Ten days into starting my PhD to research trace metal pollution, I found myself at a beautiful small private farm in rural Wales. A clear stream flowed past lush pastures and copses of trees, while sheep and horses grazed nearby. Even the nearby abandoned mine site, the reason for my visit, looked more like an old ruin than a toxic waste site, with abandoned buildings and gravel mounds studded across heather-covered hills.
But once I started my investigation into the environmental impact of this old lead mine, I uncovered a completely different tale. Underneath this idyllic landscape was a longstanding legacy of metal pollution from centuries of mining. The stream and pastures were contaminated with notably high concentrations of lead and other toxic trace metals. Worst of all, I found evidence of these metals transferring into local wildlife and domestic animals, with potentially devastating effects.
Before starting my PhD project, I hadn’t given lead pollution much thought. In my mind, it was rooted in the past – an issue that affected Romans using lead pipes or Elizabethans using white lead makeup. I soon realised that lead pollution is not just reserved for the history books.
