‘Are these chemicals in my blood?’: How one community learned the truth about Pfas pollution
Sam Hammond with her rare ducks in her garden at home in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The GuardianView image in fullscreenSam Hammond with her rare ducks in her garden at home in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire. Pfoa was emitted in huge quantities from the AGC Chemicals factory up until 2012.The level of Pfas in one of Sam’s duck eggs was so high that if she ate just one a week, it would exceed the European safe level 10 times over.
- ▪Sam Hammond with her rare ducks in her garden at home in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire.
- ▪Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The GuardianView image in fullscreenSam Hammond with her rare ducks in her garden at home in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire.
- ▪Pfoa was emitted in huge quantities from the AGC Chemicals factory up until 2012.The level of Pfas in one of Sam’s duck eggs was so high that if she ate just one a week, it would exceed the European safe level 10 times over.
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| Original publisher | The Guardian — World |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/28/blackpool-community-pfas-pollution-forever-chemicals |
| Publication time | Mon, 28 Sep 2026 14:54:50 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-09-28T15:27:23.499Z |
| Last seen | 2026-09-28T15:27:23.499Z |
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| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
| Citation coverage | Summary is a WeSearch-generated derivative; primary citation is the original publisher URL. |
| Cluster | Y5XcQ_F6QDxE · 1 stories |
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| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
| Substitutes article? | No — link-out required for full text |
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| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Sam Hammond with her rare ducks in her garden at home in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The GuardianView image in fullscreenSam Hammond with her rare ducks in her garden at home in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The GuardianPfas‘Are these chemicals in my blood?’: How one community learned the truth about Pfas pollutionPeople living next to a chemicals plant near Blackpool were tested for ‘forever chemicals’; last week they received the alarming resultsPippa Neill Environment reporterMon 28 Sep 2026 10.54 EDTLast modified on Mon 28 Sep 2026 11.26 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleLast February, I got a call from a woman called Sam Hammond.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Guardian — World.
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