Petrol station link to child leukaemia risk

Living near a petrol station could quadruple the risk of childhood leukaemia, research suggested today.

The study in France found a link between cases of acute leukaemia among youngsters and how close they lived to a fuel station or a repair garage.

Research has already shown an association between adults' occupational exposure to benzene, a hydrocarbon derived from petrol, and leukaemia.

The latest study is published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The French Institute of Health and Medical Research based their findings on 280 cases of childhood leukaemia and a comparison group of 285 children.

They were drawn from four hospitals in Nancy, Lille, Lyon and Paris, with almost two-thirds of the children with leukaemia aged between two and six.

The team found no clear link between the mother's occupation during pregnancy or traffic levels around where they lived and the risk of child leukaemia.

They also saw no link between leukaemia and living near manufacturers using materials such as aluminium or plastic.

But a child whose home was near a garage was four times more likely to develop leukaemia than a child whose home was not.

The risk appeared to be even greater for acute nonlymphoblastic leukaemia, which was seven times more common among children living close to a petrol station or garage. The longer a child had lived there, the higher their risk of leukaemia appeared to be.

There are 6,600 cases of leukaemia a year in Britain. Although it is the most common form of childhood cancer, it affects three times as many adults as children.

The authors admit the findings could be due to chance. "But the strength of the association and the duration of the trend are arguments for a causal association."