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A concerned parent and Andy Hinde faced devastating information in 2018 when their young son their child was found to have a uncommon form of childhood cancer.

24 months of gruelling treatment followed, comprising cancer medications, targeted radiation, and immunotherapy before a cellular therapy. Their son, by age three, made a remarkable improvement from the procedure, with medical staff declaring the cancer in regression.

As Fraser improved that Alison, aged thirty-six, began investigating answers. She could not stop thinking about remarks made by healthcare workers at the time of her Fraser's condition. “We're tormented wondering how Fraser got his illness,” a specialist had told her.

“We're constantly wondering wondering how Fraser got his disease,” a specialist had told her.

Historical Context

The botched disposal of vast quantities of toxic materials after the closure of Europe’s largest steelworks in the town in 1979 had “long been recognized,” said Gaffney. A court ruling linked the local authority's mismanagement of the site to a series of congenital abnormalities in community youth during the 1980s and 1990s.

Over time, Alison started to connect the circumstances to her own. “[His illness] is not hereditary,” she said. “What's the explanation? … It’s got to be down to the town. All these kids [with] the disease.

“Every resident knows somebody who’s got a child [with] illness. That's unusual.”

Community Action

Gaffney and Hinde started to connect with other families in the town with similar stories – among them some of Gaffney’s past schoolmates at Brooke Weston Academy – and the organization began assembling thorough information on those impacted. They now spearhead a initiative advocating for about 130 families with instances of childhood cancer going back to 1988.

The organization has been calling on the local authority to research any relationships between cases of youth disease in the town and the closure of the facility. In the coming weeks, health authorities are set to publish their study of whether the area has had a unusually high rate of cases of youth disease for its inhabitants of seventy thousand.

“Our only goal is to try and protect coming generations so they can avoid the suffering that we’ve been through,” said Alison.

Legal Precedents

The ruling in the legal case acknowledged that, between the 1980s and 1990s, vast quantities of contaminated materials from the industrial facility were moved “typically” from the southern part of town to Deene Quarry in the north – with “significant amounts” of toxic waste transported and dropped on community streets and “considerable amounts” of particulate matter produced by the cleanup.

Nevertheless, it also referenced findings from the environmental authorities in 1997 that found collections of hazardous waste that had been deposited at this location were later extracted in “significant amounts”.

Growing Suspicions

The campaign leader believes waste was not only dumped at the main disposal area but in additional areas of the municipality. Recently, she approved a “major step forward” after local authorities said it would analyze soil that could be polluted and study where toxic waste was dumped.

Alison said council staff admitted in the discussion that they lacked information where the locations of toxic materials could be. “They said: ‘We're uncertain where these areas are. We have no documentation, we possess no information.’”

Community Support

The council’s announcement was also welcomed by a community member, a school staff member at a local school, whose nine-year-old daughter, Bella, was found to have a hematologic malignancy in June this year.

“I was forced to trim my little girl's hair because her tresses was falling out from the drugs she had to administer to kill her disease. Consequently it’s in the community's concern, it’s in Bella’s interest [for the council] to reveal that data,” she said.

“There are so many individuals in the town that have been diagnosed with childhood cancer and It seems it’s impossible to overlook – it needs looking at. This isn't typical.”

Family Experiences

A community member, aged thirty-one, who has a professional career and now has moved away, said parents merited “complete and utter truth and transparency” from the local authority.

Her 11-year-old sister, Eve, succumbed on 24 June 2017 after being found to have a uncommon malignancy at the childhood. Her sister, who collected money for health organizations, was “one of the most charming, humorous and kindest” people, she said.

Her family member recollects the impact of the cessation of the manufacturing site on the community, the woman said. “She recalled you could not position your fingers in before you because [of] the particulate matter.”

“This has been going on since I’ve probably been about my youth. This duration is unreasonable and it is irresponsibility toward the community members.”

Past Associations

Another family member, Maggie Mahon, was part of multiple parents involved in the legal case against the then Corby council after her newborn was diagnosed with a foot condition. Her spouse, Derek, was among the vehicle operators participating in transporting materials from the steelworks. Their experience was portrayed in a media production, and demonstrated the woman removing the dust from her spouse's clothing.

Gaffney said the campaign group has been approached by whistleblowers who were responsible for the disposal of waste in the area.