Michael Sheen is set to give evidence to MPs following his involvement in a documentary probing alleged toxic contamination across Wales.
Broadcast last month, the BBC series Buried with Michael Sheen detailed allegations brought forward by whistleblower Douglas Gowan, who asserted that environmental exposure to hazardous pollutants had poisoned members of the public over several decades.
The actor will present the investigation’s conclusions to the Welsh Affairs Committee on Thursday, alongside the programme’s co-presenters, investigative journalists Lucy Taylor and Dan Ashby.
Central to the series were claims by Mr Gowan that thousands of tonnes of toxic industrial chemicals, known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), had been deposited across sites in Wales and north-west England.
Sheen, who grew up in Port Talbot in South Wales, interviewed Mr Gowan shortly before the whistleblower passed away in 2018 at the age of 74.
The series featured segments of these interviews alongside Sheen meeting members of affected communities, forensic scientists and environmental experts.
The actor and his co-presenters are expected to discuss with MPs what policy and legislative changes could be considered to better support communities living near former industrial sites.
Speaking at a Q&A about the documentary in July, Sheen said he hoped making the series would be a “push for something to happen”.
He added: “I think it’s important to say that the biggest injustice here is that the people who are responsible for this have got away with not having to take responsibility.
“The people who dump this stuff should be made responsible, but what happens is the company mutates into a different company and a different company and a different company and suddenly the people who are responsible don’t exist any more.
“We have to find some international response to this in order to take the pressure off the small communities and the individuals who are here who are giving their life to this. It can’t be on them.”
