Corby Families Seeking Clarity About Hazardous Substances Locations

A local mother and Fraser's father faced heartbreaking information in 2018 when their 17-month-old Fraser was found to have a uncommon form of leukaemia.

24 months of gruelling treatment came next, involving chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and biological therapies before a stem cell transplant. The young boy, then aged three, made a “miraculous recovery” from the surgery, with medical staff announcing the disease in remission.

It was at this point that the mother, 36, began investigating answers. She constantly recalled observations made by medical professionals at the time of her Fraser's condition. “It keeps us up at night wondering how he got his cancer,” a doctor had shared with her.

“It keeps us up at night wondering how he got his disease,” a specialist had shared with her.

Historical Context

The negligent management of enormous amounts of toxic materials after the closure of Europe’s largest steelworks in this community in 1979 had “widely acknowledged,” said Alison. A 2009 civil case linked the council’s negligent clean-up of the site to a string of developmental issues in community youth during the twentieth century.

Increasingly, Gaffney started to link the circumstances to her own. “[Fraser’s cancer] is not hereditary,” she explained. “What's the explanation? … It must be down to the community. Numerous young people [with] cancer.

“Each person here knows someone who’s got a child [with] illness. That's unusual.”

Collective Efforts

Gaffney and Hinde started to reach out to other families in the town with comparable experiences – including some of Gaffney’s past schoolmates at a local school – and the collective began assembling thorough information on those impacted. They now head a initiative representing about many parents with instances of childhood cancer going back to 1988.

The collective has been pressuring the town council to research any connections between cases of youth disease in this community and the decommissioning of the plant. At the end of this month, health authorities are expected to release their study of whether the town has had a disproportionate number of instances of youth disease for its inhabitants of the local community.

“All we want is to try and protect subsequent residents so they won't experience the hardship that we’ve been through,” said Alison.

Historical Context

The judgment in the legal case accepted that, between the 1980s and 1990s, millions of tonnes of contaminated materials from the industrial facility were transported “typically” from the one area to a designated site in the north – with “large quantities” of hazardous materials moved and dumped on community streets and “substantial quantities” of airborne particles generated by the remediation.

Nevertheless, it also mentioned documents from the Environment Agency in 1997 that found collections of hazardous waste that had been abandoned at this location were later taken away in “large quantities”.

Additional Issues

Gaffney maintains toxic substances was not only dumped at the Deene Quarry site but in other parts of the municipality. Lately, she applauded a “significant progress” after North Northamptonshire council said it would test ground that could be contaminated and research where hazardous materials was deposited.

Alison said council staff acknowledged in the meeting that they lacked information where the sites of contaminated waste could be. “They explained: ‘We don’t know where these locations are. We have no documentation, there's no data available.’”

Community Support

The government declaration was also welcomed by Tonia Shalgosky, a pastoral lead at a local school, whose school-aged girl, her daughter, was diagnosed with blood cancer in recent months.

“I needed to cut my young child's hair because her locks was falling out from the medications she had to use to eliminate her illness. Consequently it’s in the community's concern, it’s in the child's wellbeing [for the council] to reveal that data,” she stated.

“There are so many residents in the community that have been confirmed to have youth disease and It seems it’s too much to ignore – it requires investigation. This isn't typical.”

Individual Accounts

Another resident, in her early thirties, who works in sales and now lives in London, said parents deserved “complete and utter truth and clarity” from the government.

Her family member, the girl, succumbed on 24 June 2017 after being found to have a rare bone cancer at the childhood. Her sister, who raised awareness for cancer charities, was “exceptionally charming, humorous and kindest” people, the sister recalled.

Her mother recollects the consequence of the shutdown of the industrial facility on the town, the woman said. “She recalled you were unable to place your palm in ahead of you because [of] the particulate matter.”

“These issues have continued since I was approximately about early childhood. It’s an excessive amount of time and it is carelessness toward the local residents.”

Previous Involvement

A relative, Maggie Mahon, was one of several parents participating in the court proceeding against the previous administration after her baby was had a foot condition. Her partner, Derek, was among the lorry drivers participating in handling substances from the manufacturing facility. Their situation was portrayed in a recent series, and demonstrated Maggie cleaning the dust from her spouse's clothing.

Alison said the organization has been reached out to by whistleblowers who were participating in the disposal of waste in the town.