5 chilling details about the Corby Toxic Waste case
One of Britain's most significant environmental scandals, the Corby Toxic Waste case, involved toxic industrial waste management and a legal battle that spanned over a decade. The issues stemmed from the closure of Corby's British Steel plant in 1980, a cleanup operation, led by Corby Borough Council, aimed to redevelop the land.
However, the process resulted in the widespread dispersal of hazardous materials, including arsenic, cadmium, and lead, into the town’s air and water sources. According to a February 2025 article in The Standard, uncovered trucks transported contaminated waste across Corby. This left behind a layer of toxic dust that residents of the town unknowingly inhaled.
A statistical cluster from a study by Kettering Health Authority revealed that by 1999, they saw a significant increase in birth defects, predominantly limb deformities among children born in the area.
The case was later dubbed Britain's Erin Brockovich case. It became the first case in England to legally establish a connection between airborne industrial pollutants and congenital disabilities, according to a Time article from February 2025. The Corby Toxic Waste case remains a landmark in environmental justice.
The Corby Toxic Waste Case was explored in detail in Netflix's latest docuseries, Toxic Town, which was released on February 27, 2025.
5 Key Insights about the Corby Toxic Waste Case Explored
The Corby Toxic Waste case is one of the most significant environmental negligence cases in the UK. It exposed how mismanaged industrial cleanup efforts led to severe birth defects in children of the area. The case, which unfolded over several decades, involved the demolition of Corby’s British Steel plant and the subsequent mishandling of hazardous waste.
The cleanup took place between the late 1980s and mid-1990s and caused widespread pollution that disproportionately affected pregnant women, leading to a cluster of birth defects. Here are five key insights into the Corby Toxic Waste case, based on legal records, media reports, and recent coverage of Toxic Town on Netflix.
1) The cleanup operation caused toxic exposure
Following the closure of Corby’s British Steel plant in 1980, the local council aimed to repurpose the land through a cleanup project. As part of the process, trucks transported contaminated waste across the town. However, the trucks were uncovered and spread contaminated dust across the town, which the residents inhaled, unknowingly.
Government guidelines required trucks transporting the toxic sludge to be covered, but reports indicated that no such precautions were taken as per The Standard. This led to toxic particles containing arsenic, cadmium, and calcium being released into the air and settling across the town.
According to Crime+Investigation, some women in Corby said that they saw "orange dust" everywhere in town, calling it "inescapable." The article also detailed how "open-top lorries carrying the waste to the quarry" further contributed to the pollution.
The widespread contamination created what environmental experts later described as "a toxic soup of dust hanging over a town," as per The Standard.
2) The surge in birth defects and medical concerns
The Corby Toxic Waste case gained national attention when several children were born with limb deformities. Between 1989 and 1998, 19 children in Corby were born with limb abnormalities, a figure significantly higher than the expected national average.
A study conducted by the Kettering Health Authority in 2000 confirmed that the rate of birth defects among children born in Corby during this period was 2.7 times higher than in surrounding areas per The Standard.
One affected mother, Susan McIntyre, recalled how she questioned doctors about her son's condition. However, she was told that her baby might have been "sitting wrong in the womb, according to The Standard.
3) A whistleblower and leaked documents led to legal action
Despite the growing concerns, Corby Borough Council denied any wrongdoing. However, internal reports later revealed that officials were aware of potential hazards. According to a whistleblower and leaked documents from within the council, "safety regulations were not being observed." They added that the officials were "playing fast and loose" with the cleanup process to save time and money, as per a BBC Documentary from 2020.
The Corby Toxic Waste case first gained public attention in 1999 when journalist Graham Hind from The Sunday Times approached Susan McIntyre. They brought forward concerns about a potential widespread issue in Corby.
"It was a journalist and he said to me, ‘This could be a big problem in Corby. We think there’s some sort of damage that’s causing this to your babies,’" McIntyre recalled, per The Standard.
Lawyer Des Collins, after reading about the issue, took on the case, representing families seeking justice. A crucial moment occurred when confidential documents were anonymously sent to his office. He recalled seeing a "brown envelope" that had a "file full of papers," according to the 2020 BBC documentary.
The documents were instrumental in proving that the council had ignored warnings from environmental experts before the Corby Toxic Waste case.
4) The Landmark court ruling
The case took nearly a decade to reach trial, and in 2009, the High Court ruled that Corby Borough Council was liable for negligence, public nuisance, and breach of statutory duty.
The court found that the council had
"permitted and led to the extensive dispersal of contaminated mud and dust over public areas of Corby and into and over private homes, with the result that the contaminants could realistically have caused the types of birth defects of which complaint has been made by the claimants," the presiding judge wrote, according to Time.
Despite the ruling, the Corby Toxic Waste case remains controversial, as no criminal charges were ever brought against those responsible. Kelvin Glendenning, the former leader of Corby Borough Council, maintained that the council had nothing to regret for the Corby Toxic Waste case.
"If there was toxic waste - and I am sure there wasn’t any toxic waste at all that was floating about in the air - they shouldn’t be blaming us," Glendenning said.
5) Settlement and lasting impact
In 2010, Corby Borough Council reached a financial settlement with the affected families, amounting to £14.6 million as per Time. However, the council did not accept direct responsibility for the birth defects.
The legal victory marked the first time an English civil court established a direct link between airborne industrial pollutants and congenital disabilities, setting a precedent for environmental justice.
The Corby Toxic Waste case remains a cautionary tale of environmental mismanagement, corporate negligence, and the long road to justice. Lawyer Des Collins noted that while the case served as a warning for future land reclamation projects, it also highlighted the challenges of holding public authorities accountable.
"If you look at the advice being given by insurance companies to people who are reclaiming brownfield sites, they will always go into Corby, the dangers of Corby, to make sure Corby doesn't happen to you," per Time.
Toxic Town is available to stream on Netflix.
