MATERIAL removed from a former landfill site earmarked for a new school could have caused cancer, the Argus can reveal.

Paint and contaminated soil were taken from the Glebelands, Newport, where a replacement for Durham Road Infants and Junior Schools may be built.

South Wales East AM Mike German said: "There is no way a school should be built anywhere until we can be sure the site is safe."

Protesters say details of the waste should have been revealed to the public.

A document obtained by the Argus shows that 40 tons of cancer-causing material was removed from a former landfill site where a new school is set to be built.

Barrels of "paint-related material" and "contaminated" soil were removed from the proposed site of the replacement Durham Road Infants and Junior schools at the Glebelands, Newport.

The removal is recorded on an internal document of Egan Waste Services, who took the waste from a site belonging to AMEC, in Newport, to Merthyr's Trecatti tip.

AMEC had been carrying out work on the sewerage system there when the discovery was made.

The contents of the barrels and contaminated soil are designated in the document as: "Carcinogenic: substances and preparations which, if inhaled or ingested or if they penetrate the skin, may induce cancer or increase its incidence."

South Wales East AM Mike German has now said: "There is no way a school should be built anywhere until we can be absolutely sure the site is safe."

Newport council has given the go-ahead to the school - but the decision still has to go before the planning committee. A date has not yet been set.

Mr German and Newport East AM John Griffiths both claim they had requested information about the waste but were refused access.

The council - which stresses the site would be cleaned up before the school was built - said it understood that refusal was by AMEC.

An AMEC spokesman said the drums contained metal paint and it was normal practice to refer to it as "contaminated waste" as it was not naturally occurring.

He added: "The report was public record information through the Environment Agency. As a consequence we would encourage people to contact them as an appropriate way of gaining information.

"The agency are the guardians of the information, but if AMs wanted information directly from us we would be quite happy to provide it." He said the report was also lodged with the council for reference.

Mr German's spokesman, Ed Townsend, said: "I don't doubt the council is acting honestly, but when there are refusals to release reports like this it causes distrust among local people."

Members of the Glebelands campaign group were at the National Assembly this week, pressing for amendments to the Freedom of Information Act to make companies more accountable.

Campaign chairman John Martin said: "We are calling for proper access to information, a real independent inquiry and a referendum of local people and parents to decide the future of the site."

Mr Griffiths said: "The experts say this site can be made safe and I have to believe them. The unfortunate thing about this case is that when these findings are not made public, it fuels the suspicions of those who believe there is a cover-up."

A Newport council spokeswoman said they had received a copy of the report "in confidence".

The council's chief education officer, David Griffiths, said: "The health and safety of pupils and staff is the council's priority and in no circumstances would a school be built on a site that was not made safe."

PICTURE: The site where the cancer-causing chemicals were found