Residents want more tests over toxic chemical fears

Residents concerned they could be at elevated risk of serious health conditions from of a cancer-causing chemical are raising money to pay for further investigations.

Blood tests have found "really high levels" of a the substance, known as PFOA, in dozens of people living near the AGC Chemicals factory in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire.

The residents group said money raised by a crowdfunding campaign will help fund additional blood testing, expert analysis of residents' results and further studies of local soil, water and air.

They say they are acting as official efforts to address concerns have "been slow" and "too little action has been taken".

The group hopes to raise an initial £5,000 while lawyers continue exploring funding options for a wider legal claim.

Campaigner Andrew Molloy, who set up the fundraiser, said residents' lives have been "upended by findings of carcinogenic chemicals in our gardens, our allotments, the parks in which our children play and the food we eat".

"We need accountability, we need answers, and we are taking action."

The village has been under investigation for years by the Environment Agency over contamination of soils and locally grown food from the substance, one of a group sometimes referred to as "forever chemicals", because they do not easily break down.

That investigation said high levels likely came from the nearby AGC Chemicals factory, which used it in their manufacturing processes until 2012.

Forty-nine residents living near the factory have been told their blood test readings showed 70% had increased levels of PFOA.

The former ICI factory is within the Hillhouse Technology Enterprise Zone in Thornton-Cleveleys.

It first began operating in the 1950s, manufacturing coating for non-stick frying pans using PFOA - perfluorooctanoic acid.

AGC Chemicals has previously said the site had manufactured chemicals long before the company was established and they cannot speculate on future outcomes or next steps while the investigation continues.

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