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A concerned parent and her partner were given life-altering diagnosis in 2018 when their toddler Fraser was confirmed to have a unusual variant of blood cancer.

An extended period of intensive medical care ensued, involving cancer medications, targeted radiation, and immunotherapy before a bone marrow procedure. Their son, then aged three, made a “miraculous recovery” from the procedure, with doctors declaring the cancer in regression.

It was at this point that the mother, in her mid-thirties, began looking for explanations. She remained troubled by comments made by medical professionals at the time of her Fraser's condition. “It keeps us up at night wondering how our son got his disease,” a specialist 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 improper handling of enormous amounts of contaminated waste after the shutdown of a major industrial facility in Corby in 1979 had “widely acknowledged,” said the mother. A court ruling connected the council’s negligent clean-up of the site to a string of birth defects in town residents during the previous decades.

Increasingly, Alison started to associate the situation to her own. “[The disease] is not hereditary,” she explained. “What's the explanation? … It has to be down to the area. All these kids [with] illness.

“Every resident knows somebody who’s got a minor [with] the disease. That’s not normal.”

Collective Efforts

Gaffney and Hinde started to reach out to other families in the town with similar stories – including some of the mother's former classmates at a local school – and the group began compiling comprehensive documentation on those impacted. They now lead a movement advocating for about numerous households with instances of pediatric illness going back to 1988.

The group has been urging the municipal government to research any relationships between instances of childhood cancer in this community and the shutdown of the plant. At the end of this month, health authorities are set to publish their study of whether the area has had a elevated incidence of occurrences of childhood cancer for its residents of the local community.

“Our only goal is to attempt to safeguard coming generations so they can avoid the pain that we’ve been through,” said Alison.

Previous Cases

The decision in the court proceeding acknowledged that, between 1983 and 1997, vast quantities of hazardous waste from the industrial facility were relocated “typically” from the south of Corby to a specific location in the northern section – with “large quantities” of contaminated substances carried and dumped on community streets and “large volumes” of airborne particles produced by the cleanup.

Nevertheless, it also cited findings from the regulatory body in 1997 that identified stockpiles of contaminated material that had been deposited at Deene Quarry were later extracted in “substantial volumes”.

Expanding Concerns

Gaffney suspects toxic substances was not only dumped at the main disposal area but in additional areas of the town. Recently, she applauded a “significant progress” after North Northamptonshire council said it would analyze ground that could be tainted and study where contaminated substances was dumped.

The mother said government representatives admitted in the meeting that they were unaware where the sites of hazardous substances could be. “They said: ‘We're uncertain where these areas are. We have no documentation, we have nothing on it.’”

Community Support

The government declaration was also supported by a community member, a educational worker at a primary school, whose young child, her daughter, was diagnosed with blood cancer in June this year.

“I needed to cut my nine-year-old daughter's head because her hair was coming out from the treatments she had to take to eliminate her illness. So actually it’s in our interest, it’s in her daughter's welfare [for the council] to share that data,” she stated.

“There are so many people in the area that have been found to have pediatric illness and It seems it’s cannot be dismissed – it demands examination. This can’t be normal.”

Individual Accounts

A community member, 31, who works in sales and now lives in London, said parents merited “complete and utter truth and clarity” from the government.

Her 11-year-old sister, the girl, passed away on a specific date after being diagnosed with a rare bone cancer at the age of nine. Eve, who collected money for cancer charities, was “among the charming, entertaining and compassionate” people, the sister stated.

Her family member remembers the impact of the closure of the manufacturing site on the area, the woman stated. “She recalled you were unable to place your fingers in ahead of you because [of] the red ash.”

“This situation has persisted since I’ve probably been about early childhood. It's too long and it is carelessness toward the local residents.”

Previous Involvement

A relative, a community member, was part of multiple parents participating in the court proceeding against the then Corby council after her newborn was diagnosed with clubfoot. Her spouse, Derek, was a member of the lorry drivers responsible for handling substances from the steelworks. Their experience was shown in a recent series, and illustrated the woman removing the dust from her partner's pants.

Alison said the campaign group has been approached by individuals with information who were participating in the placement of waste in the community.