Radioactive beach will take 3 years to clean up, says MoD

DEFENCE chiefs have pledged to monitor a Scottish beach, which has been plagued by radiation, for the next three years and remove dangerous particles that wash up on the shore.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) hopes to reach an agreement with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) within weeks about the long-term future of Dalgety Bay.

Sepa warned the MoD in November, after the most dangerous particle yet washed up on the Fife coastline, that it needed to come up with a “credible, long term” plan with three months.

The radiation is believed to originate from radium coatings on dials on military aircraft based at Donibristle air base, which were incinerated on the site after the Second World War.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown, MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, called for urgent action last week, after particles washed up in nearby Crowhill Wood, in Fife.

With pressure growing, defence minister Andrew Robathan visited Dalgety Bay yesterday to try and reassure the local community that action was being taken.

“Since new discoveries were made over the last few months, we have increased our efforts to assist Sepa in investigating the problem and reach agreement on the way forward,” he said.

“We welcome the establishment of the independent expert group and will assist that group in assessing the residual risks and determining the scope of any necessary remedial action.

“To that end, the department is undertaking a three-year programme of monitoring and removal of radioactive items from the beach.

“In addition, the MoD is working in consultation with Sepa to develop a credible investigation plan. A decision on future plans, agreed by all parties, is expected in the next few weeks.”

However, Mr Brown said the MoD response did not go far enough. He said: “While I welcome regular monitoring, the issues of concern go beyond monitoring and include the funding of a clean-up plan.”

“First, the MoD must accept liability for the remedial action that is required to make this site safe and secure in the long term. Second, the MoD must work with Sepa to come up with a remediation plan setting out clear timescales for the work to be carried out.

“I am concerned that the language being used today by the minister suggests that the MoD involvement is purely on a voluntary basis. I want to make clear that the MoD has a responsibility for this situation and has a duty to take whatever steps are necessary to make the area safe.”

Radioactive materials have been found in a series of incidents in Dalgety Bay.

In November, it emerged three more clusters had been found. One measured 76 megabecquerels, the highest reading ever found on the stretch of Fife coastline, and harmful enough to cause serious skin burns or, if ingested, have long-term health consequences

In response, Sepa warned that it would make the beauty spot the first designated Radioactive Contaminated Land Area in Scotland, if a solution was not found by the end of February, effectively invoking legal action against the MoD.

Last night, Sepa said it was reserving judgment.

A spokeswoman said: “We have not yet received the MoD’s plan and so are unable to comment on it. When we have received it we will review it and provide feedback.”