Staff working on Oxfordshire sites with a history of nuclear research are being offered health advice after the publication of a new study on the health of children of employees in the industry.

Although the make-up of organisations at Harwell and Culham has diversified in recent years, nuclear research still goes on at the sites.

The independent study was funded by the Department of Health and the Health and Safety Executive.

More than 27,000 responses were analysed from more than 46,000 questionnaires sent to current and past employees of the Atomic Energy Authority, British Nuclear Fuels and the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston.

The first part of the study dealt with cancer in children born to parents working in the nuclear industry which the authors - from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine - said was reassuring.

The second results found no increased risk of birth defects, miscarriages or stillbirths in the babies of male radiation workers.

The risk of early miscarriage or stillbirth was "slightly higher" if the mother had been monitored for radiation before conception, but this was based on such a small scale that researchers said no clear link could be established.

Nevertheless, staff who felt they wanted advice about the latest report have been encouraged to contact the local occupational health centre.