Councillors 'banned' from toxic Ty Llwyd Quarry after raising concerns

Janine Reed and Jan Jones worry about toxic chemicals at a quarry on their patch in Ynysddu, and say that their concerns aren't being heard or taken seriously.

Hello and welcome to The Valleys Lead.

We’re rolling into spring and loving it. Hope you’ve been able to sneak out for a little walk in the dry weather we’ve had this week.

This week, we’ve got a political/environmental/human interest story for you. You might have heard of Ty Llwyd Quarry in the past as there has already been reporting about the toxins present at the site. We’ve got a slightly different angle for you today - one asking why two councillors feel they have been banned from conversations about and actions taken regarding the quarry, which is on their patch in Caerphilly County. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s start.

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The Valleys Briefing

(A little round-up of some stories in brief from our valleys.)

• The number of people being referred to a Welsh council because they are at high risk of domestic violence has gone up by more than 50% in five years. Since 2021, referrals to Rhondda Cynon Taf Council have more than doubled. Gary Black, head of the community wellbeing and resilience service for the council said while they had anticipated a rise during Covid, the numbers have only continued to rise.

• Twelve parks and gardens in Neath Port Talbot will now remain open to the public 24/7 after members of the council agreed to the decision that should cut costs, improve efficiency, and better manage resources. During a trial period, stakeholders indicated there wasn’t an increase in anti-social behaviour or criminal activity.

• A Welsh political journalist we respect, Will Hayward, has scrutinised Reform UK’s plans for Wales. The party wouldn’t allow Hayward to be in the room when they announced their manifesto this week. If you’ve been wondering what Reform are planning for Wales (which will directly impact the south Wales valleys), you’ll want to have a read.

Councillors say they’ve been “banned” from Ty Llwyd Quarry

Two councillors for Ynysddu, in Caerphilly County Borough Council told The Valleys Lead they have been left out of conversations regarding a quarry in their patch that they suspect has highly toxic chemicals, including Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

PCBs are toxic, man-made, hazardous organic chemicals that have dangerous effects on the environment and our health. They persist in the environment for long periods and travel over great distances through air, water, and species that migrate. Manufacturing of PCBs, which were widely used in electric equipment, was banned in the UK in 1981 after tests revealed them to be deadly to humans and wildlife.

Activists have long contended that buried waste left behind by the company Monsanto over 50 years ago at the Ty Llwyd Quarry includes dangerous these dangerous PCBs, among other toxic waste. Residents near the quarry are concerned, leading to Reed’s attempts to question the council’s action (or lack thereof).

“We’re being banned by the council,” Janine Reed told The Valleys Lead. “I find that odd. Our role as councillors is to question offices on how they are managing the council.”

While Janine Reed and her colleague Jan Jones haven’t officially been banned, they have been excluded from conversations and meetings about Ty Llwyd Quarry

Cllr Jan Jones (on left) and Cllr Janine Reed (on right)

Caerphilly County Borough Council have said that while PCBs have been detected in samples taken by Environmental Health, in samples taken in January 2023, no PCBs were detected.

But when Reed requested a map of where the council tested in the woodland below the quarry, the map showed “tests were not taken in the flow of leachate which went down the mountain.”

Although the council declared no toxins had been found, a large green fence was erected to keep people from the quarry, with a ‘private property’ sign attached.

This finding from the council doesn’t match up with the findings from samples Reed sent to David Santillo of Green Peace. In March 2023, Reed collected samples from the woodland around the quarry in plastic bottles.

“They asked if there was anything I could do with them,” Santillo told The Valleys Lead. “As the samples were collected in drinking water bottles and we weren’t around when samples were collected, the findings should be looked at as indicative. I was confident that in the samples we received, there were no questions about the results. The samples were quite contaminated, some of them quite toxic.”

The chemicals found were produced “deliberately” or as “by-products of industrial chlorine chemistry.”

“They are environmentally persistent,” Santillo said. “There is little doubt in my mind that they’ve come from waste disposed of. It is shocking but no surprising. If you’re exposed to even low quantities over an extended period of time, they have the potential to build up and give you severe consequences. If there are leaking into the water, they are probably also steadily being emitted into the air.”

Natural Resources Wales told The Valleys Lead: “We have carried out our own tests and taken multiple samples as part of our own investigation in response to the water discharges that occurred at Ynysddu in Caerphilly in 2024, which have been analysed in our laboratory in Swansea. Caerphilly Council additionally undertook their own independent sampling.

“We will continue to work closely with Caerphilly Council as it evaluates current site conditions, and we will provide technical advice to tackle any issues and protect the environment, local communities and wildlife from the impacts of this legacy.”