LAND at a Northwich housing estate at the centre of a cancer scare is to be tested amid fears of possible contamination.
Vale Royal Borough Council is to begin preliminary tests on the Muir estate in Leftwich within the next two weeks following the death of two young children from a rare form of leukaemia.
The 'environmental studies' will include soil analysis, gas emissions tests, building inspections and, if necessary, bore-hole drilling and is being carried out at the request of residents living in nearby homes owned by Muir Group Housing Association.
The move comes after the family of a toddler who died from the same acute myeloid leukaemia as another tot who lived just a few yards away raised their fears.
The Watts family say the deaths of daughter Rebecca, aged 19 months and of Muirfield Close, and Sharon Pymer, 17 months, of nearby Green-law Close, is too much of a coincidence.
Rebecca's father John claims there are too many similarities between the cases and believes that possible contamination of the land on which their homes were later built could be to blame.
Health chiefs have not set a time scale for the work, saying it will depend on what they find.
The Health Protection Agency, Central Cheshire Primary Care Trust, Muir Group and Vale Royal have been jointly investigating the deaths of the two tots and say the local environment is one of many factors which are being examined to see if they are linked, or are just tragic coincidences.
Dennis Ford, lead councillor for environmental health at Vale Royal Borough Council, said: 'We may find nothing, but unless we look we won't know if there are any environmental issues that need to be dealt with.
'It is good practice to carry out these studies and we will be working closely with residents to keep them informed and updated on progress. We will be on site in the next two weeks.'
Dr Alex Stewart, a consultant in health protection, added: 'We may never know what caused the deaths of these two children. But we are conducting initial investigations into what caused this and are looking into possible contributory factors.'
Northwich MP Mike Hall has given his backing to the investigation, and said it was very important residents on the estate were kept up-to-date with the latest developments. He said: 'We have got to find out if these deaths are related and also establish what caused the leukaemia in these very young toddlers.
'It is a rare leukaemia in the general population and even then it is mostly found in older people.'
'I will be asking Vale Royal Borough Council to try and put together a website for information. The council has set the ball rolling, it just needs to make sure everything that can be done, is done.'
