1960s Teeside | Pollution | River Pollution | Living with Pollution | River Tees | This Week | 1969

Teeside - Where nearly half a million people live in the shadow of one of Europe’s Largest industrial complexes. Pollution has become an excepted fact of life in the area, but how is it affecting the environment and people’s lives?
Peter Williams investigates.
First shown: 27/11/1969
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Quote: VT101027

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

Growing up in the 1970s I remember the state and smell of the rivet well....its clean now , full of fish etc, industry has cleaned up its act as well as sewage treatment improving.....but one factor has to be taken into account that the industry today in 2022 is a shadow of its former self when this film was made , 1968?. Where did the industry go ?....overseas?, where there is probably zero pollution control. You have to get the balance between jobs , industry etc and pollution.

[@rayjones5771]

My grandfather fell in the river tees in 1942 and died a short time later He was working on a ship being built. He's widow given 100 pound The ship builder denied liability but gave 100 as a good will gesture.

[@regplasma7906]

0.22 'When was the last time you saw a salmon this far up the Tees ?' '1921 0r 1922".To prove it ,those 2 salmon fishermen in the background have been there for 47 years and only caught a rubber tyre full of shite.

[@deanstanley5799]

Those woman we’re only in there 30s !

[@derekgraham5443]

The joke used to be that if you fell into the River Tees the toss up was whether you died of poisoning before you drowned.

[@andrewharding7459]

I remember falling into the river when I was a nipper living in doggy and 50 years later I'm still a steady 6 inches on the slack.

[@DeannaAllison]

I remember crossing the river as a young child in the late 60s or early 70s, on the Tees Transporter Bridge which is visible in the background during part of this report. And I remember looking down at the river's surface and wondering why it looked like pea soup ... it is still a really vivid memory for me because it looked so odd: bright green stuff was floating, covering the surface of the river. Only years later did I learn about algal blooms caused by pollution.

[@gehanoates294]

As long as they make money they don't care.

[@dreadfulspiller8766]

I thought where I grew up in the states in the 70s was grim but it's the garden of eden next to this place.

[@scrog77]

Used to be, its completely changed for the better now but understand what you mean.

[@BruceIredale]

I lived on Teesside for 20 years and although I'm back in South Yorkshire now it still wound me up that some idiot from inside the M25 can't be bothered to spell Teesside right even before I'd watched the video. Like the good Doctor was saying, it just shows how much care those in the south really had for the North East. Can't even be bothered to spell it right let alone anything more important

[@cthonorsoma5702]

Teescide

[@this_is_a_tiny_town]

Jesus, man you need to learn to relax if that's what winds you up. I'm from nowhere near the M25 and I also didn't know there was a double 's' in the spelling. Furthermore if I asked you to spell some place names local to my part of the UK I guarantee you would struggle and to be honest, it wouldn't be a big deal!

[@steven-vn9ui]

When will those with power stop the greed and just look after OUR planet. Saddens me so much.

[@tomfenn7149]

Ah. This must be back in the days when British river pollution just wasn't as bad as it is today?

[@herbertvonzinderneuf8547]

That would be funny, if it was not so true.😆

[@spider_hoss]

Desecrate the land for the almighty dollar (or pound).

[@trueblue726]

Teesside two double s

[@original.dwornboy]

Meanwhile in 2022 there's seals well up river from the sea with plenty of fish for them to eat. The good old days, eh?

[@warriorboy1976]

In some ways, yes.

[@sm1thers]

Things have improved, still a way to go. Sewage is treated normally, but in heavy rain it still overflows at many points along the Tees and coast. Last years deeper dredging was followed by deaths of thousands and thousands of lobster and crab deaths which were found to have high levels of toxins. A lot more deeper dredging is due to take place.

[@natureisallpowerful]

The tees was dead