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Only 82 sites in Wales have been officially classified as contaminated by local councils(Image: Friends of the Earth Cymru)<\/p>\nThe impact this poses to humans and wildlife is unknownOnly 82 sites in Wales have been officially classified as contaminated by local councils(Image: Friends of the Earth Cymru)<\/p>\n
Over 45,000 land sites in Wales may be contaminated with toxic waste, research has found. The sites have not been properly inspected and therefore pose a serious threat to people, water and wildlife.<\/a><\/p>\n Friends of the Earth Cymru, who conducted the research, are now calling for a public inquiry into the scale and impact of contaminated land in Wales. They said that such land could sit beneath homes, schools, parks and nature areas <\/a>but the risk to human health and wildlife is unknown.<\/p>\n Only 82 sites in Wales have been formally classified as contaminated by local councils, including 27 in Caerphilly<\/a> and 18 in Merthyr Tydfil. For the biggest stories in Wales first, sign up to our daily newsletter<\/a> here.<\/p>\n However, the truth of the matter could be far more serious with research finding 45,157 potentially contaminated sites. Friends of the Earth have identified 10,000 in Powys, 6,563 in Carmarthenshire<\/a> and 6,000 in Neath <\/a>Port Talbot<\/a>.<\/p>\n Friends of the Earth said that many local councils partial or entire failure to publish contaminated land information leads to an “alarming postcode lottery” across Wales.<\/p>\n Contaminated land is largely caused by Wales’ industrial past including from factories, mining and landfill which leave behind heavy metals, oils and tars, chemical substances, gases and radioactive substances.<\/p>\n