‘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. Sam Hammond with her rare ducks in her garden at home in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire. Pfas ‘Are these chemicals in my blood?’: How one community learned the truth about Pfas pollution People living next to a chemicals plant near Blackpool were tested for ‘forever chemicals’; last week they received the alarming results

Pippa Neill Environment reporter Mon 28 Sep 2026 10.54 EDT Last modified on Mon 28 Sep 2026 10.56 EDT Share Prefer the Guardian on Google L ast February, I got a call from a woman called Sam Hammond. We had been speaking on and off for a while over her growing concern that her garden could be affected by pollution from a nearby chemical plant.