad and insulated with a polymer foam that was inherently combustible and that would emit highly toxic hydrogen-cyanide gas, if ignited.
Grenfell Tower on fire. Source The New European
In such extreme circumstances, the production and emission of poison gas would immediately disable all those within the affected areas of the building from seeking escape and would consequently lead to them being burnt alive.
Polymer foams have been commercially available for nearly fifty years following their synthesis by the Union Carbide Corporation of America. However, their latent combustibility and toxicity upon ignition have been exhaustively documented for decades subsequent to numerous accidents involving loss of life both in Europe and around the world. Consequently, such foams have been banned in many countries, from being used within buildings, internally or externally. Their legitimate use being confined to the packing and/or thermal insulation of commercial goods, foodstuffs and refrigerated cold stores etc.
The above facts would have been very well-known to those who authorised the use of such inherently dangerous materials in or on council-owned, residential premises and, therefore, those individuals concerned who knowingly acted to endanger life instead of safeguarding it, should be prosecuted on charges of willful neglect leading to multiple manslaughter.
The tragic disregard for public safety and lack of respect for the communities they are paid to serve, which is apparently ingrained in certain local authorities and Town Halls, must now be exposed and excised, once and for all.
