Contaminated land campaigners launch Senedd petition calling for testing regime

Alec Doyle, Local Democracy Reporter

Residents have launched a Senedd petition calling for comprehensive testing after Public Health Wales said a testing regime was ‘not recommended.’

Cefn Community Councillor Katie Witherden – who featured alongside actor Michael Sheen in the BBC documentary Buried that brought the issue into the public consciousness – posted the petition on behalf of the Monsanto Contamination Action Group.

It asks Welsh Government to start targeted blood testing for polychlorinated biphenyls – PCBs – the cancer-causing ‘forever chemical’ present in many of the chemical waste sites – and to implement soil and water testing in affected areas.

The petition was raised in reaction to a statement by Public Health Wales which said it supported moves to address historical chemical waste dumping – but not the idea of a blood testing regime.

“Testing PCBs in blood is not recommended as a public health action,” said the statement.

“This is because it does not provide a reliable means of assessing an individual’s exposure to contamination or the potential health impact.

“Testing for PCBs in blood does not tell us how or where people may have been exposed to them.

“There are also some risks in introducing blood testing for PCBs. For example, causing worry among people who have are found to have PCBs in their blood. There is no way to treat or manage a particular PCB level in someone’s blood, even if we measured it.”

For Katie, that response was seen as the latest attempt to avoid an official, comprehensive investigation into the potential harm dumping has inflicted on communities.

“The implication that we are too unsophisticated to understand that testing itself does not reduce risk is frankly insulting,” she said.

“Affected people across Wales have already lived with unquantifiable risk for decades. It is this very lack of information that is blocking efforts to make our communities safe to live in.

“This petition sends the message that we won’t take no for an answer any longer.”

Husband Steve Witherden – MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr – added: “Public Health Wales have effectively said, ‘what you don’t know can’t hurt you.’ That simply isn’t going to cut the mustard for my constituents.

“We need this testing not only as residents, but as campaigners, because proof is prerequisite to any real solution.”

People feel abandoned

According to the petition, ‘communities across Wales have woken up to the reality that they have contaminated land on their doorsteps’.

It says people feel ‘abandoned’ and ‘at the mercy’ of the unknown.

Wrexham was one of the key areas of focus for the documentary due to the presence of the large Monsanto chemical works in Ruabon. In the programme actor Michael Sheen and environmental journalists Lucy Taylor and Dan Ashby investigated sites where there was documented evidence of chemical dumping by Monsanto.

Those sites included Llwyneinion Acid Tar Lagoon, Cefn Mawr and Ruabon itself, where the plan was situated. It is believed there could be many more undocumented sites across Wales however where Monsanto and other companies disposed of harmful waste.

The petition – ‘Begin targeted testing of soil, water and blood in areas at risk of PCBs and other contaminants in Wales’ – can be found on the website petitions.senedd.wales.

If it reaches 250 signatures it will be discussed by the Senedd’s Petitions Committee. If it reaches 10,000 signatures it will be considered for a full Senedd debate.

Work together

It asks Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales and Public Health Wales to work together and alongside local authorities to roll-out a voluntary blood testing programme to analyse just how many residents may have elevated levels of PCBs or other harmful chemicals in their systems.

It also seeks to establish a targeted testing regime for land and water in areas where dumping is known or suspected.

The petition says Wrexham residents know that the presence of PCBs is not a definitive indicator of risk, but says that without a body of statistically relevant evidence in the UK to refer to, it is impossible to gauge the true risk to residents.

“Allowing us to volunteer for this type of testing would provide the UK with a baseline testing – something we do not currently have – and provide the Welsh Government with data to meet potential health needs,” according to the petition.

“Specific land and water testing of suspected dump sites would give our communities the answers they so desperately need. We deserve clarity to the risks that may lie beneath our feet.”

The petition will remain open until March 2027.

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