Illness linked to contaminated land

Brownfield sites could be contaminated

Subtle health changes in people living by contaminated land has raised concerns about further building on former industrial "brownfield" sites.

The government says that three out of five new homes should be built on these sites to ease pressure on the green belt and other rural locations.

However, there remain worries that certain sites may be contaminated with heavy metals or other dangerous chemicals - and that decontamination may not render them completely safe.

A study, published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, looks at just one example of a former industrial site near to existing homes.

The land, two quarries, in Halton Borough in Cheshire, used to dispose of industrial waste, including the chemical hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD).

It is known to have damaging effects on the kidneys, including the potential to cause cancer.

Health checks

The researcher, from the Health Protection Agency, gave residents living in close proximity a health check and found warning signs in their urine that their kidneys were under pressure.

High levels of HCBD were found inside their houses, and the families were moved while the release of chemicals from the site was halted.

After 10 months, tests revealed that their condition appeared to be improving.

However, the author, Dr Brian Staples said that the findings emphasised the need for stringent health risk assessments to be part of the planning process for brownfield sites.

He said: "Land contamination exists throughout the UK.

"In the light of this evidence, the public, planning authorities, and development agencies need to be aware of the potential health risks when considering how brownfield sites may be utilised in future."

Ongoing problem

Dr Tim Dixon, who researches the issue of brownfield land use at the College of Estate Management, told BBC News Online that it was impossible to draw wide conclusions about safety from just one area.

"These sites vary widely from location to location.

"The problem is that in this country we simply don't know accurately how many contaminated sites there are - new ones are being discovered all the time."

He said that it was mandatory for local authorities to have a strategy for dealing with contaminated land in their area - and this included assessing the potential risks to the health of residents.

A new body, Sustainable Urban Brownfield Regeneration: Integrated Management, has been set up to carry out further research into the potential of such sites.