Shropshire vicar's role in Hollywood actor's toxic waste documentary revealed
The Rev Paul Cawthorne helped BBC researchers to identify sites for testing for a two part documentary starring Michael Sheen
A campaigning Shropshire vicar played a key role in a new two part BBC documentary featuring Welsh Hollywood actor Michael Sheen's investigation into toxic waste dumps.
The Rev Paul Cawthorne helped researchers identify sites across Wales where former chemical giant Monsanto dumped the toxic forever chemical PCB in the 1970s.
Mr Cawthorne, priest in charge of churches in the Hadnall area, is also a long time environmental campaigner.
He put his focus on the former activities of Monsanto, which produced a range of chemicals at factories in Newport, south Wales, and Ruabon, near Chirk, before the disposal legislation began to tighten in 1974.
Mr Cawthorne began looking into the history of the former landfill site at Stoney Hill, in Telford, where Monsanto is known to have legally dumped an array of wastes in the mid to late 1980s.
"When I found out about the Monsanto chemical dumping at Stoney Hill I next identified Sutton Walls in Herefordshire, then Cefn Mawr in north Wales then went around south Wales valleys identifying historically documented sites which needed additional testing," said Mr Cawthorne who has been on a 20 year mission to uncover the truth.
"Dangerously elevated levels of PCB were found at every one, bar one, of the 10 sites in the Buried radio series last year," he said.
"The results at some were literally off the scale and will have a big impact in professional circles, assuming they cannot continue to try to ignore them now,” he said.
Details of Monsanto's involvement at Stoney Hill between 1985-1988, when it was managed by Shropshire County Council, was revealed in a recent Freedom of Information request.
Mr Cawthorne has now called on current site owners Telford and Wrekin Council to order full fresh statutory investigation into the former landfill site near Coalbrookdale.
He said: "Given this information coming to light about Monsanto’s formal chemical waste dumping agreement with Shropshire County Council, I urgently call on Telford & Wrekin Council for the statutory process of Environmental Protection Act Part 2A investigation and determination of contaminated land to be freshly undertaken, to ensure that Telford Council is complying with its legal duties to the residents of Telford rather than trying to sweep these “hazardous” chemicals back under the carpet.”
Mr Cawthorne has concerns that chemicals from Stoney Hill are leaking out into the Ironbridge Gorge.
The LDRS asked Telford & Wrekin Council for a response to Mr Cawthorne's repeated call for an investigation.
A Telford & Wrekin Council spokesperson said: “Information about Stoneyhill landfill site’s active management plan is available on the council’s website.”
The council took over the management of the former landfill site in 1998 and says on its website that there is "no evidence in the records received from Shropshire County Council that toxic materials or waste were tipped in Stoneyhill landfill."
It also carries out regular testing and they say these have not identified any cause for concern.
The council's website adds that a detailed assessment and review was carried out by the Environment Agency in 2008 and "as a result the site is not considered a harm to the local environment."
Buried with Michael Sheen comes to BBC Two, BBC One Wales and BBC iPlayer from Monday August 17 at 9pm.