Overview
- Michael Sheen appeared before the Welsh Affairs Committee to set out the findings of the BBC series and to answer MPs' questions alongside co‑presenters Lucy Taylor and Dan Ashby.
- The documentary relays whistleblower Douglas Gowan’s claim that thousands of tonnes of polychlorinated biphenyls, known as PCBs, were deposited across sites in Wales and north‑west England.
- Volunteers in the programme, including Sheen, had blood tests reported to show multiple PCB congeners, a result Sheen described as shocking and personally motivating.
- Sheen told MPs he had asked to meet the Welsh First Minister before the series aired but was declined, and the Welsh Government has since offered to arrange a meeting while pledging to press the UK Treasury for remediation funding and to reinforce the polluter‑pays principle.
- PCBs are long‑lasting industrial chemicals that are hard to remove and often leave complex legal liability, so the committee hearing may lead to formal evidence gathering, policy recommendations, or calls for targeted funding and cleanup for affected communities.