Welsh MPs press for action over toxic waste legacy exposed by Michael Sheen

Nation.Cymru staff

A senior MP has called for greater action to tackle the legacy of contaminated land in Wales following Michael Sheen’s investigation into toxic waste sites.

Ruth Jones, Labour MP for Newport West and Islwyn and chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee, said the BBC documentary Buried with Michael Sheen had highlighted many of the same concerns raised during the committee’s inquiry into the environmental and economic legacy of Wales’ industrial past.

The series investigates chemical contamination across Wales, including the Llwyneinion Acid Tar Lagoon at Ruabon, Wrexham, where an estimated 1,100 barrels of chemical waste were historically dumped by Monsanto and other manufacturers.

Its renewed focus on contaminated sites has prompted fresh calls for action, with campaigners arguing that the UK Government should contribute towards the cost of cleaning them up.

Ms Jones said: “Michael Sheen’s moving and worrying investigation has vividly brought to the screen many of the same issues and deep concerns that our committee has heard during its work looking at the impact of Wales’ industrial legacy on our communities.

“The lack of resources available to identify, monitor and clean-up potentially affected sites and the absence of support and information for people living in areas that could be contaminated have been highlighted both by the documentary and by witnesses at our evidence sessions on the issue.”

The Welsh Affairs Committee has been examining metal mine pollution and the wider consequences of Wales’ industrial past.

Last month it wrote to the new Secretary of State for Wales, Stephen Kinnock, following an evidence session examining progress on tackling metal mine pollution since a similar hearing by the committee in the previous Parliament two years earlier.

Ms Jones said: “As a committee we are dismayed that the legacy of contaminated land has been left unaddressed for so long, and we have already written to the new Welsh Secretary to press for more action to ensure there is funding for cleaning up land, support for those at risk and that there is a coordinated four-nation approach to testing.

“We will be returning to our inquiry into the environmental and economic legacy of Wales’ industrial past in the coming weeks to make sure it remains a key issue for the government and does not slip from the spotlight.”

The intervention follows renewed controversy over the Llwyneinion site, which features in the second episode of Buried.

Ponciau councillor Paul Pemberton, who has campaigned for the site to be cleaned up for more than 20 years, previously told Nation.Cymru that the documentary could provide “one last chance” to secure action.

Wrexham Council has said the site is no longer considered dangerous enough to require a multi-million-pound clean-up, but Cllr Pemberton has argued that contamination could pose a risk in the future.

He said the estimated cost of remediation had already reached around £45m by 2010 and would now be higher.

Compensation

Wales Environment Link has also called on the UK Government to fund work at contaminated sites while pursuing companies responsible for historic pollution for compensation.

The organisation argues that because much of the dumping took place before devolution, responsibility should not simply be left with the Welsh Government.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has previously declined to respond to the campaigners’ call for UK Government funding.

The second episode of Buried with Michael Sheen, featuring the Llwyneinion Acid Tar Lagoon, is available on BBC iPlayer and is being broadcast on BBC One Wales and BBC Two tonight (Monday August 24).

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