World experts will debate the health problems of people living near a controversial landfill site in south Wales at a public meeting on Wednesday.

The all-day conference aims to provide an action plan as to what to do to improve the well-being of people living near the disused Nantygwyddon tip at Gelli, Rhondda.

Residents have protested about the site for 10 years

The discussion is part of a week-long event by members of the US federal body, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

Recommendations to take sample health tests of local people are being considered by the agency to discover the levels of tip related illnesses.

The group have been asked to advise the Welsh Assembly Government on what to do next following the closure of the site almost a year ago.

In August 2001, government-backed research published in the British Medical Journal found a 1% higher risk of birth defects in babies born near landfill tips.

The meeting at the NUM Club in Tonypandy will be attended by representatives from Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and the local health board who will also address the audience.

If the agency feel further controls are needed then we will act to put them in place

Sue Essex, Environment Minister

During their trip, the experts from ATSDR have already held a series of meetings with local people including the residents' protest group, Residents Against Nantygwyddon Tip (Rant).

The visit comes as the assembly plans to block proposals to increase the monitoring of gases from landfill sites.

Environment Minister Sue Essex has said she will wait for the findings of the ATSDR.

"Important new regulations are now in place and these will have a major role in monitoring landfill emissions, but importantly we need to wait the outcome of the deliberations of the American team," said Ms Essex.

"If they feel further controls are needed then we will act to put them in place," she added.

Campaign

The visit by ATSDR has been co-coordinated by the health body, the Wales Centre for Health (WCH), which believes their input will be vital.

The WCH hope that the visit will bring together information and evidence on health matters to provide to policy makers.

Councillors in Rhondda Cynon Taf agreed to stop dumping household waste at Nantygwyddon in December 2001, days after the publication of an assembly-commissioned report which criticised the site.

Local people have campaigned against the tip on health grounds for more than a decade.

Created in 1980, the ATSDR is a federal public health agency located in Atlanta, Georgia, that is part of the Public Health Service within the US Department of Health and Human Services.