Call for more detail over chemical plant blood tests

Lancashire County Council's director of public health has requested more information about blood tests carried out on residents living near a chemical plant.

Forty-nine residents, living near the AGC Chemicals factory in Thornton-Cleveleys have been told their blood test readings showed 70% had increased levels of PFOA, a forever chemical which can increase the risk of serious health conditions, including cancer.

The independent tests were jointly funded by law firm Watershed and Law for Change.

Dr Sakthi Karunanithi wants to know how those tests were conducted and the standards followed, so he can fulfil his public health duties and ensure residents are protected, he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

Karunanithi said he is yet to receive a response from both law firm Leigh Day, which helped to arrange the tests, or Manchester Metropolitan University, which undertook them.

Sarah Moore, a partner at Leigh Day, said: "We're all on the same side here, so of course we want to give as much information as we can."

Moore said they want to "work together to make sure that the community at the centre of this are given the support that they desperately need and move forward constructively".

But she added that residents "don't feel they've had that information [or] support from the local council".

"So perhaps now we can have that collaborative joined-up response," she told BBC Radio Lancashire.

Residents living near the Lancashire site have been told they could be at elevated risk of serious health conditions from potential PFOA contamination.

Now operated by AGC Chemicals Europe Ltd, 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 perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

AGC Chemicals took over the factory in 1999 and continued using PFOA until 2012, when it switched to a replacement chemical called EEA-NH4, which was also found in the blood of 10 of the residents tested.

PFOA has been banned in the UK since 2020 because it was classed by the World Health Organization as a Group 1 carcinogen, which means there is clear scientific evidence it can increase the risk of cancer.

PFOA is a member of a family of chemicals referred to as Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals - so-called because they do no break down easily.

Unlike the US and Germany, the UK does not have any recommendations about acceptable PFAS levels in people.

Thornton has been under investigation for years by the Environment Agency (EA) over the likely contamination of soils and locally grown food.

In 2024, Wyre Council advised residents not to eat fruit and vegetables grown in the local soil, amid concerns about the levels of PFOA in the ground near to the chemical plant.

Moore said the EA had "uncovered this problem".

"This is not something that's being made up," she said. "There's no mongering going on at all here.

"The fact is... there's a PFOA problem in Thornton-Cleveleys. That is not of our making.

She said the tests were "a response to a local demand".

"We've delivered that and we're committed to staying with the community in Thornton-Cleveleys, who want us to be there and to do our best by them."

Last week, Michael Vincent, the leader of Wyre Council, called for government intervention, saying the issue in Thornton-Cleveleys was too large for local authorities and the Environment Agency to handle alone.

Vincent said he has not seen the test results, but understands Karunanithi has "sent lots of questions to Leigh Day" as "he has concerns about the way they were conducted and also what input anybody has had from a clinician from a health perspective".

A spokesman from Lancashire County Council said it "remains committed to working constructively together, so that residents receive coordinated, evidence-based advice and support".

"Communication with Leigh Day and Manchester Metropolitan University is ongoing to understand the scope, methodology and findings of the blood testing programme.

"Our priority is the community."

A spokesman for AGC Chemicals said the site had manufactured chemicals long before the company was established and they cannot speculate on future outcomes or next steps whilst the investigation continues.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.