Sat 28 Mar 2020, 05:08 AM | Posted by editor
LETTER from Mark Langabeer, Newton Abbot Labour Party member
The BBC2 science-based programme, Horizons, gave an account of a struggle by a group of women who gave birth to children suffering mainly limb deformities in the town of Corby. The story begins with the closure of the town’s steelworks in the early 1980s. It employed 11,000 staff, which was around half of the adult population of Corby, and the demolition of the site began in the late 80s.
The reclamation of the site involved the removal of toxic waste and there was a suspicion that this waste was somehow linked to the a disproportionate number of children in the town being born with abnormalities.
In 1998, a journalist from The Sunday Times reported these suspicions, as it was discovered that there appeared to be a cluster of children born with a loss of fingers and in one case, abnormalities of the internal organs when the child died soon after birth. Corby Council issued a report that rejected the claim that the demolition of the steelworks had anything to do with children born with limb abnormalities.
Cutting corners to save money
A solicitor sought a range of experts to prove that there was a link. First up was a epidemiologist who pointed out that the rate of limb abnormalities was almost three times greater in Corby than in the surrounding area. The Solicitor was unable to get full disclosure from the council. However, help came from a former employee who had reports of contractors cutting corners in order, in the whistle-blower’s words, “to make more money”.
An expert in soil contamination argued that the mismanagement of liquid toxic waste was a health risk and one of the toxins involved is known to be associated with shortening of limbs. After nine years, the mothers of 18 children finally took the council to court for negligence.The Judge at the High Court ruled in favour of the mothers and compensation was awarded to the children.
The case is regarded as a landmark in linking air pollution with birth defects and according to Horizons, is the first case worldwide. Justice for the mothers of Corby was finally served.
The BBC 2 Horizons programme can be seen on BBC i-player, here
