Local Residents Searching for Clarity Regarding Contaminated Materials Locations

A local mother and Andy Hinde were given heartbreaking diagnosis in 2018 when their young son their child was diagnosed with a unusual variant of blood cancer.

24 months of demanding therapies followed, involving chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and biological therapies before a stem cell transplant. Fraser, at three years old, made a “miraculous recovery” from the procedure, with medical staff announcing the disease in recovery.

During this period that the mother, 36, began looking for explanations. She remained troubled by remarks made by healthcare workers at the time of her Fraser's condition. “It keeps us up at night wondering how he got his disease,” a specialist had told her.

“We can't sleep wondering how he got his illness,” a consultant had told her.

Past Events

The improper handling of enormous amounts of hazardous substances after the cessation of Europe’s largest steelworks in Corby in 1979 had “long been recognized,” said the mother. A 2009 civil case associated the council’s negligent clean-up of the site to a series of developmental issues in community youth during the previous decades.

Gradually, Alison started to connect the case to her own. “[The disease] is not hereditary,” she stated. “What's the explanation? … It must be down to the community. All these kids [with] cancer.

“Everybody in this town knows someone who’s got a minor [with] cancer. That's unusual.”

Community Action

Alison and Andy started to connect with more parents in their community with comparable experiences – including some of Gaffney’s ex-school friends at their former educational institution – and the organization began gathering comprehensive documentation on those involved. They now lead a movement supporting about 130 families with situations of pediatric illness going back to 1988.

The collective has been urging the municipal government to investigate any links between occurrences of childhood cancer in Corby and the closure of the industrial site. Soon, health authorities are preparing to share their analysis of whether the community has had a unusually high rate of instances of childhood cancer for its residents of seventy thousand.

“What we seek is to try and protect coming generations so they do not have to endure the suffering that we’ve been through,” said Alison.

Legal Precedents

The judgment in the 2009 civil claim accepted that, between the 1980s and 1990s, vast quantities of hazardous waste from the steel plant were moved “typically” from the south of Corby to Deene Quarry in the northern section – with “large quantities” of hazardous materials moved and dumped on community streets and “large volumes” of airborne particles generated by the reclamation.

Nonetheless, it also cited reports from the environmental authorities in 1997 that identified collections of hazardous waste that had been abandoned at Deene Quarry were later removed in “large quantities”.

Growing Suspicions

The campaign leader suspects toxic substances was not merely deposited at the Deene Quarry site but in additional areas of the town. Lately, she welcomed a “major step forward” after North Northamptonshire council said it would examine ground that could be contaminated and investigate where hazardous materials was dumped.

Gaffney said local officials acknowledged in the discussion that they lacked information where the locations of contaminated waste could be. “They stated: ‘We lack information where these areas are. We have no documentation, we possess no information.’”

Community Support

The government declaration was also supported by a community member, a school staff member at a local school, whose school-aged girl, the child, was confirmed to have blood cancer in June this year.

“I needed to cut my little girl's scalp because her locks was falling out from the medications she had to take to eliminate her illness. So actually it’s in our interest, it’s in the child's wellbeing [for the council] to reveal that knowledge,” she explained.

“There are so many people in the area that have been found to have childhood cancer and I believe it’s cannot be dismissed – it demands examination. This can’t be normal.”

Personal Stories

Meg Lyons, 31, who is employed in business and now has moved away, said households merited “complete and utter truth and clarity” from the council.

The woman's 11-year-old sister, her sister, died on 24 June 2017 after being found to have a rare bone cancer at the young age. Eve, who raised awareness for health organizations, was “exceptionally adorable, funniest and kindest” people, the sister stated.

Her mother remembers the impact of the shutdown of the manufacturing site on the area, Lyons stated. “She recalled you could not position your fingers in before you because [of] the colored dust.”

“This situation has persisted since around about my youth. This duration is unreasonable and it is irresponsibility toward the people of Corby.”

Previous Involvement

Lyons’s cousin, a community member, was one of several families connected to the 2009 claim against the former government after her baby was had a foot condition. Her husband, the man, was a member of the vehicle operators involved in transporting materials from the steelworks. Their situation was shown in a media production, and demonstrated Maggie removing the particles from her husband’s jeans.

Alison said the collective has been contacted by individuals with information who were responsible for the placement of waste in the community.