The town of High Bentham lies on the River Wenning, just West of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and on the northern edge of the Forest of Bowland. Bentham is a busy market town with a population of 3,000 people, 

located in stunning natural surroundings. 

The town is surrounded by rolling hills, including the Yorkshire Three Peaks, lush green fields, and babbling brooks, making it an ideal destination for hikers, cyclists, and nature lovers.  Visitors can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales National Park, which is home to some of the most breathtaking scenery in the UK, or take a walk along the River Wenning, which winds its way through the town. 

Bentham is also home to Angus Fire Ltd., owned by Angus International Safety Group Limited, which employs 100 people locally, and has been producing firefighting foams at a factory close to the town centre since the 1970s. 

A recent article in the Guardian alerted the community to dangerous chemicals, PFAS, historically used in the firefighting foams. PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a group of over 10,000 industrial chemicals used in a huge range of consumer products, from frying pans to waterproof coats, but one of their most prolific uses is in firefighting foams. 

PFAS are often referred to as the ‘forever chemicals’ because they are near indestructible in the environment or in our bodies, PFAS are toxic and can cause harm to both humans and wildlife. These chemicals have been linked to a wide range of serious illnesses, including certain cancers and certain PFAs have been made illegal in the UK, under the Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulations 2007.

Data obtained by the Guardian, has revealed for the first time that the highest known levels of PFA contamination in the UK has been recorded in the groundwater on Angus Fire’s Bentham site. Among these chemicals are PFOAS and PFOS, forever chemicals, with known health impacts. 

Since its purchase from an American Firm in 2013 Angus Fire has repeatedly breached its environmental permits, with one permit breached 20 times.

In 2023 the firm was warned by the Environment Agency it's PFA Permit could be suspended after the regulator found unpermitted discharges of PFAS to the environment of Bentham and the River Wenning. 

Angus Fire is required to test the soil and the groundwater on its site, the results of this testing show that in 2008 the groundwater samples recorded a PFAS sum of 1,199,000 micrograms per litre.

The UK Government’s environment standard for PFOS and PFAS is 0.01 micrograms per litre.

This is 55,538 times lower than that recorded at the Angus Fire site, the samples were taken from near Angus Fire’s wastewater lagoons, which until 2020 received the contaminated runoff from the firefighting product testing. 

These lagoons are close to residential housing and grazing land. Soil samples taken in 2018 also had concentrations well above what is considered normal.

The Bentham community is deeply concerned about the pollution and that it has not been made aware of these issues previously. It's only due to the report in the Guardian Newspaper that the seriousness of the pollution has come to light to the people of Bentham, most of whom have been living in the town for generations. 

The community is coming together and has created this group which aims to undertake independent testing, source legal assistance, support for those with health conditions caused by the pollution and clean the local environment. 

The community, and Cleaner Bentham Steering Committee, look forward to working with Angus Fire, the Environment Agency, Town Council, North Yorkshire County Council, and the Water Authorities to better understand the emerging issues, the environmental impact and how and if these can be resolved.

Cleaner Bentham is a group of concerned Residents and Business owners who currently live in and have lived in the small town of Bentham in North Yorkshire.

We have got together so we can learn how bad the pollution situation is without relying on information that can be manipulated or white (or green) washed by corporate entities and people who may have a conflict of interest in the potential pollution of our town, that may have been occurring for the best part of 50 years.

We are putting together the pieces of information that have been gathered from a multitude of official sources and gaining the advice of experts in the relevant fields.