How did toxic dust cause birth defects in the children from Corby?

Susan McIntyre (Jodie Whittaker), Tracey Taylor (Aimee Lou Wood) and Maggie Mahon (Claudia Jessie) all had children born with birth defects.

Whittaker’s son had a deformed hand, Jessie’s baby also had a physical abnormality and Tracey’s daughter was born with a two-chambered heart and died at four days old, according to Time and Netflix’s Tudum.

Whittaker received a phone call from a journalist who confirmed that there was a link between the toxic dust and several children from Corby who had disabilities. The news connected Whittaker with other mothers who had gone through similar situations with their babies.

“I was in hospital with lots of other mothers having babies, and some of them had babies that had problems with their limbs,” the real McIntyre said, recounting her experience, per Netflix. “And I’d say, ‘Oh, you’ll be all right,’ and I’d comfort them, and then four months later, the same thing happened to me. I had a baby with the exact same thing. And I did think that was strange.”

Whittaker and the other mothers learned from lawyer Des Collins (Rory Kinnear) that a mismanaged reclamation project had exposed them to toxic waste during pregnancy, leading to their children being born with limb deformities, according to Netflix.

Toxic town

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