Toxic town impact as most high-risk contaminated sites unchecked

Thousands of sites potentially contaminated with toxic chemicals in Britain have never been checked by councils, a BBC investigation has found.

Nine out of 10 “high-risk” areas have not been tested by councils responding to a BBC Freedom of Information request and scientists fear they could pose a health risk as they are thought to contain substances such as lead or arsenic.

The BBC Shared Data Unit found of 13,093 potentially toxic sites that councils have identified as high risk, only 1,465 have been inspected.

The UK government said local unitary authorities had a statutory duty to inspect potentially contaminated sites but councils claim they do not have the money to do it.