Calls for a public inquiry into potential toxic waste transfer from Corby steelworks to Kettering
Findings suggest toxic waste was dumped and used in roads and car parks
Toxic waste from Corby's steelworks, dismantled in the 1980s, may have been moved to Kettering for use in constructing temporary access roads, raising longstanding concerns about environmental contamination and public health implications.
Documents obtained by the BBC suggest that the waste material was used to construct temporary access roads in Kettering, around eight miles (13km) away, as well as car parks in and around Corby.
Parents in Corby raised concerns after children were born with birth defects later linked to the dismantling of the town’s steelworks in the 1980s. The town has continued to face wider environmental scrutiny, including a recent Earthwatch report finding metal pollution in local freshwater sites.
North Northamptonshire Council said it had been asked to review documents from around 30 years ago that referred to the movement of small amounts of potentially contaminated waste from Deene Quarry to a handful of development sites in Kettering and Corby. The council said the Environment Agency had been aware of the transfers at the time and suggested mitigation measures.
A spokesperson for the council added that there was “currently no evidence of an unacceptable risk to human health requiring action by the council”, but said the situation would continue to be monitored and residents kept informed if further relevant information emerged.
''We will ensure residents are kept informed if further information, deemed to be relevant, becomes available.”
The Environment Agency said in a statement: ''We recognise the concerns raised and understand how important it is for residents to feel confident in the quality of their local environment.
“Local authorities have a duty under the Environmental Protection Act to inspect land within their area to identify sites where contamination is causing unacceptable risks.”
Des Collins, the solicitor who represented families in the historic Corby toxic waste scandal has joined calls for a formal investigation and highlighted the need for full transparency and further investigation. He said: ““It may be that it’s not causing any harm, but residents are still worried.
From a legal standpoint, Collins said residents believe court action should be a last resort. He explained: ''This is a matter of the residents using the council they have elected to support their interests, and a battle between the residents and the council is not something they would embark upon lightly.''
''Even though the evidence says there’s no cancer cluster, people here believe there is – and that other diseases may come to light, given the problems in the town over the last five to ten years. They want Corby to admit where the material was taken, and I’m sure people in Kettering especially want that information quickly.”
He added that over the past six months the council had shown “complete obduracy”, refusing to say where the material was or acknowledge that it was in Kettering despite a High Court judgment. He added that if the council continued in this way, “court action will be required because there’s no other way forward.”
''If the council continue to put their head in the sand, then legal action will be required.''
He stressed the importance of a statutory public inquiry for closure, stating, “I think the only way closure will be found... will be for a full statutory public inquiry to determine precisely what the council did at the time, what they're doing now, and what they should do in the future.”
Tracey Taylor, whose daughter Shelby Anne died at four days old because of the Corby toxic waste scandal, said she a public inquiry is ''essential'' to understanding and resolving past practices.
“At the moment, we're still plugging ahead for the public inquiry... that's the only way this is ever going to get to the bottom of it, get the truth and get it sorted once and for all for future generations,” Taylor said.
Sharing her concerns, Taylor added, “We always thought there were more areas that the waste would have been dumped in or used... I think it has shocked a lot of people because I don't think anybody in Kettering ever thought it would come to their area.”