At least 45,000 sites in Wales could be contaminated with toxic waste, study says

Published on September 1, 2025 at 11:01 PM
At least 45,000 sites in Wales could be contaminated with toxic waste, study says

Campaigners say only 82 sites have been fully examined and classified as contaminated, so scale of threat not known

Research from Friends of the Earth Cymru has found that at least 45,000 sites across Wales could be contaminated with toxic waste but have never been adequately inspected, leaving communities and wildlife vulnerable to a potential environmental crisis.

Despite Wales’s extensive industrial history, Tuesday’s publication found that due to a lack of funding and oversight, only 82 sites across the country have ever been fully examined and classified as contaminated, meaning the actual scale of the threat is unknown.

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