Blood tests reveal dangerously high cancer-causing chemical levels in Lancashire factory residents

In Thornton-Cleveleys, a village in Lancashire, forty-nine residents opened their blood test results on a Wednesday afternoon and learned they were carrying dangerous levels of a chemical that does not break down in the body. The substance, PFOA, is a forever chemical—so named because it resists degradation in water and oil alike. It has been banned in the UK since 2020, classified by the World Health Organisation as a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning there is clear scientific evidence it increases cancer risk. The tests were conducted by Manchester Metropolitan University, funded by investigative journalists and an environmental law organization, after residents had repeatedly asked local authorities to check their blood.

The source of the contamination traces back to a chemical factory that has operated near the village since the 1950s. When ICI first ran the site, it manufactured non-stick coatings for frying pans using PFOA. AGC Chemicals took over in 1999 and continued the practice until 2012, when the company switched to a replacement chemical called EEA-NH4. An investigation by the Environment Agency and Wyre Council, which began in 2024, found PFOA at elevated levels in soil, eggs, and locally grown vegetables. The chemical had likely traveled through the air from the factory. Two allotment sites were closed and designated as contaminated land. Residents within one kilometer of the factory were advised to peel any fruit or vegetables they grew at home.

Of the forty-nine people tested, seventy percent had blood readings that exceeded the safety guidelines used in the United States and Germany. The possible health effects associated with elevated PFOA exposure include reduced thyroid function, kidney cancer, testicular cancer, elevated cholesterol, pre-eclampsia, and ulcerative colitis. Having high levels does not guarantee someone will develop these conditions, but US and German authorities recommend that people with elevated readings receive further health screening. The UK has no official recommendations about acceptable PFAS levels in blood.

For the residents who received their results, the news carried a weight beyond the clinical. One woman described opening her son's test results and being shocked by how far "off the scale" they were. She spoke of the guilt of having breastfed her children, knowing she may have passed the chemical to them. Andrew Molloy, whose home was built on land that once belonged to the factory, said he had expected normal results since he did not eat food grown in his garden. He planned to take his results to his GP to at least have them recorded. Mario Panteli, whose readings were among the highest, said the results were "quite emotional, a shock." He described feeling confined, unable to let his children play in his own garden, front and back. Dr David Megson, who conducted the testing, said the results made him feel sick. "To me, it shows something seriously wrong has happened to that community," he said, noting the levels were far higher than anything expected in the general population.

More than one hundred residents are now considering a group legal action against AGC Chemicals to claim damages. Sarah Moore, a partner at the law firm representing some residents, said compensation could be sought for financial losses on property values and the impact on residents' ability to use and enjoy their land. Damages could also be sought for health risks. She called the potential case "groundbreaking in the UK"—the first time a community has brought a legal claim over forever chemical contamination in the country. The largest comparable case occurred in West Virginia, where DuPont and Chemours settled more than thirty-five hundred PFOA lawsuits for six hundred seventy-one million dollars. Both companies denied wrongdoing.

AGC Chemicals announced earlier this month that the factory would close later this year, citing a volatile and competitive market with no viable solution to keep operations running. A company spokesperson said the site had manufactured chemicals long before AGC took over, and that since the wider investigation was still ongoing with no formal determination of land contamination yet made, they could not speculate on future outcomes. Dr Steve Hajioff, a public health specialist not involved in the testing, noted that PFOA levels could have been even higher in the past, given that the factory stopped using the substance in 2012 and the chemical does break down over time, albeit slowly. He cautioned that while the measured levels are associated with elevated risks of serious health conditions, increasing the risk of rare diseases like kidney cancer by thirty percent still means the chances of an individual being affected remain relatively low.

Moore expressed concern about pregnant women and families in the community, including those whose relatives were refusing to visit their homes over contamination worries. She warned that what is happening in Thornton-Cleveleys might be seen as an outlier but could be "the tip of the iceberg." Researchers recommended that further blood testing be conducted in the wider community to understand the full scale of the issue. A previous report into PFAS contamination in Jersey suggested that residents with elevated levels should be offered treatment, including cholesterol-lowering medications and blood letting, a procedure in which blood is gradually withdrawn to allow the body to naturally replenish it. Wyre Borough Council said it would continue to press for updated advice and guidance from health agencies as evidence emerges.