With election day upon us, take a listen to this episode of the Eco Chamber Podcast, where @jamesxparsons and I chatted to Kitty Thompson from the Conservative Environment Network, Paul McNamee from Labour Climate and Environment Forum and DEFRA non-executive Ben Goldsmith about how the local elections could influence green policy.
Link to the full podcast episode here ⤵️
https://lnkd.in/dbGVjAjY
This week, I had the honour of attending the Amnesty International Media Awards alongside the amazing team behind Boy Wasted.
Our podcast, which exposed how the death of a young Afghan refugee in Turkey is connected to British waste, was shortlisted in the radio and podcasts category, and while we didn’t take home the award, being recognised among finalists from The Guardian, the BBC and BBC Radio 4 felt incredibly special. Celebrating that achievement together in person made the evening even more meaningful.
The ceremony itself was both moving and eye-opening. Hearing the stories behind the shortlisted work reinforced just how vital investigative journalism is - not only in exposing injustice, but in protecting the role of a free press.
Tess Colley, Jamie Carpenter, @dan_ashby_journo , @lucytaylor_pro , Adnan R. Khan and Jarek Zaba.
A few weeks ago I had the honour of moderating a panel about PFAS at @clientearth_ 's global summit.
We had a really interesting discussion about the scale of the PFAS problem globally and what can be done about it.
You can watch the session on demand now via ClientEarth's website!
Throughout the process of making 'In Our Blood: The Forever Chemicals Scandal', our key question was whether this known environmental scandal was also a human health scandal.
Listen to my conversation with Martha Elwell, the director of the documentary, on the Eco Chamber Podcast to hear us discuss the behind the scenes of making this film.
You can also watch the full documentary on ITVX now!
In 2024, I exposed that the small rural town of Bentham in North Yorkshire was contaminated with the highest levels of PFAS ever known to be recorded in the UK.
Our recent ITV documentary: 'In Our Blood: The Forever Chemicals Scandal' has revealed that residents in the town have high PFAS levels in their blood.
In an article for the @ends.report I have outlined why I think exposing this scandal should never have been my job ⬇️
/article/1952796/i-exposed-pfas-scandal-its-raised-questions-journalists-alone-not-left-answer
Our podcast Boy Wasted is in the final of the Amnesty Media Awards!
Boy Wasted follows the death of a young boy, Arifullah, whose body was tragically found in a plastic recycling plant in Turkey.
As a team of international journalists, we followed this story to reveal what Arifullah's death has to do with British waste.
Listen to Boy Wasted on any podcast platforms
Credit to award winning podcast producers, @dan_ashby_journo and @lucytaylor_pro at @smoketrailprod , Adnan Khan from De Groene Amsterdammer and Tess Colley and Jamie Carpenter at @ends.report
Last Sunday, ITV broadcast 'In Our Blood: The Forever Chemicals Scandal' - a new documentary produced in collaboration with The ENDS Report exposing the "alarming" levels of PFAS in the blood of residents in the small rural Yorkshire town of Bentham.
If you'd like to hear more about the making of this documentary, then listen to the latest episode of the Eco Chamber Podcast, where @jamesxparsons speaks with Martha Elwell - the documentary's hugely talented director - and me about the story behind the film, the investigation, our work with the community and what it took to bring it to screen.
Thomas Davies.
Featured in 'In Our Blood: The Forever Chemicals Scandal', his house backs onto the Angus Fire factory in Bentham.
The PFAS level in his blood is 28 ng/ml, this is significantly higher than the US risk threshold of 2 ng/ml.
He is now left wondering how he may have been exposed to these chemicals, and whether eating fruit grown in his garden may have been a pathway to exposure.
Our documentary follows residents as they come to terms with the contamination in their town.
Watch the full documentary on ITVX now.
Great to see @itvnews and @weather_gram covering our new documentary: 'In Our Blood: The Forever Chemicals Scandal' on the news last night!
Watch the full documentary on ITVX now.
🚨 In case you missed it last night, our new documentary 'In Our Blood: The Forever Chemicals Scandal' is now available to watch on ITVX.
In May 2024, I wrote an article for the @ends.report exposing the sky-high levels of PFAS contamination in the small rural town of Bentham.
PFAS are commonly known as forever chemicals because of their persistence in the environment. They have been linked to a wide range of serious illnesses, including some cancers. They are used in a variety of consumer products but one of their most prolific uses is in firefighting foam.
Bentham is home to Angus Fire, a factory that has historically produced PFAS firefighting foam.
When I first found out about the contamination in Bentham, I knew it was signicant and that this was an important story to tell, but I never thought it would lead to hear.
Over the past nine months, I have been working with the amazing ITV Exposure team to follow this small community as they have searched for answers. For the documentary, 39 residents in Bentham and current and former employees at Angus Fire volunteered to have their blood tested for PFAS. This is the first time a UK community has ever had their blood tested for PFAS. The results have been described by a leading expert as "staggering".
The highest PFAS level recorded was 405ng/ml. This is more than 200 times higher than the US risk level of 2ng/ml.
Working on this documentary has been the biggest privilege. We have travelled to the US to interview lawyers such as Rob Billot who first lifted the lid on the global PFAS scandal in the late 90s, and we have worked closely with residents in Bentham who have trusted us to tell their stories.
"No one should have to live like this", writes Jack Seale in his four star review of the documentary for The Guardian. Elsewhere The Guardian has described it as an "essential documentary".
