‘I kept smelling a horrible nasty smell’: the risks of England’s old dumping grounds
“I just kept smelling this horrible, nasty smell … like animal excrement, and I was wondering what it was,” says Jess Brown, from Fleetwood, Lancashire.Brown’s mother suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and she believes the smells make it worse. She also worries for her eight-year-old daughter, whose asthma worsens when the odour seeps indoors.The stench was traced to the Jameson Road landfill, reopened by Transwaste Recycling & Aggregates Limited in late 2023, after the previous owners Suez stopped accepting waste in 2017. The Environment Agency says that reopening long‑inactive landfills can release gases including hydrogen sulphide, which produces a “rotten egg” odour.Determined to act, Brown launched a Facebook group that quickly drew more than 4,000 members reporting headaches, nausea, and breathing problems.Thousands of odour complaints followed, prompting an enforcement order in April 2024 to curb hydrogen sulphide emissions, which have been linked to health problems including respiratory and eye irritation, as well as neurological and cardiovascular effects.Jess Brown and her mother Janice. Jess believes the smell from Jameson Road landfill exacerbates her mother’s chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Photograph: Jess BrownAfter partial compliance, Transwaste resumed tipping at the site, which sits in an erosion and flood zone on the banks of the protected River Wyre. This prompted a second enforcement order six weeks after the first.In March this year, the company’s licence was suspended until new gas extraction infrastructure was installed. This took place in April, and topsoil is still being added to the site to reduce emissions. The Environment Agency says pollutant levels generally remain within health limits, though odours continue to cause discomfort.Barbara Kneale, a retired doctor who lives near the site, said: “Fleetwood is classed as a deprived area and has twice the national average of chronic respiratory diseases … people with diseases, like asthma or chronic obstructive airways have exacerbations of their symptoms. Kids haven’t been able to play out.”Nor is air quality the only concern. The Guardian and Watershed Investigations found waste legally dumped at Jameson Road landfill by AGC Chemicals until 2014 contained the potentially carcinogenic “forever chemical” perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which has since been banned. The site also borders a former ICI landfill, which is thought to have received PFOA waste for decades.Retired doctor and Fleetwood resident Barbara Kneale outside Jameson Road landfill. Photograph: Barbara KnealeSampling of water next to both landfills carried out by Watershed suggested the sites are leaching forever chemicals, more properly known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), into the Wyre.David Megson of Manchester Metropolitan University said: “These PFAS results are a cause for concern, with concentrations of PFOA 5-10 times above environmental quality standards. This would indicate that those landfill sites do contain PFAS, and that [they] are leaking out.“The landfills are situated right next to the coast, so with increasing sea levels there is concern that the situation could get worse.”Someone familiar with ICI’s chlorine-producing Hillhouse site on the edge of Fleetwood in the 1970s, who preferred to remain anonymous, said: “Effluent from different parts of Hillhouse was disposed of in the ICI landfill. It was massive.“It was a system of open, shallow lagoons. One was a lake of acid. Parts of the waste was liquid sludge and some white solids went in there … There was no lining in the landfill.”Though a multi-agency probe into AGC Chemicals found PFOA in nearby soil and warned against eating local produce, the landfill itself remains excluded from investigation. The Environment Agency says it will act only if there is evidence not only that contaminants are present in hazardous amounts but also that they could likely spread harmfully.Jameson Road landfill is expected to operate until 2027. Photograph: Leana HoseaHowever, the community wants the site shut as soon as possible, even if it risks a repeat of the situation at Walleys Quarry landfill in Staffordshire. Here, the operator went bust and sidestepped costs after a closure order, leaving the Environment Agency responsible for managing the site.“I think it will be the same situation even if it closes when it’s meant to,” Brown says, referring to the end of Transwaste’s lease in 2027. “It’ll be left to the Environment Agency or the taxpayer [to foot the bill for long-term management].“It’ll probably be an issue for years to come, but it’s better to close it now than add more and more damage to what’s already going to happen.”skip past newsletter promotionThe planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essentialPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionAccording to Transwaste, the older hazardous landfill is closed and capped with an impermeable layer of clay, meaning gas and leachate (liquid that has percolated through the waste) is fully contained, and the only run-off would be uncontaminated rainwater.It said: “To claim that there have been odours for 18 months is not correct. We acknowledge that there have been occasional odours which have coincided with essential engineering works on site.“The ongoing Environment Agency air quality monitoring survey concluded that emissions were largely insignificant and air quality is well within WHO [World Health Organisation] and UK regulatory safety standards.”In reference to the sampling that found PFOA, Transwaste said the tests were carried out in a spot regularly covered by the River Wyre, which is known to already have high levels of PFOA contamination as a legacy of the chemicals industry, “so a PFOA reading is not unexpected”.It added: “To put this into context, the test result showed 560 nanograms per litre (ng/l), whereas the River Wyre, when tested in 2021, had levels of PFAS/PFOA measured at 12,100 ng/l, with fish in the river containing 11,000 ng/l.”Transwaste said that the area had been used as settlement lagoons for the chemicals industry since the 1940s, before being used for landfill, and so “again, PFAS/PFOA readings would not be unexpected in the vicinity”.NPL Group, which manages the former ICI landfill, declined to comment.Wyre Borough Council said: “There are no plans to renew the lease held by Transwaste Recycling and Aggregates Ltd beyond its current lifespan, which is due to end in March 2027. Transwaste is legally obligated to remediate the site as part of its planning consent.”Paul Jackson lives next to a former landfill site in Cheshire. Photograph: suppliedElsewhere, there are concerns that older landfills predating pollution laws may also contaminate groundwater, rivers and even drinking water.At the former Commonside landfill in Cheshire last year, levels of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), which have been linked to immune, reproductive, nervous, and endocrine harm, were found to be 1,000 times above UK norms. PCBs have polluted the area’s streams since the 1970s and, despite a fine being issued to the site’s owner in 1994, no cleanup followed. The council is now reassessing the site.“It’s a sham,” says local farmer Paul Jackson, who lives next door to the Commonside landfill, which closed in the 1970s. “There’s three quarters of a million tonnes of chemicals, rubble and waste, and 50 different chemicals that’ve been tipped in there.” He added that sludge regularly comes off the tip, causing him to worry it could pollute the drinking water.United Utilities, which manages water supply in the north-west, said water quality has remained good. It added: “Since being made aware of concerns about PCBs [in the area], we have conducted enhanced testing, these were also clear. We will continue to carry out these additional tests.”
For some, the smell brings on nausea and headaches. Others fear ‘forever chemicals’ seeping into the waterUK and Europe’s hidden landfills at risk of leaking toxic waste into water supplies“I just kept smelling this horrible, nasty smell … like animal excrement, and I was wondering what it was,” says Jess Brown, from Fleetwood, Lancashire.Brown’s mother suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and she believes the smells make it worse. She also worries for her eight-year-old daughter, whose asthma worsens when the odour seeps indoors. Continue reading...
“I just kept smelling this horrible, nasty smell … like animal excrement, and I was wondering what it was,” says Jess Brown, from Fleetwood, Lancashire.
Brown’s mother suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and she believes the smells make it worse. She also worries for her eight-year-old daughter, whose asthma worsens when the odour seeps indoors.
The stench was traced to the Jameson Road landfill, reopened by Transwaste Recycling & Aggregates Limited in late 2023, after the previous owners Suez stopped accepting waste in 2017. The Environment Agency says that reopening long‑inactive landfills can release gases including hydrogen sulphide, which produces a “rotten egg” odour.
Determined to act, Brown launched a Facebook group that quickly drew more than 4,000 members reporting headaches, nausea, and breathing problems.
Thousands of odour complaints followed, prompting an enforcement order in April 2024 to curb hydrogen sulphide emissions, which have been linked to health problems including respiratory and eye irritation, as well as neurological and cardiovascular effects.
After partial compliance, Transwaste resumed tipping at the site, which sits in an erosion and flood zone on the banks of the protected River Wyre. This prompted a second enforcement order six weeks after the first.
In March this year, the company’s licence was suspended until new gas extraction infrastructure was installed. This took place in April, and topsoil is still being added to the site to reduce emissions. The Environment Agency says pollutant levels generally remain within health limits, though odours continue to cause discomfort.
Barbara Kneale, a retired doctor who lives near the site, said: “Fleetwood is classed as a deprived area and has twice the national average of chronic respiratory diseases … people with diseases, like asthma or chronic obstructive airways have exacerbations of their symptoms. Kids haven’t been able to play out.”
Nor is air quality the only concern. The Guardian and Watershed Investigations found waste legally dumped at Jameson Road landfill by AGC Chemicals until 2014 contained the potentially carcinogenic “forever chemical” perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which has since been banned. The site also borders a former ICI landfill, which is thought to have received PFOA waste for decades.
Sampling of water next to both landfills carried out by Watershed suggested the sites are leaching forever chemicals, more properly known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), into the Wyre.
David Megson of Manchester Metropolitan University said: “These PFAS results are a cause for concern, with concentrations of PFOA 5-10 times above environmental quality standards. This would indicate that those landfill sites do contain PFAS, and that [they] are leaking out.
“The landfills are situated right next to the coast, so with increasing sea levels there is concern that the situation could get worse.”
Someone familiar with ICI’s chlorine-producing Hillhouse site on the edge of Fleetwood in the 1970s, who preferred to remain anonymous, said: “Effluent from different parts of Hillhouse was disposed of in the ICI landfill. It was massive.
“It was a system of open, shallow lagoons. One was a lake of acid. Parts of the waste was liquid sludge and some white solids went in there … There was no lining in the landfill.”
Though a multi-agency probe into AGC Chemicals found PFOA in nearby soil and warned against eating local produce, the landfill itself remains excluded from investigation. The Environment Agency says it will act only if there is evidence not only that contaminants are present in hazardous amounts but also that they could likely spread harmfully.
However, the community wants the site shut as soon as possible, even if it risks a repeat of the situation at Walleys Quarry landfill in Staffordshire. Here, the operator went bust and sidestepped costs after a closure order, leaving the Environment Agency responsible for managing the site.
“I think it will be the same situation even if it closes when it’s meant to,” Brown says, referring to the end of Transwaste’s lease in 2027. “It’ll be left to the Environment Agency or the taxpayer [to foot the bill for long-term management].
“It’ll probably be an issue for years to come, but it’s better to close it now than add more and more damage to what’s already going to happen.”
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According to Transwaste, the older hazardous landfill is closed and capped with an impermeable layer of clay, meaning gas and leachate (liquid that has percolated through the waste) is fully contained, and the only run-off would be uncontaminated rainwater.
It said: “To claim that there have been odours for 18 months is not correct. We acknowledge that there have been occasional odours which have coincided with essential engineering works on site.
“The ongoing Environment Agency air quality monitoring survey concluded that emissions were largely insignificant and air quality is well within WHO [World Health Organisation] and UK regulatory safety standards.”
In reference to the sampling that found PFOA, Transwaste said the tests were carried out in a spot regularly covered by the River Wyre, which is known to already have high levels of PFOA contamination as a legacy of the chemicals industry, “so a PFOA reading is not unexpected”.
It added: “To put this into context, the test result showed 560 nanograms per litre (ng/l), whereas the River Wyre, when tested in 2021, had levels of PFAS/PFOA measured at 12,100 ng/l, with fish in the river containing 11,000 ng/l.”
Transwaste said that the area had been used as settlement lagoons for the chemicals industry since the 1940s, before being used for landfill, and so “again, PFAS/PFOA readings would not be unexpected in the vicinity”.
NPL Group, which manages the former ICI landfill, declined to comment.
Wyre Borough Council said: “There are no plans to renew the lease held by Transwaste Recycling and Aggregates Ltd beyond its current lifespan, which is due to end in March 2027. Transwaste is legally obligated to remediate the site as part of its planning consent.”
Elsewhere, there are concerns that older landfills predating pollution laws may also contaminate groundwater, rivers and even drinking water.
At the former Commonside landfill in Cheshire last year, levels of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), which have been linked to immune, reproductive, nervous, and endocrine harm, were found to be 1,000 times above UK norms. PCBs have polluted the area’s streams since the 1970s and, despite a fine being issued to the site’s owner in 1994, no cleanup followed. The council is now reassessing the site.
“It’s a sham,” says local farmer Paul Jackson, who lives next door to the Commonside landfill, which closed in the 1970s. “There’s three quarters of a million tonnes of chemicals, rubble and waste, and 50 different chemicals that’ve been tipped in there.” He added that sludge regularly comes off the tip, causing him to worry it could pollute the drinking water.
United Utilities, which manages water supply in the north-west, said water quality has remained good. It added: “Since being made aware of concerns about PCBs [in the area], we have conducted enhanced testing, these were also clear. We will continue to carry out these additional tests.”