11 hours agoShareSaveAnna MeiselandEsme Stallard,BBC File on 4 InvestigatesShareSaveThe BBC submitted a freedom of information request to Swansea council and Natural Resources Wales, the environmental regulator, which revealed that this spill was not contained to the site but also contaminated a local waterway – Afon Lliw.Test results also released to the BBC show that PFOS levels in the pond were at 1800 ug/L and in the local river were at 20ug/L. Average levels above 0.00065ug/L in rivers and lakes are considered to be harmful to aquatic organisms – the levels in the river were 31,000 times higher than that.A local farmer was recorded as complaining to the council at the time after seeing foam in the river and raising concerns for her cattle.The company was warned by the regulator that it committed an offence under water regulations in force at the time, but was told it would not be prosecuted or fined.Mr Bowers told the BBC after this 2006 incident that the pond filled with contaminated foam on the site was cleaned and drained.But the planning application documents from 2023 say that the pond had filled back up and had very high levels of PFOS.The contamination report said the pond might “have the potential to act as an ongoing source to the water environment”.In 2023, the pond’s levels of PFOS were still at 21,000 times the recommended safe level for aquatic life.3M has now remediated the pond and surrounding soil again, which was completed in recent months.A 3M spokesperson told the BBC: “The health and safety of our employees, their families, and our communities, are critical priorities for 3M.”It said it had long since phased PFOS and PFOA out of its operations and has permanently discontinued production of this firefighting foam.It told the BBC it would continue to deliver on its commitments – including remediating PFAS and collaborating with communities including by committing “to invest $1bn (£750m) globally in state-of-the-art water treatment technologies at sites where we have historically manufactured PFAS”.”Over decades, 3M has shared significant information about PFAS, including by publishing many of its findings regarding PFAS in publicly available scientific journals,” it added.Ian and Cheryl are not their real names. Because of their concerns about speaking publicly their names have been changed.More top storiesRelated URLs …
