What Are My Children Exposed To? Calls For PCB Blood Testing After BBC Exposé

When Natalie Dugdale and her family moved to the Welsh countryside two years ago, she believed it would be an ideal place to raise her young children. Living close to a lagoon north of Wrexham, she expected to take her baby, toddler and dogs for walks on nearby public footpaths. Her view changed after watching Michael Sheen's BBC documentary that revealed the lagoon's past as a dumping ground for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) — industrial chemicals linked to cancer.

Natalie is now among dozens of residents calling for voluntary blood testing across Wales to establish whether locals have elevated PCB levels. The campaign grew after the documentary team found elevated PCB concentrations in soil at Llwyneinion lagoon and at other suspected former Monsanto disposal sites, and after private testing showed very high PCB levels in one local resident's blood.

Michael Sheen followed up campaigner Douglas Gowan's concerns about dumping carcinogenic waste [BBC/Wall to Wall]

What Are PCBs and Why Are People Worried?

PCBs were widely used in industry because they are non-flammable and chemically stable. Today they are considered among the earliest "forever chemicals" because they persist in the environment and bioaccumulate in food chains, potentially affecting wildlife and human health decades after their use was phased out.

The Campaigners' Case

Residents from villages around the former Monsanto works in Cefn Mawr, Acrefair and Trevor have formed a campaign group demanding two main actions: a Wales-wide soil-testing programme and voluntary blood screening led by Public Health Wales (PHW). Campaigners say testing would provide answers, reassure families, and could spur remediation of contaminated sites.

Llwyneinion lagoon is one of the most notorious dumpsites of the toxic chemicals [BBC/Wall to Wall]

"There's a huge potential here for Wales... to really lead the way and show the rest of the UK how to handle this risk," said community councillor Katie Witherden. "It would give people answers about what they have or haven't been exposed to - and I think all of us deserve the right to have the choice to know that."

Local people report fear and distress. Michael Phillips, who played at Llwyneinion lagoon as a child and later developed a rare shoulder cancer, told the programme that many of his childhood friends have died of similar conditions. Private testing arranged for the documentary found he had "very high" PCB levels in his blood.

Public Health Wales' Position

Public Health Wales has advised against a programme of population-wide blood testing for PCBs. PHW's experts argue that blood tests cannot reliably determine where or how exposure occurred — since PCBs can come from multiple sources including food and building materials — and that there is no medical treatment to remove PCBs from the body. They warn that returning results that cannot be meaningfully interpreted may increase anxiety and cause additional harm.

There are 12 locations in Wales that were sites of concern for Douglas Gowan [Google]

"Generally when we do any sort of testing we want to be able to put things right for people and that's what we can't do here," said Prof Sarah Jones, consultant in environmental public health at PHW. "All we could do is give [people] a number that we can't really interpret and then we can't make right. There is nothing that blood testing can do that would magically take those worries away - it would only potentially magnify them."

PHW also emphasised that its recommendation was based on scientific and practical considerations rather than cost, and urged authorities to prioritise environmental remediation to make suspected dumpsites as safe as possible.

Scientific Views and Local Pressure

Some researchers involved in the documentary testing, and other international experts, say the UK lags behind the US and parts of Europe in using blood testing to investigate suspected chemical contamination. They argue advanced or non-standard tests can yield useful data even if they cannot prove causation between exposure and illness.

Nel Byers, her fiancé Otis Proctor and their three-month-old daughter Wren live near the former Monsanto works in Wrexham and want to know how they may have been affected by toxic chemicals in the ground [BBC]

Local politicians and campaigners have pressed PHW to reconsider. Steve Witherden, the Labour MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr and husband of campaigner Katie Witherden, described PHW's stance as "chilling" and urged a review in response to strong local concern.

Government Response and Next Steps

The Welsh government said tackling contaminated land is a key priority and pledged to develop a Wales-wide strategy to restore post-industrial sites, strengthen the polluter-pays principle and press the UK Government for targeted funding to remediate contaminated land. Monsanto no longer exists; Eastman Chemical Company has assumed responsibility for legacy production in the UK and did not respond to requests for comment.

Councillor Katie Witherden and her husband Steve, the Labour MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, are campaigning for public testing for those who could be affected by PCBs [BBC]

As debate continues, campaigners want the right to voluntary testing and clearer communication about environmental monitoring and remediation plans. Public authorities emphasise that focused soil remediation, better community engagement and support for local GPs remain priorities while scientific evidence and policy are weighed up.

Key facts: soil testing linked elevated PCB levels at Llwyneinion and other suspected sites; private blood tests found very high PCBs in at least one resident; PHW does not recommend routine blood screening because results are hard to interpret and cannot be treated; campaigners want voluntary testing and stronger remediation efforts.