Dozens of workers at a former 3M factory in Swansea were exposed for decades to toxic “forever chemicals” through firefighting foam, despite the company’s long-standing knowledge of their health risks, a BBC investigation has revealed.
BBC File on 4 Investigates found that employees at the Gorseinon site were never warned that aqueous firefighting foam (AFFF) used in routine training contained PFOS and PFOA, chemicals now classified as carcinogenic and banned in the UK.
The factory, which opened in 1952, was once 3M’s largest manufacturing facility outside the United States. At its peak, it employed more than 1,000 workers from across south Wales, producing items including nappy fastenings and videotape.
Among those exposed were members of the factory’s internal “fire party,” a group of workers selected annually to act as on-site emergency responders. These employees undertook monthly firefighting drills involving chemical fires and foam suppression.
Ian, a former employee who spent 40 years at the plant, said workers were never told the foam contained hazardous substances. “We were like part-time firemen,” he said. “Nobody ever mentioned chemicals or long-term risks.”
In 2023, as 3M prepared to close the site and redevelop the land, documents submitted to the local council revealed extensive contamination. A land report showed soil polluted with PFOS and PFOA, chemicals that do not break down in the environment.
The report attributed the contamination to “historic firefighting activities” rather than chemical manufacturing on site. Tests found PFOS concentrations ranging from 50 to more than 1,500 micrograms per kilogram in the soil.
According to environmental scientist Dr David Megson of Manchester Metropolitan University, the findings are deeply concerning. He said levels above 600 micrograms per kilogram may pose health risks through skin contact or inhalation of contaminated dust.
PFOS and PFOA, part of the wider PFAS family, have been linked to liver damage, cardiovascular disease, immune system impairment and harm to developing foetuses. In 2024, the World Health Organization classified PFOA as carcinogenic and PFOS as possibly carcinogenic.
Evidence suggests 3M was aware of the dangers as early as the 1960s. Internal documents released during US litigation in the late 1990s showed elevated PFAS levels in workers’ blood and potential cancer links.
Rob Bilott, the US lawyer who led landmark litigation against 3M, said the company’s own animal studies revealed severe toxicity decades ago. “Multiple species were dying in tests by the late 1970s,” he said.
Despite announcing in 2002 that it would stop manufacturing PFOS and PFOA, 3M failed to fully remove the chemicals from its operations in Swansea. This oversight contributed to an environmental incident four years later, the BBC investigation found.
For families of former workers, the revelations have reopened old wounds. Cheryl, whose father worked at the factory for decades and served on the fire party, said he was diagnosed with kidney cancer in his early 40s.
“He was never ill, never off work,” she said. After treatment, he briefly returned to his job before retiring early. The cancer later returned, and he died aged 54.
While kidney cancer has multiple causes, WHO research indicates that significant exposure to PFOS and PFOA likely increases the risk. Epidemiologist Dr Steve Hajioff said links to kidney and testicular cancer are among the strongest associations.
Dr Hajioff chairs an independent panel investigating PFAS contamination in Jersey’s water supply, also linked to firefighting foam. “You can’t say it’s impossible exposure played a role,” he said. “In some conditions, the evidence is compelling.”
In a statement, 3M said the health and safety of workers and their families were “critical priorities” and that it remains committed to environmental responsibility.
Campaigners and former employees are now calling for further investigations into occupational exposure and long-term health monitoring, as concerns grow over the legacy of PFAS contamination left behind at industrial sites across the UK.
