Residents near Lancashire chemicals plant told to wash homegrown produce

Exclusive: council issues advisory as investigation begins and documents reveal estimates of PFOA emissionsPeople living near a chemicals plant in Lancashire have been told to wash and peel vegetables from their gardens before eating them, while an investigation into potential contamination of soil in the area with a banned toxic chemical gets under way.The chemical PFOA, one of the PFAS family of about 15,000 chemicals, does not break down in the environment and last year was categorised as a human carcinogen by the World Health Organization. It is also toxic to reproduction and has been linked to a range of health problems such as thyroid disease and increased cholesterol. Continue reading...