// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Toxic waste sites exposed in Michael Sheen documentary 'tip of the iceberg'
Michael Sheen took up the job of investigating Douglas Gowan's concerns about an international chemical giant dumping carcinogenic waste in Wales
A former Monsanto worker who spent three years helping seal toxic waste underground said staff had "cheap" protective equipment and were not told what they were burying.
Stephen Constance worked at the chemical giant's Newport factory in the 1990s and came forward after the BBC documentary Buried with Michael Sheen highlighted Wales' toxic waste legacy.
But the 14 sites identified in the programme are just the tip of the iceberg and there are about 20,000 high-concern sites in the UK, said Dr David Megson, the scientist involved in the documentary.
Eastman Chemical Company, which is responsible for Monsanto's legacy production in the UK, did not respond when asked to comment.
Constance was one of dozens of people who contacted BBC Wales after coverage of Sheen's investigation into Monsanto and the dumping of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
Researcher and whistleblower Douglas Gowan spent 50 years trying to persuade authorities to investigate what he believed was widespread dumping of industrial chemicals.
These included PCBs, which he called "some of the worst contaminants known to man", and were widely used in the 20th Century, including for lipstick and white goods.
They were banned in the UK in the 1970s and have since been banned by 151 countries.
Douglas Gowan spent 50 years trying to make people listen to his concerns about chemical contamination in Wales