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A concerned parent and Andy Hinde received life-altering diagnosis in 2018 when their young son Fraser was found to have a rare type of leukaemia.

Two years of gruelling treatment ensued, including cancer medications, targeted radiation, and immunotherapy before a bone marrow procedure. Their son, at three years old, made a remarkable improvement from the operation, with physicians declaring the disease in recovery.

As Fraser improved that the mother, in her mid-thirties, began seeking causes. She remained troubled by observations made by healthcare workers at the time of her child's illness. “It keeps us up at night wondering how our son got his cancer,” a specialist had told her.

“It keeps us up at night wondering how our son got his illness,” a doctor had told her.

Historical Context

The botched disposal of millions of tonnes of contaminated waste after the shutdown of a major industrial facility in the town in 1979 had “long been recognized,” said Alison. A 2009 civil case associated the council’s negligent clean-up of the site to a cluster of congenital abnormalities in community youth during the 1980s and 1990s.

Increasingly, Gaffney started to associate the circumstances to her own. “[His illness] is not inherited,” she stated. “What could cause this? … It must be down to the town. So many children [with] cancer.

“Each person here is acquainted with a person who’s got a child [with] cancer. This isn't typical.”

Community Action

Alison and Andy started to contact other families in Corby with parallel situations – among them some of Alison's former classmates at a local school – and the group began gathering detailed records on those involved. They now lead a campaign supporting about 130 families with cases of childhood cancer starting from 1988.

The group has been pressuring the municipal government to examine any connections between occurrences of youth disease in the town and the closure of the industrial site. In the coming weeks, public health officials are expected to release their analysis of whether the community has had a elevated incidence of cases of youth disease for its residents of 70,000.

“What we seek is to work to secure subsequent residents so they won't experience the suffering that we've experienced,” said Alison.

Historical Context

The decision in the court proceeding recognized that, between a fourteen-year period, enormous amounts of toxic substances from the industrial facility were transported “almost invariably” from the southern part of town to Deene Quarry in the opposite end – with “large quantities” of hazardous materials carried and deposited on local thoroughfares and “considerable amounts” of particulate matter created by the remediation.

However, it also cited documents from the regulatory body in 1997 that found stockpiles of hazardous waste that had been abandoned at Deene Quarry were later extracted in “significant amounts”.

Additional Issues

Gaffney believes toxic substances was not merely deposited at the main disposal area but in different locations of the town. Recently, she applauded a “important advancement” after local authorities said it would analyze land that could be polluted and research where contaminated substances was dumped.

Alison said local officials admitted in the meeting that they were unaware where the locations of contaminated waste could be. “They explained: ‘We lack information where these locations are. We have no documentation, we have nothing on it.’”

Community Support

The government declaration was also welcomed by Tonia Shalgosky, a school staff member at a local school, whose school-aged girl, Bella, was confirmed to have blood cancer in June this year.

“I had to shave my little girl's scalp because her tresses was coming out from the medications she had to use to kill her cancer. So actually it’s in everyone's benefit, it’s in the child's wellbeing [for the council] to disclose that information,” she stated.

“There are so many individuals in the town that have been confirmed to have youth disease and I believe it’s too much to ignore – it demands examination. This is unusual.”

Family Experiences

Another resident, aged thirty-one, who works in sales and now has moved away, said households deserved “full transparency and openness” from the council.

Her 11-year-old sister, her sister, passed away on in recent years after being diagnosed with a rare bone cancer at the age of nine. Her sister, who collected money for health organizations, was “exceptionally lovable, entertaining and caring” people, she stated.

Her parent remembers the impact of the closure of the steel plant on the town, the woman explained. “She said you couldn’t put your fingers in front of your face because [of] the colored dust.”

“This situation has persisted since I’ve probably been about early childhood. This duration is unreasonable and it is negligence toward the community members.”

Historical Connections

Another family member, a community member, was one of several families connected to the court proceeding against the former government after her infant was had a congenital issue. Her husband, Derek, was one of the truck operators responsible for handling substances from the manufacturing facility. Their situation was portrayed in a media production, and illustrated the woman beating the particles from her husband’s jeans.

Gaffney said the organization has been contacted by individuals with information who were responsible for the dumping of materials in the area.