ITV documentary reveals shocking PFAS blood test results from Bentham residents living near firefighting foam factory – with some levels 200 times higher than safety thresholds
Alarmingly elevated levels of ‘forever chemicals’ associated with cancer and other severe health conditions have been discovered in inhabitants of a Yorkshire town following blood examinations.
PFAS constitute a collection of millions of chemicals commonly referred to as ‘forever chemicals’ due to their extraordinarily lengthy breakdown period in the environment. PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Certain of these chemicals are recognised and suspected carcinogens; compounds capable of triggering cancer through DNA cell damage or by causing mutations.
For many years, Angus Fire, the primary employer in Bentham, North Yorkshire, produced and tested PFAS firefighting foam at its facility. Earlier investigations examining groundwater at the Angus Fire location had uncovered the most extreme PFAS concentrations ever documented in the UK.
ITV News, creators of a fresh documentary broadcasting this weekend, provided residents with their first opportunity to undergo testing to determine PFAS levels in their bloodstream.
All participants reside within one kilometre of the facility or are former or present employees at Angus Fire – and experts described the findings as “shocking”, reports the Mirror.
In the UK, no official recommendations exist for safe PFAS blood levels, so the advice given to Bentham residents originates from NASEM (National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine), the scientific organisation that counsels the US government. NASEM states if the PFAS level in blood is between 2 nanograms per millilitre (ng/ml) or 20 ng/ml, then there is a potential for adverse health effects. If the PFAS level in the blood is above 20 ng/ml, then experts state there is an increased risk of adverse effects and clinicians should consider more frequent, targeted health screenings.
Nine of the 39 people tested had PFAS levels above 20 ng/ml, placing them in the highest risk category. One former worker at Angus Fire recorded a blood PFAS level of 405 ng/ml. This is more than 200 times higher than the lower risk threshold.
Dr David Megson, an expert in environmental forensics at Manchester Metropolitan University, examined the blood results for the programme, comparing the levels in Bentham with the general population in America.
He said: “I was absolutely shocked when we started to run this data. Nearly everybody we tested was above average and two thirds of them were in the top 5%. A third of them were higher than anything we’d ever expect to see in the background population.
“I’ve done a few contamination studies in my time as a scientist and I think that this one is the one that stands out for just such a high proportion of people having elevated exposure of PFAS. It was quite staggering.” Following the PFAS blood test findings in Bentham, an Angus Fire spokesperson declared that there was “no accepted way of interpreting blood tests for Pfas internationally and there is limited agreement on the relationship between Pfas exposure, blood levels and health effects”.
They claimed it was “unfounded to classify [the] blood data as ‘unusually high’ in the UK context”. They noted that the blood test group in Bentham was “extremely small” and stated: “Whilst we appreciate that these findings may cause concern, having raised Pfas levels in blood is neither an indicator of health, nor of the way in which Pfas has been absorbed.”
Some locals with cancer and other ailments known to be linked with PFAS exposure wonder whether their ill health could be connected to PFAS pollution in the town. Others fret about the future consequences for their children and families.
Rachel Harrison was raised in Bentham and has brought up her two young children there but never worked for Angus Fire. She reveals to the programme she is now relocating from the town and one of the factors is the contamination.
Her blood test showed her level is 2 ng/ml but her children were significantly higher.