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A local mother and her partner received life-altering information in 2018 when their young son their child was confirmed to have a rare type of blood cancer.

Two years of gruelling treatment followed, involving cancer medications, radiotherapy, and immune system treatments before a bone marrow procedure. The young boy, by age three, made a remarkable improvement from the operation, with physicians announcing the illness in remission.

As Fraser improved that the mother, 36, began looking for explanations. She remained troubled by remarks made by hospital staff at the time of her son’s diagnosis. “We lose sleep wondering how Fraser got his disease,” a specialist had told her.

“We can't sleep wondering how he got his disease,” a doctor had shared with her.

Past Events

The negligent management of enormous amounts of hazardous substances after the shutdown of Europe’s largest steelworks in the town in 1979 had “long been recognized,” said the mother. A legal proceeding linked the council’s negligent clean-up of the site to a cluster of birth defects in local children during the 1980s and 1990s.

Over time, Alison started to link the circumstances to her own. “[Fraser’s cancer] is not inherited,” she said. “What could cause this? … It’s got to be down to the town. Numerous young people [with] the disease.

“Everybody in this town knows somebody who’s got a minor [with] illness. This isn't typical.”

Collective Efforts

Alison and Andy started to contact more parents in Corby with parallel situations – among them some of Alison's former classmates at a local school – and the group began assembling comprehensive documentation on those impacted. They now lead a campaign representing about 130 families with instances of childhood cancer going back to 1988.

The collective has been pressuring the town council to research any connections between instances of pediatric illness in Corby and the shutdown of the facility. Soon, health authorities are expected to release their evaluation of whether the area has had a unusually high rate of instances of pediatric illness for its inhabitants of the local community.

“What we seek is to work to secure coming generations so they can avoid the pain that we’ve been through,” said Gaffney.

Legal Precedents

The ruling in the court proceeding acknowledged that, between the 1980s and 1990s, millions of tonnes of hazardous waste from the manufacturing site were moved “typically” from the south of Corby to Deene Quarry in the northern section – with “large quantities” of hazardous materials transported and deposited on community streets and “considerable amounts” of airborne particles generated by the reclamation.

Nonetheless, it also mentioned findings from the Environment Agency in 1997 that found stockpiles of contaminated material that had been deposited at this location were later extracted in “large quantities”.

Growing Suspicions

Alison believes contaminated materials was not only dumped at the main disposal area but in other parts of the town. Lately, she approved a “important advancement” after municipal government said it would test soil that could be contaminated and study where contaminated substances was deposited.

The mother said local officials acknowledged in the meeting that they were unaware where the sites of toxic materials could be. “They explained: ‘We're uncertain where these locations are. There are no records, we possess no information.’”

Public Endorsement

The government declaration was also supported by another parent, a pastoral lead at a local school, whose young child, Bella, was confirmed to have a hematologic malignancy in recent months.

“I needed to cut my young child's head because her hair was falling out from the drugs she had to administer to eliminate her disease. Consequently it’s in our interest, it’s in Bella’s interest [for the council] to disclose that data,” she explained.

“Countless individuals in the area that have been confirmed to have childhood cancer and I believe it’s too much to ignore – it demands examination. This isn't typical.”

Individual Accounts

Another resident, in her early thirties, who has a professional career and now resides elsewhere, said families deserved “complete and utter truth and clarity” from the council.

The woman's family member, her sister, died on 24 June 2017 after being diagnosed with a specific illness at the age of nine. Eve, who fundraised for cancer charities, was “one of the most adorable, humorous and caring” individuals, she stated.

Her family member recollects the impact of the closure of the steel plant on the community, the woman said. “She recalled you couldn’t put your hand in before you because [of] the red ash.”

“These issues have continued since I’ve probably been about three years old. It's too long and it is irresponsibility toward the community members.”

Past Associations

Another family member, a community member, was among numerous parents involved in the legal case against the previous administration after her baby was born with a congenital issue. Her spouse, the man, was a member of the truck operators involved in removing waste from the industrial site. Their experience was shown in a recent series, and demonstrated the mother removing the dust from her partner's pants.

Gaffney said the collective has been approached by whistleblowers who were responsible for the disposal of substances in the community.