Health Queries Over ‘Elevated’ Lead Levels

Wrexham.com was passed information regarding land contamination on former smelting sites in Coedpoeth & Brymbo by GP’s who have been warned residents could come to them with health queries.

We understand that GP’s have been given information on how to deal with residents who present themselves with health concerns relating to recent sampling results, and the Council have prepared a ‘Question and Answer” sheet earlier this month for use in the area – a copy can be found here.

We asked the Council if it was possible to have detail on what the initial risk assessments have found, and what defines an ‘elevated concentration’ of lead.

We also asked how many properties have been tested and how many remain to be tested, and who had been given the Q&A sheet.

The Council was unable to answer these points however issued the following statement to us yesterday afternoon:

“Wrexham County Borough Council has a statutory duty to identify land that may be contaminated from past industrial activities, every local authority in the UK also has the same duty. The Council has announced that it has undertaken contamination assessment works on two former lead smelters in Wrexham County Borough.

“The former lead smelters ceased operation in the mid to late 1800s and are no longer evident on the sites. It can be the case with old industries that some ground contamination is left on the land. The Council is required to assess this to establish whether it is unacceptable and to see if remedial works need to be undertaken. The Council is continuing to work with the residents concerned to resolve any issues identified.

“Robert Johnston, Principal Environmental Protection and Enforcement Manager, said “Many sites in the UK have undergone contamination assessments just like this and the Council prides itself in taking a very pro-active approach in dealing with these types of issues.”

“Further information about the Council’s Contaminated Land Strategy can be found on the Public Protection web pages.”

The Q&A page states “Living on contaminated soils does not automatically mean that the chemicals in the soil will affect your health. Even if land does have raised levels of chemicals this does not necessarily mean that the people living on this land will have been exposed to harmful amounts of the chemicals present.”