Radar brought in to probe Dalgety Bay beach radiation

RADAR surveys and the digging of trial pits are to form part of an investigation into radiation on a Fife beach.

The work at Dalgety Bay will take place between May and November, with its results assessed to determine further action, the Ministry of Defence announced yesterday.

Defence minister Andrew Robathan said: “Working with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, this represents a key milestone in understanding the situation at Dalgety Bay and presents the timetable for the investigation.”

The contamination is thought to stem from radium-coated instrument panels used on military aircraft that were incinerated and put in landfill in the area after the Second World War.

Environment secretary Richard Lochhead said the plan was a step forward but there was a long way to go.

MOD’s Dalgety Bay investigation plan 2012 >>