A new two-part BBC documentary series, "Buried with Michael Sheen," highlights the work of Reverend Paul Cawthorne, a Shropshire vicar and environmental campaigner, in investigating historical toxic waste dumping.
The series, set to air on BBC Two, BBC One Wales, and BBC iPlayer starting Monday, August 17, follows actor Michael Sheen as he explores sites where chemical waste was allegedly deposited.
Reverend Cawthorne, who serves as priest in charge of churches in the Hadnall area, has dedicated 20 years to uncovering the truth about these sites. His investigation began with the former landfill site at Stoney Hill in Telford, where the chemical company Monsanto is known to have legally dumped waste in the mid to late 1980s. Cawthorne's research extended to Sutton Walls in Herefordshire and Cefn Mawr in north Wales, as well as sites in the south Wales valleys.
According to Cawthorne, tests at nine out of ten sites discussed in the documentary revealed "dangerously elevated levels" of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are persistent man-made chemicals. He stated that the results at some locations were "literally off the scale."
Information obtained through a Freedom of Information request indicated Monsanto's involvement at the Stoney Hill site between 1985 and 1988, during which time it was managed by Shropshire County Council. Cawthorne has urged the current site owners, Telford and Wrekin Council, to conduct a new statutory investigation into the former landfill site near Coalbrookdale.
A spokesperson for Telford and Wrekin Council stated that information regarding the Stoneyhill landfill site's active management plan is available on the council's website. The council, which took over management of the site in 1998, asserts that "no evidence in the records received from Shropshire County Council that toxic materials or waste were tipped in Stoneyhill landfill." The council also conducts regular testing, which it reports has not identified any cause for concern. Furthermore, a detailed assessment by the Environment Agency in 2008 concluded that the site is "not considered a harm to the local environment."
In the documentary, Cawthorne focused on the past activities of Monsanto, which manufactured chemicals at plants in Newport, south Wales, and Ruabon, near Chirk, prior to stricter disposal legislation being enacted in 1974. The documentary also features Michael Sheen, whose involvement in investigating historical pollution is central to the series.