The Toxic Waste Scandal is a new podcast series from BBC Local about the real-life battle faced by a group of families in Corby, Northamptonshire to get justice.
They alleged their children were born with deformities because of exposure to toxic waste in the 1980s and 1990s during the cleanup of the town’s steelworks.
In the 1970s, Corby’s massive steelworks employed around 10,000 people, transforming the town into a single-industry hub.
After years of recession, the costly and unprofitable steelworks closed down in 1980, causing Corby to face the worst unemployment crisis in England.
The local authority secured millions of pounds in government grants and came up with a plan to revive the town.
Wasteland left by the steelworks was purchased and contractors were paid to clean up the hazardous materials. During the cleanup, residents began to complain about mud on the roads, dust in their lungs, and a metallic taste in the air as lorries transported waste to the site tip, “Deene Quarry.”
In 2010, Corby Borough Council admitted to making mistakes in the cleanup process, and many families reached out-of-court settlements after claiming their children were born with deformities due to the contaminated air.
The series is narrated by 32-year-old, George Taylor, who was born with a deformed thumb and forefinger in 1992. It recounts his family’s journey of taking 10 years for the case to reach the High Court.
In a landmark ruling, the judge accepted that airborne contaminants could have caused the birth defects. The court heard that George’s mother, Fiona, had inhaled potentially toxic particles while working with his father, Brian, at a local pub where dusty workers from the clean-up would go.
The story is told from the perspective of the Taylor family and their fight for justice all the way to the High Court.
For George, it offers a chance to truly understand his family’s history for the first time. Their story is also the story of a town at a pivotal moment in the country’s industrial history and even attracted the attention of the American legal campaigner Erin Brockovich, who followed George’s story.
George said: “All this happened to me and the others when we were just babies. Once I was out of special care, Mum and Dad moved me 500 miles North to Aberdeen and since then I’ve never had the chance to really understand what happened in Corby that left me and other kids the way we are.
“Even if people know this story – I think they’ll be surprised by what we found. It’s been an eyeopener.”
The podcast features rare interviews with key figures, including the barrister Stephen Grime QC who led the council’s controversial fight against the Corby mums, and one of the most important men on the cleanup team who still believes they did a good job.
Neither have ever spoken publicly before and both still believe passionately that the council should have won this case.
Chris Burns, Local Audio Commissioning Controller, said: “This is exactly the kind of story that BBC Local excels at, shedding a light on experiences of ordinary people, who wouldn’t normally have a voice.
“It’s a story that deserves a wider audience, because it’s important and we hope people find it as fascinating as we do.”
The Toxic Waste Scandal will be available as a box set on Tuesday 4 March on BBC Sounds.
