THE Government last night hit back at fresh claims of a link between former industrial brownfield sites and disease in humans.

A report in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) said building homes on such sites posed a potential threat to health because land was often contaminated with toxic chemicals.

About 100,000 former industrial sites, including a number in the North-East, have been identified for development, with the Government keen to build up to 60 per cent of new homes on brownfield land.

The BMJ report was based on findings from residents living near an old chemical waste dump in Halton, Cheshire, who showed signs of kidney abnormalities as a result of the presence in the area of the chemical hexachlorobutadiene, or HCBD, known to be toxic to animals.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's office, which is behind the drive to reclaim brownfield sites, said it was scaremongering to suggest that lives were being put risk.

A spokesman said: "The whole point about brownfield sites is that they are cleaned and we would not allow developments on them if there was a problem."

Thousands of homes have already been built in this region on brownfield sites, including those which contained former coal mines and chemical works.

Regional development agency One NorthEast has also announced plans to reclaim 430 hectares of brownfield land during the next three years.

The former Darchem chemical factory in Faverdale, Darlington, is now the location for a housing development together with a park, rugby ground and hospital unit.

Concerns over asbestos levels at the site were allayed by exhaustive investigations later backed by the Environment Agency and Darlington Council.

Council spokesman Steve Jones said: "One of the planning conditions was that the developers had to assess the site and then put in place a strategy for decontaminating it.

"The standards that they had to meet are published standards and we are satisfied that the site is safe for housing."

Ruth Johnson, a spokeswoman for English Partnerships, said there were levels of contamination at some brownfield sites, but a comprehensive strategy was in place to bring them safely back into use.

English Partnerships is one of a number of agencies given the responsibility of identifying land across the country on which development can take place.