Corby became a steelmaking centre through the establishment of the Stewarts & Lloyds production site in the 1930s, and by 1960 had grown to become one of the most heavily industrialised areas in the Midlands. In 1981 however the plant had become unprofitable and owners British Steel Corporation closed the site. By then it was one of the largest steelmaking operations in Western Europe, covering , with four blast furnaces, two coke oven complexes and associated facilities. During its operation a huge quantity of industrial waste, including toxic waste, had been deposited there.
Between 1984 and 1999 Corby Borough Council undertook the demolition, excavation and redevelopment of the site as part of a program of urban regeneration. This involved transporting the waste through populated areas to a quarry north of the site, utilising up to 200 vehicle movements daily. The toxic waste was carried in open lorries, spilling sludge over the roads and releasing huge amounts of dust into the air.
Subsequently, in the late 1980s and 1990s, the rates of upper-limb defects in babies born in Corby were found to be almost three times higher than those of children born in the surrounding area and ten times higher than a town with a population of 60,000 should expect. In all cases initially referred to the court there were no previous family histories of limb defect.