'Deformed calves' born after fire

The Buncefield explosion happened on 11 December 2005

An inquiry has begun into claims that chemicals used to tackle the Buncefield oil fire have caused deformities in newborn calves on a nearby farm.

Hertfordshire MP Mike Penning raised the issue in parliament saying a farmer blamed the deformities on the use of perfluorooctanesulphate (PFOS).

He said since the oil disaster calves had been born "with heads twice the normal size" and "no spinal cords".

The governement said its veterinery agency was looking into the case.

Mr Penning said the government should "come clean" on how often the PFOS chemical gets used in products such as firefighting foam as well as insecticides and agricultural products.

Voluntarily phased out

It is claimed that firefighters at Buncefield used 70,000 litres of foam containing PFOS.

"I'm not trying to scare the public. I'm trying to get to the truth as to what has happened to the environment around my town and in my country as a whole," Mr Penning said.

Local government minister Parmjit Dhanda told MPs that government vets are already investigating the deformities and that wider concerns about PFOS are also being addressed.

He said Defra's veterinary agency was looking into the deformities and added that PFOS was voluntarily being phased out by the fire service.

He added that PFOS was only used (by firefighters) in the older stocks of foam at present.

The farmer concerned lives at Westwick Farm in Leverstock Green and Mr Penning also said results of toxicology tests to prove whether PFOS was responsible for the deformities would not be available until the summer.