Toxic town impact as most high-risk contaminated sites unchecked | Global News Avenue

A BBC investigation found that thousands of sites that may be contaminated with toxic chemicals in the UK have never been inspected by the Council.

Nine of 10 “high risk” regions were not tested by the Council, responding to the BBC’s Freedom of Information Requirements, and scientists fear they could pose a health risk because they are believed to contain substances like lead or arsenic.

BBC shared data unit may have 13,093 Toxic locations The Council has identified it as high risk and has examined only 1,465.

The UK government said local unified authorities have a legal obligation to inspect potentially polluted sites, but the council claims they have no money to do it.

this Environmental Protection Law The Council is asked to list all potentially contaminated locations and inspect high-risk locations to ensure that people and property are not hazardous.

However, after contacting all 122 unified authorities in Wales, Scotland and England about their contaminated land, 73 responded to the BBC’s shared data unit information free request, showing that 430,000 potential locations were found in the early 2000s.

Of these, 13,093 people are considered potentially high risk, and experts say they should undergo physical tests. However, to this day, more than 11,000 of them have not been inspected.

Half of Wales’ 22 councils told the BBC they can’t or won’t give us numbers – but those who did not check 586 high-risk locations.

This study was released after New Netflix drama poisonous town Tells the story of a family fighting for justice The biggest environmental scandal in the UK.

The BBC’s findings raise new questions about the problems left by the British heavy industry in the past.

“What we don’t do in this country is to conduct a comprehensive economic assessment of the cost of things, including health, almost feels criminal,” said Ian Mudway, the leading expert on the impact of pollution on human health.

“I’m not even sure we’ve achieved the purpose of scratching the surface.”

Contaminated land is a location that may be contaminated from its previous use – it may be a factory, power station, rail line, landfill, gasoline station or dry cleaner.

If you live in a property built after 2000, any pollution issues should be covered by the updated planning laws.

However, if you live in a property built before 2000, the rules are not very clear.

Robin Morris lives in Wales’ homes with more than 400 abandoned metal ores in Wales and their three rivers, Ystwyth, Rheidol and Clarach, and is some of the heaviest pollution in Britain.

The Cwmystwyth mine in the north of Ceredigion dates back to the Bronze Age and was abandoned in 1950, but vandals including high levels of zinc, cadmium and lead spread the landscape and polluted the Ystwyth River below.

Many CWMYSTWYTH locals, such as Robin, have installed filtration systems if they receive water from the hills of old mines.

“We installed a pre-filter system and made sure everything will be absolutely needed,” he said.

The BBC took a soil sample from Robin’s Garden, which showed a very high reading of lead – well above the recommended safe gardening level.

“This will cause the alarm bell to ring,” Robin said. Tell the BBC Wales investigation.

“Given the numbers for your soil samples, we should have stopped growing vegetables long ago.”

It’s just a sample, but other things that have happened in the past seem to make more sense.

Robin added: “We had ducks and chickens, a few ducks became lax, and we did consult with the vet and he thought it was because of lead contamination.”

Ceredigion Council said it was in touch with National Resources Wales, the Welsh environmental agency, to continuously assess the health impact of mining heritage in the region.

Dr. Mudway insists on existence “No level of safety” Lead and told the BBC that it may affect the development of children and kidney and cardiovascular diseases in adults.

Environmental toxicologists at Imperial College London added: “Nothing is more like a chemical forever than a chemical forever.”

“It is a danger that has not disappeared, and it is still a clear danger to the population.

“This is one of the few chemical entities that we can calculate the global burden of disease – due to the release of lead into our environment, there are 500,000 to less than one million premature deaths per year.

“When you talk about the cost of ensuring land is safe…it costs money.

“The cost of potential health impacts, especially if they help people live in chronic diseases for 10 or 20 years, or the cost of remediating land when you realize that it is advanced, making the profit earned on the other end of the cycle equivalent to almost criminal.

“The health costs are hardly considered.”

When Manon Chiswell was a little kid, she suddenly stopped talking – doctors advised her family to show many autistic characteristics.

“I do have memories of being closely monitored at Meithrin (nurseries) … I’m always with me,” said Manon, 20.

“I won’t say…they have to use a traffic light system, a yes or no card to redirect me and help me communicate.”

However, a blood test later found that Mannon’s blood had a high level of lead.

She is not autistic, she is poisoned to death.

Her father, Huw Chiswell, believes that Manon is likely to be poisoned to death at their home in Cardiff, near the old industrial site.

“She used to eat the earth in the garden (as a toddler)” he said.

“There are rail sidings not far from where we were at that time, so it’s hard to draw any other conclusions because once she stops eating, she gets better.”

But it’s not just about leadership – a Government Report It shows that chemicals such as arsenic, nickel, chromium and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHS) found in soil or water also contaminate sites that pose the greatest health risks.

Campaigners hope a new law forces the council to keep a public registry of all potentially contaminated sites.

It is led by parents Seven-year-old boy who died of toxic gas After the Thames flooded in 2014, they believed the smoke came from nearby landfills.

Zane’s law (named after Zane Gbangbola) also calls for more measures to be taken for the Council to identify and test possible locations.

“You have to know that it exists before you protect yourself,” said Zane’s father Kye Gbangbola.

“Until we have Zane’s laws, people will remain unprotected.”

When regulations on potentially polluted land became more stringent 25 years ago, they were carried through the ministers they wanted.

Now, John Selwyn Gummer believes that the UK government’s funding cuts mean fewer inspections.

Lord Debain said: “Local authorities cannot do this without resources.”

“Successful governments have insufficient work to do with us.”

Several councils told the BBC that funds were the reason they stopped inspecting potentially contaminated land.

Phil Hartley is one of hundreds of officials throughout the UK who have inspected potential locations and former council polluting officers in Newcastle.

He said the cancellation of the central government’s grants caused a “crash” in the check.

“Because the money is very small, few councils take the initiative to go out and find contaminated land locations because the council doesn’t want to risk finding them,” Mr Hartley said.

“Some people’s health is at risk, and that’s not great.”

The UK government said local authorities have a legal obligation to inspect potentially contaminated sites and need to repair and maintain a public register for remediation of land.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Food and Rural Affairs said: “Public health risks on contaminated land are serious.”

They also asked the Environment Agency to develop a new contaminated land report to provide “the best data benchmark for future policies related to contaminated land.”

The bodies representing Wales and the English Parliament both said that a lack of cash means they are unable to perform their duties.

The Welsh Local Government Association said that although the 22 Welsh councils assumed the responsibility of “seriously” inspection of locations, progress was “increasingly limited by the lack of dedicated funding and expert resources”.

The Association of Local Governments in England said: “If there is no adequate funding, the Council will continue to work hard to provide crucial services – with devastating consequences for those who rely on these services.”

You can watch the toxic secrets in the UK BBC iPlayer Thursday, March 13, 20:30 GMT