Lancashire PFAS study 'downplays' kidney cancer
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- AGC Chemicals Europe emitted an estimated 49 tonnes of PFOA, a known carcinogen now globally banned, from its Thornton-Cleveleys plant between the 1950s and 2012, when it stopped using the chemical.
- A multi-agency health cell screening of cancer rates between 2003 and 2022 within a 3-mile radius found higher-than-expected kidney cancer rates in two areas—one south-east of the factory and one north of Blackpool—while finding no elevated rates for most other cancers.
- Despite identifying these elevated rates, the detailed review concluded 'no further cluster investigation is warranted,' a finding Dr David Megson of Manchester Metropolitan University called 'very contradictory' and accused of 'downplaying the findings rather than assessing them objectively.'
- The Environment Agency has classified an allotment on the factory border as officially contaminated land after testing found elevated PFOA in soil and produce, and advised residents within 1km not to eat homegrown fruit, vegetables, or eggs.
- Law firm Leigh Day is investigating a potential legal claim against AGC Chemicals Europe and plans to offer PFAS blood testing to residents—described by Dr Dan Middleton of Queen's University Belfast as 'the missing link' in the government study.
- AGC Chemicals Europe did not respond to a new request for comment; a company spokesperson had previously told the BBC its processes were 'rigorously monitored and controlled and compliant with current UK and EU environmental laws.'
Why it matters: Residents living within 1km of the plant have already been told not to eat homegrown produce due to documented PFOA contamination, and a law firm is now mobilizing blood tests and potential legal claims—so the study's 'no cluster' verdict may not end the matter for the affected community, regardless of official conclusions. Three independent PFAS and epidemiology experts publicly broke with the multi-agency finding, meaning the scientific disagreement is now on the record and likely to shape both the Leigh Day litigation and any future public-health response.
