Michael Sheen hopes reaction to toxic waste documentary spurs action

Michael Sheen has welcomed the reaction to his documentary investigating Wales’ toxic waste legacy, saying he hopes it pushes the relevant authorities to “find a solution”.

Dozens of people contacted BBC Wales following coverage of Sheen’s investigation into chemical giant Monsanto and the dumping of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

One of them was a former Monsanto worker who spent three years helping to seal toxic waste underground and said staff had “cheap” protective equipment and were not told what they were burying.

Eastman Chemical Company, which is responsible for Monsanto’s legacy production in the UK, did not respond to either Sheen and his team or the BBC when asked to comment.

Asked about the response to the documentary, Sheen said he wanted “to see something actually happen”.

“So getting a response was a really important part of it, and hoping that response would push the people who are in positions to get on with it,” he said.

Sheen said he had received “extraordinary messages” from people who wanted to tell their stories and how they had been affected.

“There’s a lot of stuff for us to follow up,” he said.

Sheen said he hoped “people in the more official areas” would respond as well and “work with us on it”.

“We want to find a solution rather than something that keeps putting people in a position where they have to put breaks on because they can’t afford to get involved in this, so we really want to find a solution to this.”