Community Members Pursuing Truth Concerning Toxic Waste Areas

Alison Gaffney and her partner received life-altering news in 2018 when their toddler Fraser was diagnosed with a uncommon form of childhood cancer.

Two years of intensive medical care came next, including drug treatments, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy before a cellular therapy. The young boy, then aged three, made a remarkable improvement from the surgery, with physicians declaring the illness in regression.

As Fraser improved that Gaffney, 36, began seeking causes. She remained troubled by observations made by healthcare workers at the time of her Fraser's condition. “We lose sleep wondering how our son got his illness,” a specialist had told her.

“We're constantly wondering wondering how our son got his illness,” a doctor had informed her.

Historical Context

The negligent management of millions of tonnes of contaminated waste after the closure of the town's primary employer in the town in 1979 had “widely acknowledged,” said Alison. A legal proceeding associated the improper remediation efforts of the site to a series of birth defects in community youth during the previous decades.

Over time, Alison started to link the situation to her own. “[His illness] is not genetic,” she stated. “So what are the reasons? … It must be down to the town. All these kids [with] the disease.

“Every resident knows someone who’s got a minor [with] illness. That’s not normal.”

Community Action

Gaffney and Hinde started to connect with more parents in their community with parallel situations – among them some of Gaffney’s past schoolmates at Brooke Weston Academy – and the organization began gathering comprehensive documentation on those impacted. They now spearhead a movement advocating for about many parents with cases of youth disease dating back to 1988.

The organization has been urging the town council to examine any connections between cases of youth disease in this community and the decommissioning of the facility. In the coming weeks, health authorities are set to publish their evaluation of whether the area has had a elevated incidence of occurrences of childhood cancer for its population of seventy thousand.

“All we want is to try and protect future people so they can avoid the hardship that we've experienced,” said Alison.

Historical Context

The judgment in the 2009 civil claim recognized that, between the 1980s and 1990s, vast quantities of toxic substances from the manufacturing site were transported “almost invariably” from the southern part of town to a specific location in the north – with “large quantities” of contaminated substances transported and deposited on local thoroughfares and “considerable amounts” of dust generated by the remediation.

Nonetheless, it also referenced findings from the Environment Agency in 1997 that found stockpiles of hazardous waste that had been abandoned at the site were later removed in “large quantities”.

Additional Issues

Alison believes contaminated materials was not exclusively placed at the primary location but in additional areas of the municipality. Lately, she welcomed a “major step forward” after municipal government said it would analyze soil that could be tainted and research where hazardous materials was dumped.

Gaffney said government representatives acknowledged in the discussion that they were unaware where the locations of contaminated waste could be. “They stated: ‘We're uncertain where these locations are. Documentation is missing, we have nothing on it.’”

Community Support

The council’s announcement was also embraced by Tonia Shalgosky, a pastoral lead at a local school, whose school-aged girl, Bella, was diagnosed with a hematologic malignancy in recent months.

“I had to shave my young child's head because her tresses was coming out from the drugs she had to take to destroy her disease. Consequently it’s in everyone's benefit, it’s in her daughter's welfare [for the council] to reveal that knowledge,” she said.

“Numerous people in the town that have been confirmed to have childhood cancer and I just feel it’s impossible to overlook – it needs looking at. This is unusual.”

Family Experiences

Meg Lyons, 31, who is employed in business and now resides elsewhere, said families deserved “full transparency and openness” from the council.

Her 11-year-old sister, her sister, succumbed on a specific date after being found to have a rare bone cancer at the young age. The girl, who raised awareness for medical research, was “one of the most adorable, humorous and caring” individuals, she said.

Her mother remembers the effect of the shutdown of the steel plant on the community, she said. “She recalled you couldn’t put your palm in front of your face because [of] the red ash.”

“This has been going on since around about three years old. It's too long and it is irresponsibility toward the community members.”

Historical Connections

A relative, a community member, was one of several families connected to the 2009 claim against the then Corby council after her baby was born with clubfoot. Her husband, the man, was among the vehicle operators participating in transporting materials from the manufacturing facility. Their story was portrayed in a television program, and illustrated the woman removing the debris from her spouse's clothing.

Alison said the organization has been approached by whistleblowers who were participating in the disposal of substances in the town.