There may have been more but records are incomplete and no thorough investigation has been undertaken. The McGraths learned about the uranium site from newspaper articles, and started their own research. "It was a devastating shock," said Katie McGrath, who is considering legal action. "We've had a pretty horrendous life as a result of both our parents dying. We're not living in the past but I do believe we owe it to them to find out what really happened. It's important for other people who may have been affected as well."

Tests undertaken several times since the mid-1960s have confirmed that radiation levels are higher than average background levels but NSW Health has repeatedly declared the site safe. There is no proven link between the radioactive waste under the street and cancer deaths there. Greg McGrath, 44, remembers his father digging vegetable patches in the large block. He said his parents were restaurateurs and "very into food. They used to grow their own food at home in the vegetable patch. When we heard about the radioactivity, stomach cancer and leukaemia, suddenly it seemed to make a lot of sense." Tests in the 1970s concluded that eating a few sprigs of parsley a week would eventually mean a person would exceed the safe limits of radiation contamination. But the then NSW Health Commission told residents at the time there was no need to worry. Correspondence since found in the National Library includes a letter telling officials to "stall and be non-committal" when asked about the danger.

Fabian McGrath was also a builder, and his son recalls him excavating for additions to their home, including digging deep into the earth to construct a retaining wall. "I'm angry because we weren't made aware of any risk," he said. "Our parents obviously wouldn't have moved there if they had known." Michael Richardson, the state Liberal MP who has been campaigning for comprehensive radiation tests and a thorough clean-up, wants free medical testing for all former and current residents of the street.

"Morris Iemma must make a decision," he said. "This stuff is deadly and it's becoming more deadly as time goes on." A radiological survey ordered in February, undertaken by personnel from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, apparently showed little radiation danger, though the results have not been made available to the public. NSW Health did not say whether the tests included digging below the ground; radiation levels increase dramatically at a depth of half a metre. "Results of the testing undertaken at three sites have been provided to the individual property owners," said a spokesman for NSW Health. "An offer was made for NSW Health representatives to meet with these owners to discuss the results.

"Overall, the results indicate that people living in Nelson Parade should have no health concerns. Exposure levels fall within ARPANSA [Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency] recommendations for general public exposure." No more tests would be undertaken, he said. The State Government plans to dig out the radioactive waste - thousands of tonnes of processed uranium tailings, thorium and radium - and sell the site for housing.

At least three others fell victim to cancer, according to correspondence between NSW Health Department officials, dated from the 1960s - when some former residents had begun to suspect that there were too many tragedies for a normal street. One former resident, Gerald Conlan, succumbed to lymphatic leukaemia in 1987, after a 15-year battle with the illness. The house, nicknamed "Radium", where he had lived with his wife, Joan, was bought by the then NSW Health Commission and demolished. Next door, Andrew McClure had lived with his daughter, a Mrs Lucas. Like Iris and Fabian McGrath, they grew vegetables in their large garden.

Mrs Lucas died of stomach cancer in 1962, nine years after her father succumbed to leukaemia in his new home, in Gladesville. Her brother, Archibald McClure, died in 1956. A former neighbour recalled that he had died of bone cancer but his death certificate attributes the cause to tuberculosis and a pulmonary infection. Other family members reported having wounds that would not heal.