Rutherford lab legacy may be lethal

Between 1909 and 1917 New Zealand-born Lord Rutherford conducted experiments in room 2.62 of a red-brick Victorian building, which now bears his name, in the northern English city.

There he investigated the properties of radon and polonium �?which killed Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006 �?and experiments using radioactive material were carried out in the room till 1947.

In 1972 the building was handed over to the university's psychology department.

Britain's Independent newspaper reported this week that concerns about the building's safety were raised last year after psychologist Hugh Wagner died of pancreatic cancer at 62, having worked for 20 years in room 2.62.

John Clark, who worked in room 1.54, directly below, died of a brain tumour in 1993.

Last week Arthur Reader, 69, who also worked in the Rutherford Building, died of pancreatic cancer, fuelling fears among his family that his death was "more than a coincidence".

Manchester coroner Nigel Meadows has called for an autopsy to find out if "he was exposed to anything during the course of his employment that may have caused or contributed to the cancer".

The newspaper reported there were also concerns over the death of computer assistant Vanessa Santos-Leitao, 25, from a brain tumour in February. She had worked in the building since 2006.

A report by three academics working in the building has called for a review of procedures governing workers' wellbeing. The university welcomed the report and is set to announce details of its own independent inquiry.

The hazards of radioactive material were not fully understood by pioneers in the field. Marie Curie died from leukaemia in 1934, aged 66. Her notebooks are still too dangerous to handle.

Lord Rutherford died in 1937, aged 66, after hernia surgery.