The parents, whose son was diagnosed with leukaemia at just 17 months old, shared their story on the BBC show on Monday (February 9)
A dad was emotional on BBC Breakfast as he told how his toddler was diagnosed with leukaemia and almost died. Andy Hines spoke out as part of a report into the former Corby steel works in Northamptonshire, which many people believe caused birth defects and childhood cancers in the area. Its story was told in the Netflix show Toxic Town last year.
He appeared on the BBC programme on Monday (February 9) alongside his son Fraser’s mum, Alison Gaffney, who said: “Never found anger through any of this. Just hurt.”
Speaking on the show, which was hosted by Sally Nugent and Jon Kay, she said: “Our consultant just said, ‘We’re dealing with something we’ve never dealt with before. We’ve done testing, and it’s showing a really rare form of this cancer with gene rearrangements.”
“To hear your consultant say that about your son, you just break,” said Andy.
Fraser was diagnosed at 17 months, and he is now nine, but the report said he “nearly died”.
“His life expectancy is shortened because he’s had a transplant and he’s at high risk of a secondary cancer,” said Alison.
“The amount of people we know personally that have kids with cancer, this is not normal,” said Andy.
The BBC Breakfast report said: “In its heyday, Corby steel works was the biggest in Europe. Following its closure in 1980, a huge dismantling operation got underway, which sent polluting clouds into the atmosphere… A number of babies in the area were born with abnormalities.”
It continued: “In 2009, the High Court agreed with claims that Corby Borough Council had been negligent with the clean-up of the steelworks and that there could be a link with birth defects in the area. It was a landmark case.”
The 2009 High Court case focused on limb deformities in babies potentially caused by hazardous airborne dust. Alison, Andy, and other families’ concerns are focused on where the waste was buried and whether there is a link to childhood cancer.
Corby Borough Council was abolished in 2021 and replaced by North Northamptonshire Council. Last month, they published two sets of findings on childhood cancer rates following requests by families.
They found that childhood cancer rates in Corby were no higher than elsewhere in England. The council said: “We approached this analysis with seriousness and sensitivity, ensuring the most robust methods were used and that the work was independently reviewed. The findings provide reassurance that childhood cancer rates in Corby are not higher than expected.”
Families have asked to see the raw data used to come to this conclusion. But the council has not released it, citing strict and important data protection rules.
Lawyer Des Collins, who represented families at the High Court in 2009, said: “The only way to address it, in my view, is for there to be a full statutory public employment to determine precisely what happened to this waste. Where it is, whether it can be located at the moment, whether it should be dug up at the moment. And finally, is it causing any health problems?”
BBC Breakfast’s reporter explained: “Public inquiries can only be initiated by the government. In a statement, North Northamptonshire Council said: “Our records, originally held by Corby Borough Council, do not show the movement of waste to sites other than Deene Quarry. We were made aware of a document last week that indicates some waste may have been moved to another location. And we are currently considering that information.
“At this point in time, this council does not consider that the threshold has been met to call upon the government for a public inquiry.”
BBC Breakfast airs on BBC One from 6am.