The base is situated on the North York Moor Moors

It has been ordered by the Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale primary care trust.

Concerns about radiation followed a BBC Inside Out television documentary which reported possible cancer clusters near a similar early warning base at Cape Cod in the US.

The Ministry of Defence is currently planning to upgrade the Fylingdales radar to make it part of the American missile defence system dubbed "Son of Star Wars".

Death rates

Deaths by cancer in the 1990s in the area around Fylingdales will now be compared with the whole of North Yorkshire as well as England and Wales.

The study will attempt to establish whether death rates are higher or lower than elsewhere.

The Ministry of Defence says there is no evidence to suggest a health risk from RAF Fylingdales.

It says emissions from the radar are many times lower than the safe levels set by the National Radiological Protection Board.

Earlier this week, it became known that officials at the North York Moors National Park have concluded that the upgrade of the base does not need planning permission.