The team reveals shocking new details about a small Yorkshire town contaminated with toxic ‘forever chemicals’

A new investigative podcast by ENDS Report has just been released, revealing the full story behind the UK’s worst case of PFAS pollution—and what has happened to the affected community since the revelation first made headlines.

PFAS—also known as ‘forever chemicals’—are toxic substances linked to cancer and other serious health and environmental risks. In the US, companies have already paid out billions of pounds in legal settlements over PFAS contamination.

Last year, ENDS Report co-ran an investigation with the Guardian exposing staggeringly high levels of these chemicals in the small market town of Bentham, North Yorkshire—making it the most PFAS-contaminated place in the UK.

The town is also home to Angus Fire, a fire fighting foam producer and the main employer in town, which sits at the heart of this pollution. 

In this new podcast special, God’s Own Dark Waters: Exposing a Chemical Scandal, ENDS Report journalists return to Bentham with new details and exclusive interviews, exploring what has happened since the story first broke—and how residents are coping with life in the factory’s shadow.

The podcast is launched ahead of the release of the Netflix drama Toxic Town, which tells the story of a toxic waste scandal in Corby, and the group of women who took their local council to court. 

ENDS Report deputy editor, and series producer on God’s Own Dark Waters, Tess Colley, said: “ENDS Report’s God’s Own Dark Waters investigation, which has exposed how a small town in North Yorkshire is polluted with sky-high levels of toxic chemicals, has had a jaw-dropping impact: two law firms have begun potential legal action following the exposé, and MPs are calling for compensation. 

“Toxic PFAS chemicals are everywhere, but the UK is only now beginning to wake up to the problem they pose to the environment and human health, in no small part down to the kind of investigative journalism showcased in God’s Own Dark Waters. While Netflix’s upcoming show Toxic Town will bring to life a historic environmental scandal – audiences can now listen to the tale of one happening right now. Will the residents of Bentham one day get their Netflix drama? Hear their story here first.”

Hosted by ENDS Report’s James Agyepong-Parsons and award-winning investigative journalist Pippa Neill, who first broke the story, God’s Own Dark Waters is now available on all major podcast streaming platforms via ENDS Report’s ECO Chamber feed.

[ENDS]

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