High PFAS blood levels found in Lancashire residents as lawyers plan class action

Blood tests have found high levels of PFOA and other PFAS chemicals in dozens of people living near a chemical factory in Thornton Cleveleys, Lancashire. The results have led lawyers to prepare a group legal action against the factory owners, in what could be a UK first.

The tests were carried out on 49 residents. Organisers said 46 of the 49 would be in the top 1% of PFAS levels in the US population. One person had a level more than 400 times higher than expected. Around 69% to 70% of those tested had levels linked to an increased risk of health problems when compared with US and German benchmarks. The UK has no official PFAS blood level guidance.

The factory at the centre is the Hill House chemical site, next to Thornton Cleveleys near Blackpool. It has made non-stick coatings for decades. It was once owned by ICI and is now operated by AGC Chemicals. The company says it stopped using PFOA at the site in 2012. PFOA is part of the PFAS family, known as forever chemicals because they do not break down easily and persist in the body and environment. It is a known carcinogen and has been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, high cholesterol and thyroid problems.

The Environment Agency and other agencies have been investigating contamination around the site. Two allotments were closed after PFOA was found in the soil. Residents were told not to eat eggs from their ducks and chickens and to peel home-grown fruit and vegetables. Sam, a mother of five who lives a few metres from the factory with more than 30 ducks, was told PFOA had been found in her soil and duck eggs. She said the news broke her heart and left her feeling guilty about what she had fed her children. Her family was among those told their PFAS levels were above 20 nanograms per millilitre, which would put them in the highest risk category under US standards. One result read out was 111, and Sam's level was 25. Another resident, Tony, was told his level was 65. Mario was told his was 75 and said he now felt trapped in his own property. Andrew Molloy said his result was about four to five times what would be considered normal.

At a football club where residents received their results, the mood was shocked and angry. Some said they wanted more testing and answers about what the contamination means for their health and their children. A lawyer involved in the planned action said the aim was to get compensation for people affected, including concerns about property prices, mortgages and the ability to sell homes. The legal team says the case could be the first of its kind in the UK. Class actions over PFAS are already under way in Australia and parts of Asia. More than 30,000 sites across Europe and the United States are known to be contaminated with forever chemicals.

Official guidance remains cautious. The UK Health Security Agency says there is not enough evidence to link exposure to forever chemicals with negative health outcomes and that more research is needed. The UK government position, repeated by AGC Chemicals, is that PFAS blood testing does not predict health problems and can sometimes cause unnecessary concern. A health official told residents that having the chemicals in their blood does not mean they are ill or will become ill because of the exposure.

AGC Chemicals said it stopped using PFOA at the factory in 2012. It said the site had been used for industrial chemical manufacturing for well over a century, before the company was established, and that a wide variety of historical users had operated there. It added that the wider multi-agency investigation is still ongoing and no formal determination of land contamination has been made, so it could not speculate on future outcomes or next steps. The factory is due to shut this year, but the Environment Agency's investigations continue and residents fear the chemical legacy will last far longer.