PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are among the earliest identified "forever chemicals". Known to be highly toxic substances that significantly impact the environment and wildlife, the presence of PCBs threatens human life with neurotoxic side effects, and impact the reproduction and navigation of aquatic species.
How are PCBs Harmful?
Emerging as a man-made substance half a century ago, PCBs are the result of synthetic organic chemicals used in industrial and commercial operations, such as quarries and factories, and as additives in paints, plastics, and rubber products. Five decades later, these rusting, decomposing barrels used to dump these chemicals are now seeping into rivers, lakes and streams, with PCBs being found present in whales and dolphins in UK waters.
A major issue when facing chemical pollution is the potential for bioaccumulation, where toxic compounds can work their way upward through the food chain. Naturally heavy substances such as PCBs sink to the bottom of the riverbed and are consumed by species at the lower end of the food chain, then as nature takes its course, an accumulation of these chemicals rises to the top predators, resulting in entire aquatic environments contaminated with toxic waste.
PCBs are known to impact the migratory and reproductive success of aquatic species, yet have garnered little interest or concern from the UK government to deal with the matter. Mega corporation Monsanto used Brofiscin Quarry as a dump site between 1967 and 1974, releasing dangerously high levels of PCBs into nearby waters. Years later, the consequences of this negligence is now having to be dealt with, with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) stocking extra fish in the polluted environment below Brofiscin Quarry to make up for the dwindling aquatic population.
Tensions - and Pollution - Rising In West Midlands
Along the Welsh border, from Ruabon to Newport, lies a strip of PCB production and disposal sites that are only now coming into the public eye. Decades after chemical dumps and landfills were left to seep into the nearby waters, concerning evidence comes to light which threatens local waters. Ironbridge, a world famous UNESCO Heritage Site, marking the evolution of the Industrial Revolution, is currently a location of concern rather than admiration. The Green Party have identified a potential leak from a nearby landfill, contaminating its once pristine waters.
Other locations on the Welsh Border, such as a strip of water that runs from Ruabon to Newport, have drawn public attention due to a PCB disposal site contaminating nearby waters. Calls to deal with this issue have been vocalised by several locals and politicians, such as Labour MP Brynmor John, and Paul Cawthorne, who have spent much energy bringing this to the attention of both the public and government in the hopes of bringing accountability to the matter.
Due to the hard work of individuals such as John and Cawthorne, it emerged that the core concern is not the presence of these toxins, but the lack of government accountability to properly recognise PCBs as a harmful, long-term pollutant. Cawthorne claims that these areas, although heavily contaminated with PCBs, are not labelled as sites of concern, and the type of testing is not sufficient nor correct, failing to recognise the real impact these chemicals have on aquatic life.
Ambiguity in what should be watertight legalities also seems to undermine the laws and acts set in place, such as the Environmental Protection Act Part 2A, which provides comprehensive legal guidance around contaminated land. Mr Cawthorne believes that obvious failures such as the lack of data collected from these watercourses contribute to the lack of classification of these areas, impeding these legal acts from being enforced the way they were intended.
After encountering blocked enquiries, vague answers and being labelled as a “persistent complainant” by governing bodies when pushing for answers, Mr Cawthorne has taken it upon himself to conduct his own personal research over the past 5 years into the Welsh border waterways. Taking a particular focus on Monsanto dump sites, Mr Cawthorne has identified 14 affected rivers and 10 estuaries.
Aside from completing a majority of this work without the support of government organisations, as well as the appropriate safety equipment, Mr Cawthorne now states that due to prolonged exposure to these hazardous chemicals, he now experiences respiratory issues and hypersensitized sense of smell due to the constant contact when conducting research.
Toxic Organisations
Mr Cawthorne has studied approximately 60 different chemicals, including phenanthrene, xylene, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), para nitrochlorobenzene (PNCB), and trichlorophenols - all of which are known carcinogenic chemicals, impacting the liver and kidney health of aquatic species, and unfortunately traceable to the Monsanto factories at Ruabon and Newport. Concerningly, the Newport location is one of the highest-producing PCB sites in all of Europe.
What’s more concerning is the apparent void in Monsanto’s accountability, particularly in the UK, with no records of fines, legal prosecution, or consequences for the corporation's negligence. Yet our Western neighbours in the USA have ordered the same company to pay huge fines for pollution in Washington state, raising unsettling questions regarding the relationship between this company, local councils, and the UK government.
PCBs are no secret to the government, nor are their tragic side effects on local wildlife. In 2017, a killer whale in the UK had the highest concentration of PCBs ever recorded. Other species such as porpoises and dolphins are also under threat of dwindling populations and over-exposure to PCBs.
Due to these contaminants being man-made, they can be followed upstream to the source of the pollution - nearly always being industrial units. In the case of the Monsanto factory in Newport, locals are becoming increasingly concerned about the sheer magnitude of chemicals leaking into the water, and what consequences they will have on the local environment and surrounding waterways.
Even as far back as the 1970s, concerns surrounding PCBs led to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) to set up a secret research programme in order to monitor its effects. Years later, with the help of individuals like Mr Cawthorne, public documentation has been discovered that infers secret payments from Monsanto to Islwyn District Council regarding the Ty Llwyd quarry, another former chemical dump site used by this mega-corporation.
Other concerns surround the lack of basic monitoring at PCB disposal sites. The Newport location does host a chemical disposal pit, yet there has been no testing for PCBs at the nearby River Usk, nor installation of tidal drains (which stops excess water from flowing into natural waterways), which runs only a few hundred metres away from the abandoned pit. Yet, a quarter of a mile upstream, at the M4 motorway bridge, the Welsh government discovered “higher” levels of PCB in the sediment, which begs the question, if higher concentrations of these chemicals are being discovered close to the source, then why is there no government intervention or commitment to closely monitoring this issue?
Mr Cawthorne and his team have also identified two other contaminated locations, one in Borehamwood at the River Colne, a tributary of the Thames, and Treforest on the Taff, north of Cardiff. Two factories known for their use of PCBs in these areas are potentially responsible for the direct discharge of these chemicals into nearby waters, according to the Toxic Doc Archives.
A Lost Cause
Mr Cawthorne and his team have hit a series of roadblocks in their attempts for answers and explanations from Natural Resources Wales. Labelled as ‘persistent complainers’, Cawthorne's efforts should really have them regarded as allies, not enemies.
His team of volunteers called a public meeting at a known polluted location in the hopes of helping mitigate this pressing issue. Taking place at Ynysddu village in the Caerphilly area, four areas of particular concern were discussed:
- A chemical drum and toxic disposal site located next to a local village and waterway at Ty Llwyd
- An entirely untested area at Penrhos, where 140,000 tons of contaminated soil was relocated to Trecatti, yet continues to show visible signs of pollution at the ‘protection barrier’ with orange-yellow smears running into the local stream.
- An ‘off the scale’ contaminated location at Ness Tar Plant
- Porset Brook, where PCBs sit unsettlingly close to a housing estate and stream accessed by locals and children
With an abundance of information, archives and data, Mr Cawthorne and his team were hopeful yet slightly dubious of how successful this rendezvous could be, yet, to no avail, Natural Resource Wales and Caerphilly Council ultimately failed to show, boycotting the meeting. Further adding insult to injury, his team were offered a private meeting on the condition that they surrendered their emails and addresses in order to attend, as well as the meeting being entirely unminuted and prohibited from recording.
Despite the initial meeting failing to meet expectations, Mr Cawthorne, as well as many committed volunteers, were not deterred in bringing this matter to government attention. Organising their own meeting with a SENEDD (Welsh political party) member, other representatives, and an extended invite to the Welsh Labour Party (who did not attend). After a pleasant turnout, the team hope to organise more meetings in the near future, with two more Welsh locations and one in England.
Their team is currently being assisted by a specialist London Law Firm, where they’ve already identified a number of illegal offences, are evaluating the impact of the lack of accountability, and are hoping to deploy a national accountability programme to expose companies like Monsanto and their long-term consequences on the environment.
But what exactly do these meetings and programmes hope to achieve? Accountability? Funding? Justice? All the above? The notion of the ‘polluter pays’ principle aims to hold the polluters responsible for ultimately cleaning up their mess. In the case of the aforementioned locations, Mr Cawthorne and his team hope to not only raise awareness on an issue that’s been ‘paid away’ for so many decades but to legally generate funding via these corporations in the hopes to finally start cleaning up the environment and restoring its natural beauty.