Last February, I got a call from a woman called Sam Hammond.
asserted
I → get → woman
We had been speaking on and off for a while over her growing concern that her garden could be affected by pollution from a nearby chemical plant.
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garden → speak → plant
That morning, Sam had been hand-delivered a letter from her council informing her that her pet ducks’ eggs, reared in her garden, were contaminated with Pfas chemicals.
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eggs → deliver → chemicals
“Are these chemicals in my blood?” she asked me at the time.
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she → ask → time
Seven months later Sam has an answer to that question.
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Sam → have → question
Pfas are a group of thousands of synthetic compounds known as “forever chemicals” because of their persistence in the environment.
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Pfas → know → environment
In 2024, Wyre borough council and the Environment Agency launched an investigation into contamination of one type of Pfas – Pfoa, a group 1 carcinogen that was globally banned in 2020 – in the vicinity of the AGC Chemicals Europe factory in Thornton-Cleveleys, a town to the north of Blackpool.
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that → launch → Blackpool
Pfoa was emitted in huge quantities from the AGC Chemicals factory up until 2012.
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Pfoa → emit → 2012
The level of Pfas in one of Sam’s duck eggs was so high that if she ate just one a week, it would exceed the European safe level 10 times over.
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it → eat → level
Sam and her children had been eating these eggs every single day for decades.
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Sam → eat → decades
The risk was increasingly clear, but residents did not yet know if the Pfas had entered their systems until last week when law firm Leigh Day, working with Dr Dave Megson, a forensic environmental scientist at Manchester Metropolitan University, and in association with Watershed Investigations, published the blood test results of 49 individuals who live around the factory.
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who → know → factory
In the UK, there is no guidance on what constitutes a safe level of Pfas in blood.
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what → be → blood
However, in the US the guidelines state that if the sum of seven Pfas chemicals is above 20 ng/ml, there is an increased risk of adverse effects and that clinicians should consider more frequent, targeted health screenings.
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clinicians → state → screenings
The results showed that 70% of those tested in Thornton-Cleveleys had a combined Pfas level above 20 ng/ml.
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% → show → ml
Sam’s level is 25 ng/ml – putting her firmly in this high-risk category.
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level → put → category
“I feel quite sick about his results,” she said.
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she → feel → results
“My concern all along is what have we done to the kids.
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we → do → kids
We moved here, chose this property and I feel guilty because I’ve exposed them to that, even though I know it’s not my fault.”
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it → move → that
The results specifically revealed that nearly 70% of those tested had increased levels of Pfoa.
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% → reveal → Pfoa
Pfoa exposure is linked to a range of serious illnesses and has been linked specifically to kidney cancer.
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exposure → link → cancer
In June, a government commissioned study found no higher-than-expected rates for most cancers but found that two areas – one south-east of the factory and one north of Blackpool – had recorded “higher-than-expected” rates of kidney cancer.
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areas → commission → cancer
A detailed review found no evidence of a statistically significant excess of kidney cancer cases and no evidence of a cancer cluster or an environmental association, and argued it could be the result of random variation because of the small sample size, concluding: “No further cluster investigation is warranted at this stage.
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investigation → find → stage
These findings were immediately questioned by experts, who advised further investigations.
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who → question → investigations
Megson, who was not involved in the study, described this conclusion as being “very contradictory” and said it “seems to downplay the findings rather than assess it objectively …
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it → involve → it
Personally, I fear that this data is giving us strong evidence that … significant harm has already been caused.”
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harm → fear → evidence
One woman, who asked to remain anonymous, has a Pfas level of 436 ng/ml.
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who → ask → ml
She recently had a tumour removed from her back and is now left questioning whether her persistent health problems may be linked to this chemical exposure.
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problems → have → exposure
“I thought I was just unlucky, but when I found out that result I thought it must have something to do with it,” she said.
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she → think → it
While the test result has given her some answers, it has left her with even more questions.
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it → give → questions
“How can I get this out of my body?
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I → get → body
Who can help me?
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Who → help → me
Where do I go from here?
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I → go → ?
I just want this out,” she said.
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she → want → this
In the UK there is no clear guidance on what to do if you have high levels of Pfas in your blood.
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you → be → blood
However, the council has advised residents within a 1km radius of the factory to wash and peel home-grown produce and not to eat eggs from locally reared birds.
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council → advise → birds
Because of the potential risks to human health, the council has also announced plans to shut down two allotments close to the factory.
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council → announce → factory
For the past five years Alan Hodson has had a plot on one of the allotments that borders the AGC Chemicals site.
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that → have → site
But last year he received a hand-delivered letter informing him that his beetroot contained the highest level of Pfoa of all of the products tested.
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beetroot → receive → products
“I just think of all that time I spent here – I could’ve been doing something else.
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I → think → something
It’s just wasted time,” he said when I visited him earlier this year.
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I → ’ → him
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
