Yorkshire town may bring UK's first legal case over 'forever chemicals'
The Guardian|November 19, 2024
Residents in the town with the UK's highest identified concentration of "forever chemicals" have instructed lawyers to investigate the possibility of a first-of-its-kind legal claim, against a firefighting foam manufacturer in the centre of Bentham.
Pippa Neill

In May this year, an investigation by the Ends Report and the Guardian revealed that the rural North Yorkshire town is the most PFAS-polluted place known in the UK. It is home to the foam manufacturer Angus Fire.

PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and known as forever chemicals owing to their persistence in the environment, are a family of about 10,000 chemicals that have been linked to a wide range of illnesses, including cancers. One of their most common uses is in firefighting foams.

The law firm Leigh Day has informed Angus Fire that it has been instructed to investigate a case against the firm as a result of "alleged PFAS pollution in Bentham".

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