A government-commissioned study published last month found higher-than-expected rates of kidney cancer near the AGC Chemicals Europe plant in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire, prompting residents to demand answers about the health impact of widespread contamination. The plant emitted an estimated 49 tonnes of Pfoa — a carcinogenic "forever chemical" internationally linked to kidney cancer — between the 1950s and 2012. While the study found no evidence of a cancer cluster or a definitive environmental link, leading experts have called the findings a "major source of concern" and urged further investigation, including blood testing.

The article follows residents living with the consequences. Liz Hurst was diagnosed with kidney cancer at 32, a diagnosis doctors said was unusual for her age and sex, and now wants to know whether her childhood exposure near the factory caused it; she has been cancer free since 2019 after having a kidney removed. Following a 2024 investigation by the local council and Environment Agency, residents were advised not to eat eggs laid within 1km of the factory and to wash and peel homegrown produce after widespread soil contamination was recorded. Allotment holder Alan Hodson, 61, was told his beetroot contained the highest Pfoa level of all products tested and one soil sample was seven times Belgium's guideline level; his allotment, which borders the site, is now set to be shut down as officially contaminated land.