Ecolex Logo
The gateway to
environmental law
Search results » Jurisprudence

Corby Group Litigation v Corby District Council.

Country/Territory
United Kingdom
Type of court
National - higher court
Date
Jul 29, 2009
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Court name
High Court
Seat of court
London
Judge
Akenhead
Reference number
[2009] EWHC 1944 (TCC)
Language
English
Subject
Waste & hazardous substances, Environment gen.
Keyword
Liability/compensation Hazardous substances
Abstract
Corby District Council, now Corby Borough Council ("CBC") acquired the greater part of the British Steel site near the town centre and undertook reclamation works between 1983 and 1997. The works involved the "dig and dump" of 2 million cubic tonnes of heavily contaminated material in a disused quarry some miles away, the contaminated material was excavated and transported to parts of the old BSC site acquired by CBC, much of it by and across public roads and the large bulk of it in un-sheeted lorries, often leaving toxic waste on the roads. It was claimed that, between 1986 and 1999 some children were born with birth defects as a result of negligence, breach of statutory duty and public nuisance on the part of CBC. It was claimed that the birth defects were due to expectant mothers inhaling or ingesting harmful substances (cadmium, chromium, nickel, dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, on their own or in combination) generated by the reclamation. The Court found in favour of the claimants, accepting the expert opinion that those responsible for the reclamation works at CBC had seen the project as simply an 'engineering' operation involving often unspecified material, rather than as a highly complex remediation and reclamation process. It ruled that Corby District Council had been "extensively negligent" in its control and management of the reclamation of the former British Steel works in Corby, and has held the Council liable in public nuisance, negligence and breach of statutory duty. The Court ruled that these breaches had led to the extensive dispersal of contaminated mud and dust over public areas of Corby and into private homes, as a result of which they caused birth defects in children born to mothers who inhaled the contaminants.
Full text
COU-156444.pdf