No one knows impact of leaking toxic South Wales quarry

Every day, Ty Llwyd quarry, on the banks of the valleys above the picturesque town of Ynysddu, is leaking deadly chemicals from the site formally used as a dumping ground of toxic waste by chemical manufacturer Monsanto - now under the management of Caerphilly Council.

In the very latest developments, shocking information has been revealed in Freedom of Information requests sent to the council about the true dangers of the site, including whether the chemicals are so toxic they require a special discharge licence only issued by National Resources Wales, and, most shockingly, how long it will take to know the true impact of what is happening in one of Wales’ gems of nature on the edge of the world famous Bannau Brycheiniog.

Professor Harvey Wood, director of the Clean Rivers Trust, made a startling admission when speaking to the Argus, saying at this point no one knows how severe the effects could be.

What we do know is what’s leaking out of Ty Llwyd is the notorious polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs by their more common name.

Known as the ‘forever chemical’ because nature cannot break them down, PCBs are highly carcinogenic, causing devastation to marine life, nature and humans.

The notorious aeration pit

Full of toxic waste

How did we get here?

American agro-chemical company Monsanto moved into South Wales in 1949, and created numerous harmful products throughout the 1950s and 60s, including carcinogens such as PCBs.

The company built a chemical factory in Newport which was bought by Eastman in 2012 – which still runs today.

Monsanto has a chequered history.

In 1960 it built a 3km effluent pipeline from the factory in Newport underground, where it discharged deadly PCBs into the middle of the Severn Estuary.

Monsanto has paid out billions in compensation to customers who used its weedkilling products in the US.

It was also reported to have made a payment of $820 million to settle a number of outstanding claims related to PCBs, which it produced until 1977, despite being aware of its harmful properties as early as the 1950s.

Ty Llywd Quarry near Ynysddu 

The waste is just being dumped into Pantyffynnon Woodland

‘We don’t need a licence and we won’t know the results of the discharge for two years’

In February 2023 a group of campaigners, led by Caerphilly councillors Jan Jones and Janine Reed as well as environmental champion Reverend Paul Cawthorne, challenged the council on its management of the quarry – which Caerphilly Council now run – asking for evidence of a fabled 'discharge consent form', and, more pertinently, asking when the land at Ty Llwyd would officially be classed as contaminated – leading to stricter restrictions on work done in the area.

At the moment Brofiscin Quarry, in Groesfaen, Rhondda Cynon Taf – another dumping site of Monsanto - is the only one designated as contaminated land and campaigners want Ty Llwyd to have the same status.

The council were brash in their response, saying they do not need a discharge licence to remove whatever is coming out of Ty Llwyd.

More extraordinarily, the council revealed the time frame it will take to consider whether the land is truly contaminated to the level of Brofiscin Quarry.

In response to the Freedom of Information request, Caerphilly Council said: “In 2013, the council, via their specialist contaminated land consultants, reviewed the site and concluded that the site did not fall under the legal definition of contaminated land.

“Natural Resources Wales confirmed they were satisfied with the conclusions of this report.

“Due to the presence of leachate breakouts in more recent years, following periods of prolonged wet weather, the council and their consultants are in the process of gathering sampling and monitoring data to review this standpoint.

“Due to the leachate breakouts only being a seasonal occurrence, this process is likely to take a further 12 to 18 months to gather the relevant data to inform the risk assessment for the site and a further six months for any subsequent reports to be written.”

Rev Paul Cawthorne and Cllr Jones watch toxic waste release into the environment. Photo PA 

Cllr Jones and local chemist Allan Sharpe at the site

We saw the site for ourselves in January - watch what happened.

Has NRW been misled? This professor thinks so

Professor Harvey Wood is at a loss as to why NRW has not placed discharge licences down on Ty Llywd - but has said he is concerned the organisation may have been misled as to the nature of the situation.

Professor Wood is an esteemed member of Nottingham University and director of the Clean Rivers Trust, which was formed in 1990 as a response to the declining water quality of the River Trent.

Since then the trust has been a guardian of rivers across the country, having been involved in changes across most UK river improvements since 1991 and has alone responded to more than 600 consultation documents issued by the National Rivers Authority; now the Environment Agency, and various government departments from DoE, Defra, the Home Office, and of course NRW.

In all his years assessing water quality in rivers across the UK, Prof Wood strongly believes what is coming out of Ty Llwyd requires discharge consent, which Caerphilly Council would get from NRW.

Prof Wood can only speculate as to why this has not happened.

“I think NRW would say that this is unnecessary (having a discharge licence) because they have been told it is just surface water and not full of toxic leachate,” explained Prof Wood. “But my understanding from research carried out is there is a lot more than surface groundwater.”

Prof Wood said any leak from the landfill site should be treated on-site or tankered to treatment works, however he describes the situation as fairly grim, saying the buck is being passed, no one wants to front the money, and current solutions are inadequate.

“The situation is fairly grim,” said Prof Wood. “Local authorities have got hold of sites like Ty Llwyd they do not know what to do with.

“It is understandable they do not want to deal with it because they do not have the funding, but there is no central fund to deal with this problem.”

Prof Wood gave an ominous warning as to what happens next.

“It is unknown,” the professor simply said. “It’s an unknown quantity that is building up at Ty Llwyd. They have only just started putting the discharge into the woodland. We do not know the damage yet.”

Guardians of nature. Independent Caerphilly councillors Jan Jones (right) and Janine Reed

What happens next?

In the latest development, there have been calls for a public inquiry into pollution concerns at the quarry.

Cllrs Janine Reed and Jan Jones put forward the notice of motion for a public inquiry by Welsh Government which will be discussed at a meeting on Tuesday, May 2.

What have NRW and Caerphilly Council said?

Jon Goldsworthy, operations manager at NRW, has said it is in discussions with the council over the “potential requirement for an environmental permit”.

Speaking last week, Mr Goldsworthy said: “As the council considers the possible improvement options, we will continue to provide technical advice and review any remediation proposals produced to ensure people and the environment are protected.

“Our investigation into the pollution incident at Ynysddu in January is ongoing. We have received the full suite of sample results which are currently being interpreted.

“Once this process has been completed, appropriate and proportionate action will be determined.

“If anyone sees any further signs of pollution in the area, they should report it to our incident hotline on 0300 065 3000.”

Council leader Sean Morgan has previously said the council-built aeration chamber is to be upgraded to hold more water and additional fencing is to be put up to secure the site.

The Labour councillor for Nelson said: “There are obviously some issues when we have heavy downfalls. We’re upgrading the aeration chamber to make sure it can cope with the extra flow of water.

"We’re also increasing the amount of fencing around there to stop residents accessing any parts, especially where the chamber is. We need to make sure the site is more secure.”