Blood tests have found "really high levels" of a cancer-causing forever chemical in dozens of people living near a major chemical factory in the UK. The residents, from Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire, have been told they could be at elevated risk of serious health conditions from the substance, known as PFOA. The village has been under investigation for years by the Environment Agency over contamination of soils and locally grown food from the substance, which is a type of forever chemical - so-called because they do not easily break down.
That investigation said high levels likely came from the nearby AGC Chemicals factory, which used it to manufacture coating for frying pans until 2012. Sam and her husband, both from the village, have been told they were at increased risk of health impacts from PFOA. However, she told the BBC was more shocked by her son's result.
"When we opened the results...it was like, my God, that is ridiculously off the scale. "I feel guilty because I've introduced [my children] to that way of life. I know it isn't my fault, but the guilt is horrific.
Knowing that I've offloaded what levels I probably had over the years into those children when I breastfed them - that's heartbreaking," she said. Forever chemicals are a group of substances, also known as PFAS, that are resistant to water and oil and are in thousands of everyday products, such as clothing and cookwear. But because they do not break down easily they have raised health concerns.
PFOA has been banned in the UK since 2020 because it was classed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a Group 1 carcinogen, which means there is clear scientific evidence it can increase the risk of cancer. The Environment Agency and Wyre Council have been testing the area close to the AGC Chemicals factory since 2024 to determine if it has been contaminated. They found PFOA at elevated levels in the soil, eggs and locally grown vegetables.
Two allotment sites have now been closed and are due to be classified as contaminated land, while residents within 1km of the factory have been advised to peel any fruit or vegetables grown in their gardens. Those investigations concluded the PFOA was likely to have come from the factory having been carried in the air. Residents previously asked the council to test their blood for the chemical.
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