Calls for national inquiry into hazardous waste sites across Wales

Nicholas Thomas, Local Democracy Reporter

The impacts of hazardous waste disposal across Wales should be examined by a national inquiry, three independent councillors have claimed.

They said community members had “longstanding concerns” about substances dumped at Ty Llwyd Quarry, near Ynysddu, by Monsanto in the 1960s and 1970s.

Campaigners have warned about the spread of ‘forever chemicals’ such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at the site when bad weather causes leachate to run off from the former quarry site.

In July, however, Caerphilly County Borough Council – which has taken on responsibility for the site – concluded Ty Llwyd did not meet the legal definition of contaminated land, following “extensive investigations and environmental sampling carried out by independent consultants”.

Now, Ynysddu ward councillors Jan Jones and Janine Reed – alongside Cllr Kevin Etheridge, who grew up in the area – have called for the matter to be escalated nationally.

In their notice of motion, the councillors call on the local authority to note the “significant concern regarding historic contaminated land and hazardous waste disposal sites across Wales”.

They argue Michael Sheen’s recent BBC documentary, Buried, has created “renewed public attention” towards Wales’ dumping grounds and their “potential impact on communities”.

The three councillors’ proposed motion also claims investigations should be “independent of organisations previously involved in regulating or assessing the sites concerned”.

If approved by a majority of councillors at a meeting this week, the motion will call for the local authority to request the Welsh Government establishes an independent public inquiry into the issue, including at Ty Llwyd and “any other sites where there is significant public concern”.

That inquiry should examine the “adequacy” of environmental monitoring and existing legislation, and decide whether further investigation or remediation works are needed.

The notice of motion has been signed by 11 Plaid Cymru councillors and four other independents.

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