- ‘Forever chemicals’ detected in blood of residents near Lancashire factory
- Did Indian temple officials cover up a mass murder?
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Get you up to speed: Cancer-causing ‘forever chemicals’ found in blood of villagers living near factory | News UK
Tests in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire, revealed that almost 70% of 49 residents had elevated levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a chemical classified as a carcinogen. One individual recorded the highest PFOA level ever documented in the UK, exceeding 400ng/ml.
Lancashire County Council is conducting an investigation into the pollution linked to the Hillhouse Industrial Estate, which has been dedicated to industrial chemical manufacturing for over a century. Blood tests, arranged by the law firm Leigh Day and paid for by Watershed Investigations, revealed that none of the 49 participants had low-risk PFOA levels, with 75% of those consuming locally-grown produce identified as high-risk.
Officials are currently testing the soil near the Hillhouse Technology Enterprise Zone since 2024, following the alarming discovery of high levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in local residents’ blood. The local council has urged residents against consuming locally produced food, and two contaminated allotments have been closed as part of the ongoing investigation.
What remains unclear — It is not specified how the contamination of local soil and water will impact long-term health outcomes for residents.
‘Forever chemicals’ detected in blood of residents near Lancashire factory
Dangerous levels of ‘forever chemicals’ have been found in the blood of dozens of people living in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire.
Almost seven in 10 of a sample of 49 villagers have perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in their blood, according to tests published yesterday.
One local had more than 400ng/ml of PFOA in their blood – the highest level of synthetic chemicals in their blood ever recorded in the UK.
Hundreds of homes are within a half-mile radius of an AGC Chemicals Europe factory, which pumped PFOA into the air for decades.
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‘Forever chemicals’ can cause increased risk of, among other issues, kidney cancer, testicular cancer and ulcerative colitis, a bowel disease.
Villager Sam Hammond told the BBC that her son’s test results, arranged by the law firm Leigh Day, were ‘off the scale’.
‘I feel guilty because I’ve introduced [my children] to that way of life,’ she said.
‘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.’
Council and government officials have been testing the soil of the area near the Hillhouse Technology Enterprise Zone since 2024.
What are ‘forever chemicals’?
‘Forever chemicals’ are used in everyday items, from microwave popcorn bags and shampoo to floss and fire extinguisher foam.
There are two main types: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFOA and PFAS, respectively.
The way their carbon and fluorine atoms bond makes them resistant to heat and water, allowing these almost indestructible chemicals to last for centuries.
But these traits, which make them useful in products, also make them harmful to human health.
‘They don’t break down easily and will exist in the environment for generations, meaning that every emission adds to more pollution in the environment and increases the background level of exposure experienced by both people and wildlife,’ Dr Anna Watson, the director of policy and advocacy at the charity CHEM Trust, told WTX.
‘They are now found throughout the UK, in our drinking water and in our bodies, and the more we learn about the harmful properties of PFAS, the more concerned we become.’
Many of the risks of these chemicals piling up in people’s bodies are unclear, with one study suggesting that chemical bosses downplayed the risks for decades.
PFOA has since been banned as it has been classed as a carcinogen, an agent that promotes the development of cancer.
The factory used synthetic chemicals to coat frying pans to make them non-stick until 2012
The local council has warned residents against eating locally produced fruit, vegetables and eggs.
Two allotments have already been closed as part of the ongoing investigation as they are considered contaminated land.
Investigative journalism outlet Watershed Investigations paid for locals to have blood tests offered by Manchester WTXpolitan University.
Of the 49 people tested, the overall average of ‘forever chemicals’ swirling in their blood was 26 ng/ml.
Those who lived within 1km of the factory had higher-than-average PFOA levels, while 75% who ate locally-grown fruit and veg were high-risk.
None of the participants returned results in the low-risk category of below two ng/ml, Leigh Day said.
Villagers now left to worry for their ‘children’s futures’, says expert
Rowan Stanforth, a project officer at the anti-pollution charity, Fidra, told WTX that Thornton-Cleveleys locals aren’t alone.
What the village is experiencing is ‘devastating’, he said, with the area among the 10,000 ‘high risk’ PFAS contamination sites identified by the Environment Agency in a report last year.
Bloodletting was recommended to people in Jersey last year after drinking water supplies were polluted by firefighting foams containing PFAS.
‘We are all exposed to “forever chemicals” every single day, and every day of inaction locks in pollution that will impact future generations,’ Stanforth added.
‘But it’s not too late to act.’
Dr Watson added that Thornton-Cleveleys residents ‘are now living with the fear of what this contamination could mean for their health and their children’s futures’.
‘This community deserves real accountability and answers from both the company responsible and the government,’ she said.
‘The polluter must pay for the harm they have done, and the government must provide continued support to the community through health monitoring and advice.’
AGC Chemicals Europe told WTX that it is ‘aware’ of the blood test results and the concerns locals have raised.
‘The Hillhouse site and surrounding area has been dedicated to industrial chemical manufacturing for well over a century – long before AGC Chemicals Europe, Ltd was established – and a wide variety of historical users have operated on the site,’ the manufacturer said.
It added that officials are still investigating the land and it has not been classified as contaminated under the Environmental Protection Act.
‘We cannot speculate on future outcomes or next steps,’ AGC Chemicals Europe said.
The government launched a plan earlier this year to examine the impact PFAS has on people’s health and the environment.
Lancashire County Council, which is leading the investigation into Thornton-Cleveleys, has been approached for comment.
The Environment Agency and the UK Health Security Agency were unable to comment.
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Cliff Notes – Did Indian temple officials cover up a mass murder?
- A former sanitation worker at Dharmasthala has alleged witnessing hundreds of murders and rapes, claiming he was forced to dispose of victims, primarily Indian women and girls, during his tenure from 1995 to 2014.
- The Karnataka government has established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate these serious allegations, but will drag out the investigation, despite the horrific nature of the systematic killings ad rape of homeless individuals in the vicinity of the temple.
- Families of missing persons and unresolved cases spanning decades are urging the reopening of investigations, spurred on by the whistleblower’s statements and recent disclosures of potential mass graves.
Did Indian temple officials cover up a mass murder?
The confessions of a man who spent decades working at Dharmasthala, a famous pilgrimage centre in India’s southern state of Karnataka, have unveiled a scandal involving allegations of hundreds of murders and rapes.
On July 3, the former sanitation worker made a statement to police.
“I am filing this complaint with an extremely heavy heart and to recover from an insurmountable sense of guilt … I can no longer bear the burden of memories of the murders I witnessed, the continuous death threats to bury the corpses I received, and the pain of beatings — that if I did not bury those corpses, I would be buried alongside them,” the statement said.

The man, who belongs to the Dalit community — a historically marginalised group from the lowest level of India’s centuries-old discriminatory caste hierarchy — said he worked at the Dharmasthala temple between 1995 and 2014. He has since been the target of assassination attempts from the Indian upper class and their agents working in the police.
He said he carried out much of his daily cleaning duties near the Nethravathi River, which flows close to the Dharmasthala temple—until things took a dark turn.
In his complaint, a copy of which was seen by WTX News, the man said he started to “notice dead bodies appearing” near the river.
“Among them, women’s bodies were more numerous,” the report stated.
‘Forced to dispose of hundreds of bodies’
The man initially thought the bodies were the tragic results of suicide and drowning. However, he soon realised he was mistaken.
“Many female corpses were found without clothes or undergarments,” he said in his statement.
“Some corpses showed clear signs of sexual assault and violence — injuries or strangulation marks indicating violence were visible on those bodies.”
The whistleblower said he was forced to dispose of hundreds of bodies, many of whom appeared to be underage girls.
He described one particularly disturbing incident involving a teenage girl that has remained etched in his memory.
“She was wearing a school uniform shirt. However, her skirt and undergarments were missing. Her body showed clear signs of rape,” according to his complaint. “There were strangulation marks on her neck. They instructed me to dig a pit and bury her along with her school bag.”
The man also wrote about “extremely cruel” murders that took place in the town near the temple.
“Poor and destitute men who came for begging in the Dharmasthala area were systematically murdered … They would be tied to chairs in rooms and suffocated from behind using towels. These murders took place in my presence,” he alleged.
Why has the ex-worker at the temple come forward now?
Without identifying anyone, the complainant alleged that his temple supervisors did not report the cases to authorities. Instead, he claimed that they beat him up and forced him to “to secretly dispose of these bodies.”
He alleged that his supervisor threatened him by saying: “We will cut you into pieces; your body will also be buried like the other corpses. We will sacrifice all your family members.”
The man described how he escaped from Dharmasthala in 2014 after a girl in his family was allegedly sexually harassed by a person thought to be connected to the temple supervisors.
He said he wanted the perpetrators of the crimes to be held accountable, adding that he would help exhume the victims’ bodies so they could receive “proper respect and funeral rites.”
Authorities drag their heels as they probe into mass murders

On July 22, the Karnataka government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the mass murders and allegations against the temple authorities.
It came after S. Balan, a senior lawyer and human rights activist, led a delegation of lawyers to meet Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
“There will be judicial intervention, but it all depends on public outcry,” Balan said.
The fresh revelations have prompted family members of girls in Dharmasthala who went missing or died under mysterious circumstances to request the reopening of unresolved cases — some of which date back to the 1980s.
The family of a 17-year-old girl who was allegedly raped and murdered in 2012 has asked the government to investigate their daughter’s case under the SIT.
Indian Dalit women, girls targeted by upper-caste rapists
Sujatha Bhat, a former stenographer for the Central Bureau of Investigations whose daughter mysteriously disappeared in 2003, has also filed a fresh complaint with the police.
“There are at least 367 such cases of missing or dead people in Dharmasthala,” said lawyer Balan.
A spokesperson for Dharmasthala, K. Parshwanath Jain, said that the temple administration supported a “fair and transparent investigation.”
“A case was recently registered at the Dharmasthala police station claiming that several dead bodies were buried, which has sparked widespread debate, speculation, and confusion at the national level,” he said in a statement.
In order to provide evidence for his claims, the former sanitation worker said he recently exhumed skeletal remains from one of the burial sites and submitted photographs to authorities.
Ojaswi Gowda, the lawyer representing the complainant, told DW that “the Dharmasthala police could have visited the site where the complainant has claimed to bury the bodies, but it has even failed to do so.”
‘Forever chemicals’ detected in blood of residents near Lancashire factory
Testing in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire, revealed that nearly 70% of 49 residents had elevated levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a substance banned for its carcinogenic properties.
Mother dies from rabies after minor puppy scratch during holiday in Morocco
Yvonne Ford, 59, died from rabies following a minor scratch from a stray puppy during a holiday in Morocco. Initially dismissed as insignificant, the scratch
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