Quarry contamination fears to feature in new Michael Sheen BBC documentary

A former quarry in Ynysddu will feature in a BBC investigation into claims that toxic industrial waste was dumped in communities across Wales.

Buried with Michael Sheen, a two-part documentary airing on BBC One Wales and BBC Two from Monday August 17, examines historical dumping of banned chemicals known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

The programme follows actor Michael Sheen and investigative journalists Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor as they examine evidence left behind by whistleblower Douglas Gowan.

Before his death in 2017, Mr Gowan claimed that chemical manufacturer Monsanto buried thousands of tonnes of toxic waste in former quarries during the 1960s and 1970s. Among the locations highlighted in the investigation is Ty Llwyd Quarry in Ynysddu.

Local campaigners and ward councillors have raised concerns for years about toxic liquid, or leachate, leaking from the site into nearby woodland and waterways during heavy rain.

PCBs were widely used in industry for their heat resistance before being banned globally due to links to cancer and environmental damage. Often called “forever chemicals”, they do not break down naturally in the environment.

However, Caerphilly County Borough Council recently concluded that Ty Llwyd does not meet the legal definition of “contaminated land”.

Speaking about the investigation, Sheen said local authorities face significant financial hurdles when trying to address historical industrial pollution.

“Local councils, where this potentially contaminated land is, are terrified that if they’re financially responsible for doing something about this, that it will bankrupt them,” Sheen said.

“Somehow we have to make sure that we are able to move past that point. You have to go beyond the councils. You go to Welsh Government, you go to the UK Government. There has to be a pool of resources in the absence of the people responsible for it.

Investigative journalist Dan Ashby said the wider issue of chemical pollution extends beyond historical waste: PCBs are banned, but there are thousands of forever chemicals in production today,” Mr Ashby said.

“What I hope this documentary does at the very least is create a national conversation about whether this should be happening and what is the best way forward.”

The documentary builds on a Radio 4 podcast series, Buried: The Last Witness, which previously highlighted independent soil testing carried out near the Ynysddu site.

Buried with Michael Sheen airs at 9pm on Monday August 17 on BBC One Wales, BBC Two, and BBC iPlayer.