3M workers in Swansea exposed to toxic chemicals in firefighting foam

Dozens of factory workers have been exposed to toxic chemicals in firefighting foam for decades. BBC file on four investigations may reveal.

Multi-billion pound US manufacturer 3M failed to tell staff at its Swansea site that they were using foam containing two chemicals now classified as carcinogenicdespite the health risks being known for decades.

The company said it would stop making the chemicals “forever” – so called because they persist in the environment – in 2002, but failed to remove them from the plant, leading to an environmental disaster four years later.

3M said the health and safety of its workers and their families is the company's “highest priority.”

The plant in Gorseinon, Swansea, opened in 1952 and for decades was 3M's largest plant outside the US.

The production of diaper fasteners and videotapes employed more than 1,000 people from across South Wales.

In 2023, 3M decided to close the plant and applied for permits to redevelop the site.

BBC Case of 4 investigations discovered a land contamination report among hundreds of documents 3M presented to the local council – it said the site was contaminated with two toxic chemicals, PFOS and PFOA.

The company has never produced chemicals in the PFAS family of chemicals at this facility.

The report said the chemicals resulted from “historic fire activity” using aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), a type of firefighting foam.

The BBC tracked down those involved in fighting the fire at the site and spoke publicly for the first time.

Each year, a dozen plant workers were selected to perform additional duties as members of the plant's “fire brigade.”

“We were in the ambulance squad, like part-time firefighters,” said Ian (not his real name).

He worked at the 3M plant for 40 years and was a member of the fire department.

“Once a month we trained and learned how to put out chemical fires,” Yang added.

“They had a big tray full of chemicals, set it on fire, set it up, and then we used light water and then to put it out, it came out like foam.”

Light water is 3M's product name for AFFF, and Yang says workers were not told anything about the chemicals it might contain.

The report showed levels of PFOS found in soil at the site in 2023 ranging from 50 to more than 1,500 micrograms per kilogram.

These upper levels 500 times higher than the average in UK soils..

Dr David Megson, an environmental scientist at Manchester Metropolitan University, told the BBC such levels were a “cause for concern”.

In commercial settings, levels above 600 micrograms could pose a risk to human health due to dust inhalation and skin contact, he said.

Members of the PFAS family of chemicals, particularly PFOA and PFOS, have been linked to a number of different adverse health conditions, Dr. Megson said.

He added: “[They] may cause damage to the liver, cardiovascular system, immune system and developing fetus.”

Both chemicals are now banned in the UK because they are toxic and do not biodegrade easily in the environment.

In 2024 World Health Organization (WHO) has determined that PFOA is carcinogenic and PFOS is “possibly” carcinogenic to humans.

But 3M was aware of the health risks posed by these chemicals to workers as far back as the 1970s.

In 1999, a major civil lawsuit was filed against 3M after water contaminated with PFOS and PFOA made people sick in the United States.

As part of the case, internal 3M documents were released that showed the company was seeing elevated levels of PFAS in the blood of its workers and a possible increase in cancer rates.

“[It] “I realized, looking back over many decades, the dangers of these chemicals,” said Rob Bilott, a partner at US firm Taft Law who led the litigation.

“Animal studies have begun [3M] in the 1960s it was shown to be incredibly toxic to many different animal species.

“Rats, mice, rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs and even monkeys were dying by the late 1970s.”

Cheryl's father worked in the Swansea factory for decades, dating back to the 70s, and was also a member of the fire party.

“He was the breadwinner. He always worked hard. He was happiest when he was with his family and friends,” Cheryl (not her real name) said.

In his early 40s, he was diagnosed with kidney cancer and, after treatment, returned to work briefly before retiring at age 50.

A few years later the cancer returned and Cheryl's father died at the age of 54.

She said: “It was a shock because my father was always a big and strong man, so he never got sick. He never took time off from work due to illness.”

Many things can cause kidney cancer, but study compiled by the World Health Organization concluded that the risk of kidney cancer is likely to increase with significant exposure to PFOS and PFOA.

Dr Steve Hagioff is an epidemiologist and chairs an independent commission in Jersey investigating the contamination of tap water by firefighting foam, which also contains chemicals produced by 3M.

It was created by the government after residents fell ill.

“I don't think you'll ever be able to say it [it] it is not possible that this could be caused or increased by PFAS exposure,” he said.

“But there are things we can be quite confident about, and those are things like kidney cancer, testicular cancer, less effective immunizations for children.”

Cheryl said she could not understand why the company knew about the risks and did not test the workers' blood, adding: “It is possible that some of the people who died could have been diagnosed earlier and treated earlier.”

That view was echoed by Yang, who said that because workers were never informed of any risks, they did not wear breathing equipment and worked with the foam only in their factory overalls and rubber boots.

“I'm not very happy about it,” he said.

“I always said they were a little blasé about all the chemicals they were actually using.”

Yang also left the factory after being diagnosed with colon cancer after nearly four decades of service.

We don't know if Ian's exposure to the foam caused this.

The WHO said this year the evidence linking PFOS and PFOA to colon cancer remains unclear because not enough cases have been identified.

As the lawsuit began in the United States, 3M publicly announced that it would cease production of PFOS and PFOA in the United States and worldwide by 2002.

But BBC file on four investigations found that even then workers in Swansea were not warned of the health risks and old foam was left on site.

In October 2006, a severe storm caused the system containing the foam to fail and spill onto the site.

At that time it was just a liquid, and workers, thinking it was rainwater, pumped it into an aeration tank used to store wastewater.

John Bowers, the site's then health and safety manager, said this suddenly created a major problem.

“The aeration then created a huge amount of foam that essentially rose out of the pond into the air,” he said.

Mr Bowers told the BBC the storm was so strong that foam was blown onto Gorseinon's main street.

He added: “It was described to me as if it was, excuse the phrase, a foam party.”

Mr. Bowers said workers were able to contain the foam and the next day they called 3M headquarters in Minnesota – only at that point did the company tell him the foam contained the toxic chemical PFOS.

“I found it surprising that 3M did not contact existing customers to warn them of the potential dangers, and even more surprising that they did not contact 3M facilities,” he said.

“I was disappointed.”

BBC presented freedom to request information Swansea Council and environmental watchdog Natural Resources Wales, who said the spill was not contained within the area and had also polluted the local waterway, Afon Lliw.

Test results, also published by the BBC, show PFOS levels in the pond were 1,800 µg/L and in a local river 20 µg/L.

Average levels above 0.00065 µg/L in rivers and lakes are considered be harmful to aquatic organisms – the water level in the river was 31,000 times higher than this figure.

It was recorded that a local farmer at the time complained to the council after seeing foam in the river and raising concerns about her livestock.

The regulator warned the company that it had committed an offense under the water rules in force at the time, but it was told it would not be prosecuted or fined.

Mr Bowers told the BBC after the 2006 incident that a pond filled with contaminated scum at the site had been cleaned and drained.

But planning application documents from 2023 say the pond has filled up again and contains very high levels of PFOS.

The pollution report said the pond could “potentially act as a continuing source of pollution to the aquatic environment.”

In 2023, PFOS levels in the pond were still 21,000 times the recommended safe level for aquatic life.

3M restored the pond and surrounding soil again, which was completed in recent months.

A 3M spokesman told the BBC: “The health and safety of our employees, their families and our communities are the highest priorities for 3M.”

The company said it has long ceased production of PFOS and PFOA and has permanently ceased production of this firefighting foam.

The company told the BBC it would continue to deliver on its commitments, including PFAS recovery and working with communities, including committing to “invest $1 billion (£750 million) globally in state-of-the-art water treatment technologies at sites where we have historically produced PFAS.”

“For decades, 3M has shared important information about PFAS, including publishing many of its PFAS findings in publicly accessible scientific journals,” the company added.

• Ian and Cheryl are not their real names. Due to concerns about public appearances, their names have been changed.