AN investigation into the possible health implications of land contamination on a housing estate in Leftwich, where two children died from a rare form of leukaemia, has not found any evidence that environmental factors in the area are posing any significant risk to health.

A quantity of benzene was discovered below soil level in the garden of one of the homes when boreholes were drilled and since then, air sampling has detected a small pocket of benzene in the atmosphere at soil level in the immediate vicinity of one borehole.

However, the investigation has revealed the levels of benzene detected in the air are 10 times less than a driver is exposed to when filling a car with petrol.

There is no evidence of benzene in the air at head height in the garden and none has been detected inside the houses.

Dr Alex Stewart, of the Health Protection Agency and a member of the incident group set up to conduct the investigations, said: "I'm pleased to say that to date we have not discovered anything of concern inside the houses on the estate.

"It is true that we discovered benzene beneath the soil surface in one of the gardens and air sampling has since detected a small amount of benzene just above ground level in the immediate vicinity of one of the boreholes. But in order to understand what this means for health, we need to remember that we all have everyday exposure to benzene.

"Benzene is present in petrol and is produced during smoking and is present in the air around us and in foodstuffs.

"For example, benzene concentrations in the air that we breathe while filling a car with petrol are many times higher than the highest levels observed at soil level in the Leftwich garden. These levels are less than half the concentrations breathed in when one walks by the side of a busy road.

"The benzene levels in the Leftwich garden are only a small fraction of the total amount of benzene we are all exposed to in our daily lives."