Public urged to force Senedd debate on contaminated land

The leader of Welsh Labour is urging the public to get behind a petition demanding action from the Welsh Government on contaminated land.

Fflint Wrecsam MS Ken Skates praised the work done by Labour MP Steve Witherden on the issue in the wake of Michael Sheen’s hard-hitting BBC documentary Buried.

“While the light has firmly been shone on Wrexham, this petition is Wales-wide – communities the length and breadth of the country want action,” said Mr Skates.

Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr MP Mr Witherden led councillors, parliamentarians and Members of the Senedd in writing a joint cross-party letter demanding the testing of chemical dump sites.

The signatories called for blood, soil and water testing for toxic and carcinogenic contaminants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) – amid renewed calls for the remediation of former industrial sites across Wales.

In August, the Monsanto Contamination Action Group was formed by affected residents in Wrexham to build local support for remediation after testing by the documentary team found evidence of elevated PCB levels at multiple sites, as well as in people’s blood.

The petition to the Senedd – entitled Begin targeted testing of Soil, Water & Blood in areas at risk of PCBs & other contaminants in Wales – states: “Following the findings of the recent BBC documentary Buried, communities across Wales have woken up to the reality that they have contaminated land on their doorsteps.

“Many in these communities have personally seen evidence of dump sites not officially marked as contaminated land, and sites where test data is either not publicly available, or where testing is not happening. Our communities feel abandoned and at the mercy of an unquantifiable risk.”

Mr Skates recently called for ‘all levels of government’ to work together on the issue – but pointed out that the Welsh Labour Government he was part of set a precedent by helping homeowners in Brymbo and Coedpoeth in 2015 meet the cost of remediation works on land affected by historic lead and copper smelting. Some householders faced bills of up to £10,000 to have the waste removed.

Mr Skates said: “The Welsh Government provided financial support because the original polluter could no longer be pursued.

“I don’t think anybody would disagree that the polluter should pay and those responsible should be held to account. But when this isn’t possible – and sometimes it isn’t – then there is a precedent for the Welsh Government stepping up. The UK Government didn’t contribute.”

He added: “I would urge this Welsh Government to take the lead on this, not to palm it off to cash-strapped councils or to Westminster.

“The Plaid Cymru Government has not held its own enquiry, like has been done in Westminster, and recently ruled it out. If enough people support this petition, it will force a debate on the floor of the Senedd.”

Mr Witherden said: “It's wrong to turn away just because you won't like what you find. There will be no action without acknowledgment of the problem. We have to have the testing as a bare minimum.”

* The petition can be found and signed at: petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/247145