Michael Sheen visits Ty Llwyd quarry as part of BBC podcast

Michael Sheen saw for himself the “state” of Ty Llwyd quarry in the hillside next to the beautiful town of Ynysddu as part of BBC podcast ‘Buried: The Last Witness’.

Buried is described as “the award-winning true-crime series digging into some of the most disturbing environmental stories in history”, and Ty Llwyd was thrown into this bleak bracket.

It’s previously been said no one knows what is coming out of Ty Llwyd, formally owned by US chemical giants Monsanto.

However, councillors Janine Reed and Jan Jones, Ynysddu representatives at Caerphilly County Borough Council, along with eco warrior priest the Reverend Paul Cawthorne, believe something sinister is seeping out of Ty Llwyd.

“The problem at Ty Llwyd quarry involves a wide range of chemicals including PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), particularly PAHs (‘poly aromatic hydrocarbons’)," said Rev Cawthorne.

“PAHs are toxic to the wider environment and to invertebrates.”

Now, Sheen, fresh from his run as NHS founder Aneurin Bevan in play Nye, has weighed into the debate, visiting the site of the quarry and discussing the issue of alleged deadly toxic leaks from quarries across South Wales.

The Underworld actor visited Ty Llwyd in January with investigative reporter Dan Ashby and went to Cllr Jones’ home where Sheen, Ashby and Cllrs Jones and Reed discussed the issue of Ty Llwyd.

Cllr Reed explained: “Paul got in touch with Dan who somehow got in touch with Michael Sheen.

“Dan came up to see the quarry then the next day he phoned me and said ‘I have just spent the day with Michael and he wants to meet you and Jan’.

“So we went to meet the next day in Jan’s house and Michael explained why he became interested in the issue.”

Sheen was said to have “been bored” at his house in Hollywood when he stumbled on the story about South Wales and PCBs surfing the web and finding the studies of Douglas Gowan - who has investigated extensively another “toxic quarry” at Brofiscin. From there, Sheen was inspired to act.

“He was so lovely,” said Cllr Reed. “You hear so much about these Hollywood A-listers, but he was just such a lovely guy.”

Sheen (left) visted the quarry and spoke to Cllrs and campaigners Jones (second left) and Reed (Image: Supplied)

The #aeration chamber built by the council to tackle the leakage (Image: Newsquest)

There are concerns about what is leaking out of the quarry (Image: Supplied)

Read more on the Argus' coverage of the "toxic legacy" of Ty Llwyd quarry:

• Councillor despairs at lack of action over Ty Llywd quarry
• Heavy rains see 'contaminated' water pouring from Ty Llwyd
• ‘Unbearable stench’ rising from Ty Llwyd Quarry
• Caerphilly Council admit challenge managing Ynysddu quarry

Caerphilly Council, which was handed responsibility of Ty Llwyd after Monsanto’s legacy, do not support the claims of Rev Cawthorne.

In a previous statement, the council say it is closely monitoring and managing what is happening at the quarry.

“Monitoring and sampling continues at the Ty Llwyd site and the surrounding land.

“The next round of monitoring is due to take place in early April and these results will feed into an assessment to determine if the site falls under the legal definition of Contaminated Land.

“The information is also being used to help inform assessments to determine if the site requires a water discharge permit from Natural Resources Wales (NRW). 

“The council is also working with its consultants to determine the cost and feasibility of a range of options for the site.

“Environmental Health will continue to closely monitor the site (and) we will continue to manage the risk going forward.”

The full series of ‘Buried: The Last Witness’ was released on June 17 and is available on BBC Sounds now.