Walk Around Wales

I was made aware of PSP in early March 2021 on a Facebook post by the daughter of a deceased parent of one of the East Glynneath Residents Against Contamination group. She indicated that a near neighbour also part of the group had also died of the same neurological disorder, PSP. I undertook initial research on the subject and found that it was a rare disorder and that a potential cluster had occurred in our street. Our street 'Brynhyfryd' borders the Heol y Glyn landfill site that has planning permission for a housing development.

Brynhyfryd is a street of 62 houses, 17 of which border the development directly. I have not undertaken extensive research into the illnesses and disorders of the complete street or of all the 17 houses but already have identified within those 17 houses 2 deaths from PSP, several instances of cancer deaths, sudden heart attacks, a birth mutation and another extremely rare neurological disorder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superficial_siderosis .

In early April I confirmed the cause of death of the two residents by collecting resident testimonies and death certificate information. Both residents died of pneumonia, a complication which can be caused by progressive supranuclear palsy (NHS website).

The incidences or national average of PSP cases in the UK are 1 in 100,000 people. Glynneath is a town of just under 5,000 people. This being the case, the expected rate of PSP occurring in Glynneath is 1 case in every 20 years or 2 cases in 40.

That 2 cases have occurred in a group of 5 houses diagnosed within 2 years of each other is a serious cause for concern and can be considered as a cluster.

We take the meaning of a cluster here to be:

"A cluster is the occurrence of a greater than expected number of cases of a particular disease within a group of people, a geographic area, or a period of time." - (source - CLICK HERE)

Research into PSP clusters show that the only previously recorded cluster in the French town of Wattrelos concluded that:

"We have identified a cluster of PSP in a geographical area with severe environmental contamination by industrial metals." (source - CLICK HERE)

I have taken the following quotes from the same paper which are relevant to the Glynneath cluster:

"Wattrelos is a town in northern France where textile dyeing plants and tanneries operated for most of the 20th century, using arsenic and chromate from the nearby chemical plants. Arsenic and hexavalent chromium contamination have been documented in the soils of the sites of former plants in Wattrelos and Leers, where the cluster of PSP cases described in this report live."

"Arsenic, a potential neurotoxin, has been found in the soil at the sites of the former chemical plants in Wattrelos and is present in the phosphate ore formerly processed there, as described also in [Arsenic pollution in Multan] Pakistan. Contamination with chromium is common in Wattrelos, but we consider it to be a less likely candidate as a neurotoxin although a synergistic toxicity with arsenic is possible."

Both chromium and arsenic have been found in chemical testing at the Heol y Glyn landfill site. Cuddy Group Ltd, the demolition company that previously owned the site had demolition contracts within the steel industry and chemical industry during the period in which they tipped at the site. They were specialists in the removal of asbestos and there are residents eyewitness reports of asbestos and sealed barrels potentially containing toxic waste being tipped at the site.

One eyewitness report can be found by resident Nigel Taylor can be found on youtube - https://youtu.be/uugKZC7N7Cs)

The site was chemically tested in 2008 and found to be contaminated. This contamination was never remediated and the information remained hidden in the council archives until I discovered it in 2020.

The council had a duty to investigate this contamination further and by not doing so I believe they breached the 1990 Environmental Protection Act.

EAST GLYNNEATH - RESIDENTS AGAINST CONTAMINATION - REPORT - CLICK HERE

Most of this info is explained on a video - https://youtu.be/OcqDYTulk8s

During the planning committee meeting of 8 September 2020, the current Neath Port Talbot Contaminated Land Officer indicated that the testing of the land in 2008 and 2019 was limited, shallow and his opinion was that the sampling was not sufficient enough considering the site as a whole. This confirms the findings of the EGRAC report that the land was identified as a danger to human health and therefore further testing should have taken place.

The youtube channel of the Cuddy Group CLICK HERE of the demolition company shows some of the demolition locations - CLICK HERE.

CONCLUSION:

EXPECTATION: If we refer to the national average of 2 expected cases of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy happening in Glynneath within a 40 year period and the actual incidences of 2 cases of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy happening within 50 metres of each other in a single street diagnosed within a period of 2 years. We will see that an investigation in the circumstances relating to these incidents should be undertaken by the relevant authorities.

CIRCUMSTANCES and ENVIRONMENT: If we then look at the location of this street on the edge of an industrial landfill site and the several years of unregulated tipping by the owners of the site, a specialist industrial waste disposal company. This combined with evidence of a historical failure to treat contamination identified at that site in accordance with land contamination protocol set by the local council. It must be considered that this contamination is the probable cause for the deaths of the two residents. An investigation in the circumstances relating to these deaths should be undertaken by the relevant authorities.

RELEVANT AUTHORITIES: The relevant authorities who exist to support the residents bordering the Heol y Glyn development, namely Natural Resources Wales, Neath Port Talbot Council, Glynneath Town Council, have refused to investigate the concerns of the East Glynneath Residents Against Contamination group. Their actions in relation to our concerns can be shown to be covering up any illegal tipping that may have occurred at the site. The identified Neath Port Talbot Council malpractice in relation to the potential breach of the 1990 Environmental Protection Act is being covered up by a coalition of council staff and elected councillors contrary to UK, Welsh and local government guidelines on the duties of public office holders.

locations & death certificate relevant information

Contamination youtube playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgZICAvXkAMuWdc-mlXvAE3gWErDt88ZH