🔗 Share this article

Alison Gaffney and her partner faced heartbreaking information in 2018 when their young son their baby was diagnosed with a rare type of childhood cancer.

24 months of demanding therapies came next, comprising cancer medications, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy before a cellular therapy. Fraser, at three years old, made a “miraculous recovery” from the operation, with physicians announcing the disease in recovery.

It was at this point that Gaffney, aged thirty-six, began seeking causes. She remained troubled by remarks made by hospital staff at the time of her son’s diagnosis. “We lose sleep wondering how our son got his cancer,” a consultant had told her.

“It keeps us up at night wondering how Fraser got his illness,” a consultant had shared with her.

Historical Context

The improper handling of millions of tonnes of toxic materials after the closure of the town's primary employer in the town in 1979 had “always been a known thing,” said the mother. A court ruling associated the council’s negligent clean-up of the site to a cluster of congenital abnormalities in community youth during the twentieth century.

Gradually, Alison started to associate the case to her own. “[Fraser’s cancer] is not inherited,” she stated. “So what are the reasons? … It’s got to be down to the town. All these kids [with] cancer.

“Each person here knows someone who’s got a child [with] cancer. That's unusual.”

Grassroots Movement

Gaffney and Hinde started to reach out to additional households in their community with similar stories – including some of Gaffney’s former classmates at Brooke Weston Academy – and the group began compiling comprehensive documentation on those impacted. They now lead a campaign representing about numerous households with situations of childhood cancer dating back to 1988.

The collective has been calling on the town council to research any relationships between instances of childhood cancer in this community and the decommissioning of the plant. At the end of this month, health authorities are preparing to share their analysis of whether the area has had a unusually high rate of occurrences of youth disease for its residents of 70,000.

“Our only goal is to attempt to safeguard coming generations so they do not have to endure the hardship that we've experienced,” said the mother.

Previous Cases

The decision in the court proceeding acknowledged that, between a fourteen-year period, enormous amounts of hazardous waste from the industrial facility were moved “typically” from the one area to Deene Quarry in the northern section – with “substantial volumes” of hazardous materials transported and dumped on public roads and “large volumes” of particulate matter created by the remediation.

However, it also referenced reports from the environmental authorities in 1997 that discovered accumulations of contaminated material that had been abandoned at the site were later extracted in “substantial volumes”.

Growing Suspicions

Alison maintains contaminated materials was not only dumped at the Deene Quarry site but in additional areas of the town. In recent developments, she approved a “major step forward” after municipal government said it would test land that could be polluted and research where toxic waste was disposed of.

The mother said government representatives admitted in the conference that they did not know where the locations of hazardous substances could be. “They stated: ‘We don’t know where these locations are. We have no documentation, there's no data available.’”

Public Endorsement

The council’s announcement was also supported by Tonia Shalgosky, a pastoral lead at a elementary institution, whose school-aged girl, her daughter, was diagnosed with a hematologic malignancy in recent months.

“I needed to cut my young child's hair because her locks was coming out from the drugs she had to administer to destroy her cancer. Therefore it’s in the community's concern, it’s in Bella’s interest [for the council] to reveal that knowledge,” she explained.

“There are so many people in the town that have been diagnosed with pediatric illness and I believe it’s cannot be dismissed – it needs looking at. This isn't typical.”

Family Experiences

Meg Lyons, 31, who has a professional career and now resides elsewhere, said families deserved “full transparency and transparency” from the government.

Her young sibling, Eve, succumbed on 24 June 2017 after being found to have a rare bone cancer at the young age. The girl, who fundraised for medical research, was “exceptionally lovable, entertaining and caring” people, Lyons stated.

Her mother remembers the consequence of the closure of the manufacturing site on the community, the woman said. “She mentioned you were unable to place your palm in before you because [of] the red ash.”

“These issues have continued since I was approximately about three years old. It's too long and it is negligence toward the local residents.”

Historical Connections

Another family member, a community member, was part of multiple parents involved in the court proceeding against the previous administration after her newborn was diagnosed with a foot condition. Her spouse, the man, was a member of the truck operators responsible for removing waste from the steelworks. Their story was shown in a media production, and illustrated the woman cleaning the particles from her spouse's clothing.

The campaign leader said the organization has been approached by individuals with information who were participating in the placement of waste in the town.