Cancer scare at Qld government building

Queensland government staff could be relocated from a Brisbane CBD office building if fears of a cancer cluster prove true, Premier Anna Bligh says.

Queensland Health has launched an investigation after a concerned employee of the Queensland Government Security Office on Wednesday reported six workers at Mineral House on George Street had fallen ill with cancer.

Ms Bligh said the department would immediately begin environmental and epidemiological testing of the building for possible causes of a cancer cluster.

"I appreciate that these are uncertain and scary times for people that work in this building," Ms Bligh said.

"We don't know what the reality is, but we are going to find out as quickly as we can so we can put people's minds at rest."

She said workers could be relocated if the testing revealed the building may have contributed to the cancer cases.

"If there is any suggestion that people's lives are at risk in this building then we will take every action necessary including relocation," she said.

However, Ms Bligh said it was too early to describe the cases as a cancer cluster and ruled out a broader investigation of government buildings at this stage.

"I think the sort of resources that would be involved in that, without any evidence, is an overwhelming task," Ms Bligh said.

Public Works Minister Robert Schwarten said magnetic field measurements conducted in 1999 had shown that levels in the office were well below recognised guidelines.

He said the situation at Mineral House differed from other recognised cancer clusters such as the ABC's now abandoned Toowong studios in Brisbane, where a breast cancer cluster was identified, and at the Atherton fire station in north Queensland, where there were three cases of brain cancer and two of other forms of cancer.

"For example, I am informed that a variety of different cancers have been diagnosed in staff working at Mineral House and those diagnosed come from varied demographics," Mr Schwarten said.