High levels of cancer-causing forever chemical in residents near factory, blood tests find
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By ROBERT FOLKER, NEWS REPORTER and NOOR QURASHI, NEWS REPORTER
Published: | Updated:
Dozens of people living near a major factory in the UK have reportedly been found with 'high levels' of a cancer–causing forever chemical.
Residents of a Lancashire town say they have been warned the substance, PFOA, puts them at risk of serious illness.
Of the 49 residents of Thornton–Cleveleys tested, almost 70 per cent are said to be at risk.
One person was reportedly found to have the highest level of a synthetic chemical in their blood ever recorded in the UK.
The Environment Agency and Wyre Council are understood to have been testing the area near the AGC Chemicals factory since 2024, and have found PFOA at elevated levels in the soil, eggs and locally grown vegetables.
Forever chemicals are a group of man–made substances that do not break down easily in the environment, causing them to raise health concerns.
PFOA has been banned in the UK since 2020 and is classed by the World Health Organisation as a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning there is evidence it can increase the risk of cancer.
The factory was used to manufacture coating for frying pans until 2012.
Residents of a Lancashire town say they have been warned the substance, PFOA, puts them at risk of serious illness. The AGC Chemicals Europe plant in Thonton Cleveleys, Blackpool, is pictured
Sam and her husband, both from the village, have been told that their family are at an increased risk of health impacts from PFOA.
She told the BBC: 'When we opened the results... it was like, my God, that is ridiculously off the scale.
'I feel guilty because I've introduced [my children] to that way of life. I know it isn't my fault, but the guilt is horrific. Knowing that I've offloaded what levels I probably had over the years into those children when I breastfed them – that's heartbreaking.'
It is understood that more than 100 residents are contemplating taking group legal action against AGC Chemicals to claim damages for the contamination.
Andrew Molloy, who found out he was in the highest-risk category, said he was 'half expecting' his results to be normal amid suggestions only those eating fruit and vegetables from their garden would be at risk.
Mr Molloy's home was built on land that used to be part of the factory and he underwent tests because he was worried about persistent health problems in his family.
Marion Panteli, who was said to be visibly shaken by his results, told the BBC: 'I bought a property, assuming that this is our forever home. I'm going to have to stop my children from going in the garden, front and back. I feel constricted, like I'm in a cage now.'
The UK does not have recommendations about acceptable PFAS levels in people - though the US and Germany do.
Of the 49 residents tested, almost 70 per cent had readings that could leave them at increased risk of adverse health effects, according to the countries' guidelines.
AGC Chemicals said: 'Since the wider multi–agency investigation is still ongoing and no formal determination of land contamination has been made, we cannot speculate on future outcomes or next steps.'
The company added the site had been manufacturing chemicals long before AGC Chemicals was established.
Earlier this month, it was announced that the factory would close later this year after AGC Chemicals said that there is no 'viable solution to keep the site operating in the context of a volatile and competitive market'.
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