Michael Sheen Investigates Wales's Toxic Legacy: PCBs, Whistleblowers and a Fight for Cleanup

Michael Phillips remembers a childhood in 1980s Wales spent at a local lagoon — firing air rifles at rusty drums that released clouds of coloured dust — unaware those barrels may have contained hazardous industrial chemicals. Decades later Phillips and several childhood friends have been diagnosed with rare cancers they believe could be linked to that exposure.

Researcher and whistleblower Douglas Gowan spent much of his life documenting worrying contaminated sites. Before his death he flagged 14 locations (12 in Wales) to authorities and to Michael Sheen, telling the actor that the evidence he had uncovered left him profoundly alarmed.

What Was Dumped And Why It Matters

Gowan alleged that chemical manufacturer Monsanto dumped “huge amounts of industrial chemicals all around Wales,” including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) — persistent, bioaccumulative compounds once used in everything from electrical equipment to paints and some consumer goods. PCBs are long-lived in the environment, can concentrate up the food chain, and have been linked to a range of health harms. Governments began restricting and banning many PCB uses from the 1970s onwards, but existing contamination can persist for decades.

"There was no regulation at the time, they could dump it wherever they wanted to." — Douglas Gowan, as quoted in the documentary

Local Impacts: Llwyneinion And Human Stories

One high-profile site is the Llwyneinion lagoon near Ruabon in Wrexham. A large fire there in the 1980s required around 60 firefighters and took more than 18 hours to bring under control; witnesses reported chemical effects felt up to 20 miles away. Phillips, who watched the blaze as a child, began developing health problems around 2001. He underwent surgery for an unusual cancer and later discovered above-average PCB levels in his blood.

Phillips described several friends from the same era who developed rare cancers or died: a close friend who died of breast cancer, others who developed brain cancer or lymphatic malignancies. His surgeon told him the pattern was unusually rare, a coincidence the surgeon likened to "winning the lottery" repeatedly.

Investigations, Tests and Responses

Michael Sheen and his team took blood tests; Sheen’s results reportedly showed 81 PCB congeners, despite him not living near identified dump sites. Eastman Chemical Company, which now carries responsibility for Monsanto’s legacy production in the UK, did not respond to requests for comment from the documentary team or the BBC.

Natural Resources Wales tested the Llwyneinion site and concluded it did not meet the statutory definition of contaminated land requiring remediation. Wrexham Council has said later risk assessments found contaminants present but did not trigger a legal duty to remediate, while continuing monitoring. Councillors and campaigners argue the costs of full clean-up — which were once estimated to be in the tens of millions of pounds — are prohibitive for local authorities without clear action from responsible companies or additional funding.

Corporate Record And Wider Context

Journalists working with the documentary uncovered internal Monsanto documents showing company awareness of PCB toxicity as early as 1949. In the United States, the town of Anniston, Alabama, sued Monsanto over PCB contamination in the 1990s, settling for roughly $300m. Reporters also found company memos from the 1970s noting the global scope of the problem even as production and imports continued elsewhere.

Campaigners and environmental groups, including Friends of the Earth Cymru, have called for a public inquiry into the scale and impact of toxic sites across Wales. They warn that climate change — with more frequent and intense flooding — could remobilise buried contaminants and spread them into agricultural land and waterways.

Next Steps And Public Response

Sheen and the documentary team have presented findings to the Welsh Parliament and will give evidence to the UK Parliament’s Welsh Affairs Committee as part of an inquiry into alleged "forever chemical" contamination in south Wales. The Welsh Government says addressing contaminated land is a priority and is developing a Wales-wide strategy to restore post-industrial land; a 2015 survey by Natural Resources Wales identified more than 9,000 potential sites for further investigation.

Buried With Michael Sheen is available on BBC Two, BBC One Wales and BBC iPlayer from 17 August at 21:00 BST.