Michael Sheen Probes 12 Wales Toxic Sites in BBC Film as PCB Claims Reach Parliament
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 10
Michael Sheen Probes 12 Wales Toxic Sites in BBC Film as PCB Claims Reach Parliament
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 10
Summary
Michael Sheen’s new BBC documentary alleges Monsanto-linked PCB dumping at 12 sites in Wales and says his team will appear before the Welsh Affairs Committee to press for more testing.
Douglas Gowan, a whistleblower who spent decades documenting 14 suspect sites, claimed huge volumes of industrial chemicals were dumped with little regulation; journalists working with Sheen found Monsanto records showing toxicity concerns by 1949 and a 1972 plan to expand Newport output by 5 million kilograms.
At Llwyneinion near Ruabon, a lagoon fire took 60 firefighters more than 18 hours to control, and local resident Michael Phillips—who played there as a child—said he and several friends later developed rare cancers; his blood tests showed elevated PCB levels.
Wrexham council said cleanup estimates once reached about £45 million, but later investigations found contaminants including cyanide, arsenic and PCBs did not meet the legal threshold for mandatory remediation; Natural Resources Wales continues monitoring.
The Welsh government said more than 9,000 potential contaminated sites were identified in a 2015 survey and pledged a Wales-wide strategy, while Friends of the Earth Cymru called for a public inquiry.