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High Levels of Cancer-Causing Chemical Found in UK Residents
Confirmed
In Short: Blood tests have found 'really high levels' of a cancer-causing forever chemical, known as PFOA, in dozens of residents living near a major chemical factory in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire, UK.
The village has been under investigation for years by the Environment Agency over contamination of soils and locally grown food from PFOA, a type of forever chemical that does not easily break down.
Residents like Sam told the BBC they were shocked by their blood test results, which showed that 70% of the 49 tested residents could be at increased risk of adverse health effects according to guidelines.
The investigation by the Environment Agency and Wyre Council found PFOA at elevated levels in the soil, eggs, and locally grown vegetables in the area close to the AGC Chemicals factory, which used PFOA to manufacture coating for frying pans until 2012.
Sarah Moore, partner at law firm Leigh Day, said more than 100 residents are now considering taking a group legal action against AGC Chemicals to claim damages for the contamination.
Forever chemicals, also known as PFAS, are resistant to water and oil and are found in thousands of everyday products, such as clothing and cookwear.
What this adds
The study adds to the growing body of evidence linking PFOA exposure to serious health risks, prompting residents to consider legal action against the factory.
Background
The summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled for September 24 at the White House.
What's confirmed
- The village has been under investigation for years by the Environment Agency over contamination of soils and locally grown food from PFOA, a type of forever chemical that does not easily break down.
- Residents like Sam told the BBC they were shocked by their blood test results, which showed that 70% of the 49 tested residents could be at increased risk of adverse health effects according to guidelines.
- The investigation by the Environment Agency and Wyre Council found PFOA at elevated levels in the soil, eggs, and locally grown vegetables in the area close to the AGC Chemicals factory, which used PFOA to manufacture coating for frying pans until 2012.
- Sarah Moore, partner at law firm Leigh Day, said more than 100 residents are now considering taking a group legal action against AGC Chemicals to claim damages for the contamination.
- Forever chemicals, also known as PFAS, are resistant to water and oil and are found in thousands of everyday products, such as clothing and cookwear.
What's still developing
- "I feel guilty because I've introduced [my children] to that way of life. I know it isn't my fault, but the guilt is horrific. Knowing that I've offloaded what levels I probably had over the years into those children when I breastfed them - that's heartbreaking," she said.
- “The amount of these chemical bonds is basically set 70 million years ago when this tooth first formed in the body of a dinosaur,” Eagle said.
- Chemical analysis of one of Thomas’s fossilized teeth has provided the most precise estimate yet of T.
- The predator was not a cold-blooded creature, but a warm-blooded one with a body temperature probably around 97.3 degrees Fahrenheit, plus or minus 4.5 degrees.
- The fewer bonds present, the higher the temperature at which the minerals in the tooth formed.
- Agbarya said he was responsible for the clinical arm of the research, while Ebenstein led the chemical and technological development of the blood test.
- “We realized that chemical changes in DNA characterize different tumors,” he said.
- “We took a bunch of little DNA molecules out of the bloodstream,” Ebenstein explained.
- “Each spot gives off a different level of light based on its chemical makeup and the different amounts of chemical change,” he said.
- “What I find genuinely clever about this study is its ability to identify cancer-related DNA changes through a simple blood test, without expensive sequencing,” he said.
- Israeli researchers have developed a simple, fast, $60 blood test for diagnosing lung cancer that eliminates the need for costly DNA sequencing.
- Using fluorescent light, the scientists analyzed chemical patterns on DNA fragments circulating in the bloodstream.