Wrexham petition demands blood tests after PHW PCB ruling 2026

Key Points

• A petition to Senedd has been raised from the people of Wrexham asking for specific testing of blood, soil and water samples for PCB contamination.
• This comes after the 21st September 2026 announcement from Public Health Wales that “blood testing for PCBs is not recommended” as a public health intervention.
• Katie Witherden, the community councillor of Cefn has posted the petition on behalf of the Monsanto Contamination Action Group, urging the Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales, Public Health Wales and Local Authorities to consider voluntary testing.
• Public Health Wales contends that blood test results cannot determine when or where the exposure took place and there are no medical interventions for the specific levels of PCBs in the blood.
• Steve Witherden, Member of Parliament whose constituency encompasses the communities of Cefn Mawr, Acrefair and Trevor agrees with the petitioners and says evidence is key to the solution.
• The petition requires 250 signatures for discussions with the Senedd Petitions committee and 10,000 signatures for a Senedd debate, and it will be active till March 2027.

Wrexham (Wales Times) September 30, 2026 – Residents in uk/local/wrexham/">Wrexham have tabled a Senedd petition titled “Begin targeted testing of soil, water and blood in areas at risk of PCBs and other contaminants in Wales”, seeking a coordinated, voluntary testing programme across affected communities. The petition explicitly asks the Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales, Public Health Wales and local authorities to roll out targeted blood testing for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), alongside expanded soil and groundwater testing in areas where dumping is known or suspected.

As reported by Leader Live, the petition was posted by Cefn Community Councillor Katie Witherden on behalf of the Monsanto Contamination Action Group after PHW issued its 21 September statement advising against blood testing. The petition argues that allowing volunteers to be tested would provide the UK with baseline data currently absent, and that specific land and water testing of suspected dump sites would give communities the clarity they seek about risks “beneath our feet”.

Why did Public Health Wales say blood testing is not recommended?

In a statement published on its website, PHW said it supports the Welsh Government’s view that historical contaminated land should be addressed as a priority and acknowledges community concerns, but maintains that “testing PCBs in blood is not recommended as a public health action”. PHW explains that such tests do not provide a reliable means of assessing an individual’s exposure to contamination or the potential health impact, because PCBs are widespread in the environment and people can be exposed through food, buildings and other sources unrelated to local dump sites.

“Testing for PCBs in blood does not tell us how or where people may have been exposed to them,” PHW states, adding that there are risks in introducing blood testing, including causing worry among people found to have PCBs in their blood when there is no way to treat or manage a particular PCB level even if measured. PHW notes that everyone is likely to have some level of PCBs in their body, and that individual factors such as diet, smoking, physical activity and genetics influence how PCBs affect health.

How are residents and politicians responding to PHW’s position?

As reported by Katie Witherden of the Monsanto Contamination Action Group via Leader Live, the PHW response was seen as “the latest attempt to avoid an official, comprehensive investigation” into potential harm from dumping. “The implication that we are too unsophisticated to understand that testing itself does not reduce risk is frankly insulting,” Witherden said, adding that affected people have lived with unquantifiable risk for decades and that lack of information is blocking efforts to make communities safe. “This petition sends the message that we won’t take no for an answer any longer,” she said.

Her husband, Steve Witherden, MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, told Leader Live and Wrexham.com that PHW had effectively said “what you don’t know can’t hurt you”, which “isn’t going to cut the mustard” for constituents. “We need this testing not only as residents, but as campaigners, because proof is prerequisite to any real solution,” he said. In interviews with Wrexham.com, the MP outlined a cross-party letter being signed by MPs, members of the House of Lords, Members of the Senedd, county and community councillors, to be sent to the Welsh Government, NRW, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and PHW requesting extended soil and groundwater testing, a voluntary blood testing programme, anonymised cancer data and publication of historic records.

Which sites and communities are at the centre of the campaign?

Wrexham was a key focus of the BBC documentary Buried, which investigated historic dumping of PCBs and other chemicals at sites linked to the former Monsanto works in Ruabon and surrounding areas. The petition and campaign highlight communities in Cefn Mawr, Acrefair, Trevor and the Llwyneinion Acid Tar Lagoon near Rhosllanerchrugog, where residents suspect contamination from decades of industrial waste disposal. Campaigners say there could be many more undocumented sites across Wales where Monsanto and other companies disposed of harmful waste, and they want testing to establish a clearer picture of exposure risks.

According to the petition, communities across Wales have “woken up to the reality that they have contaminated land on their doorsteps” and feel “abandoned” and “at the mercy” of the unknown. The petition acknowledges that the presence of PCBs is not a definitive indicator of risk, but argues that without statistically relevant UK evidence it is impossible to gauge true risk to residents.

What are the thresholds and next steps for the Senedd petition?

The petition is hosted at petitions.senedd.wales and will remain open until March 2027. If it reaches 250 signatures it will be discussed by the Senedd’s Petitions Committee; if it reaches 10,000 signatures it will be considered for a full Senedd debate. The petition calls for Welsh Government, NRW and PHW to work with local authorities to roll out a voluntary blood testing programme to analyse how many residents may have elevated levels of PCBs or other harmful chemicals, and to establish targeted testing for land and water in areas where dumping is known or suspected.

Background to the contaminated land issue in Wrexham

The current campaign follows more than two decades of local concern about historic chemical dumping in north-east Wales, intensified by the BBC documentary Buried presented by Michael Sheen and environmental journalists Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor. The documentary examined sites including Llwyneinion Acid Tar Lagoon, Cefn Mawr and Ruabon, where there is documented evidence of chemical dumping by Monsanto up until PCBs were banned in the 1980s. In August and September 2026, politicians from multiple tiers of government began coordinating demands for extended testing after the programme aired, with the Welsh Affairs Select Committee writing to the Secretary of State for Wales to seek immediate testing at suspected sites.

Public Health Wales published its position on 21 September 2026, reiterating that blood testing is not recommended while affirming support for addressing historical contaminated land as a priority. Natural Resources Wales has stated that local authorities are usually the lead regulators for contaminated land under the 1990 legislation, while NRW provides technical advice and acts as enforcing authority for Special Sites. Campaigners point to Brofiscin Quarry in Rhondda Cynon Taf as a blueprint for Welsh Government-led remediation, where deep borehole testing and an engineered cap were delivered with regulator and government involvement.

Prediction: how could this development affect Wrexham residents and policymakers?

If the petition gains sufficient signatures to trigger Senedd attention, it is likely to increase pressure on the Welsh Government, NRW and PHW to clarify testing protocols and potentially commission targeted environmental sampling in Wrexham’s most contested sites. For residents, expanded soil and water testing could provide more concrete data about contamination levels near homes, schools and play areas, which may either alleviate fears or prompt calls for remediation and long-term monitoring. A voluntary blood testing programme, if adopted, would generate baseline data but could also raise anxiety given PHW’s warning that results cannot pinpoint exposure sources and there is no specific treatment for PCB levels in blood.

For policymakers, the petition and parallel political letters create a clear accountability trail: if testing is refused, campaigners may argue that institutions are withholding information; if testing is carried out and shows elevated contaminants, the focus may shift to funding remediation, reviewing historic indemnities and considering legislative changes to contaminated land management. In either scenario, the development is likely to keep Wrexham’s toxic legacy in the spotlight through 2027, with the Senedd petition timetable and ongoing Westminster committee scrutiny shaping the pace and scope of any official response.