'Radioactive' beach may be concreted over

A BEACH may have to be partially covered in concrete to seal dangerous material that could give children a dose of radiation.

The move could stop the area being officially designated as contaminated land, which residents fear would devastate the community.

The news follows the discovery of 39 radioactive radium items in the latest survey of the foreshore at Dalgety Bay, Fife, which is close to a former airfield used in the Second World War. The largest of them was 4in across and weighed 8oz.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said the material could give a child a "potentially significant" radiation dose to the skin, but it would be low for an adult.

The agency said one small item among about 90 found in a previous survey in 2006 could have given a significant dose of radiation if swallowed. Similar research on the items found this year was inconclusive.

The radiation comes from the luminous coating put on the dials of wartime aircraft so they could be read at night.

They are thought to have been burnt with other waste, which was then used to help rebuild the foreshore.

Warning signs about the contamination were erected after a 1996 survey. People are advised not to take away items and to wash their hands after visiting the beach.

Further action is now planned to prevent the area being designated as radioactive under regulations introduced last year.

A two-acre section of the beach and headland, including a 70ft strip between two slipways beside Dalgety Bay Sailing Club, may have to be covered up, either with matting or concrete, to shield the material.

Colin McPhail, the chairman of Dalgety Bay and Hillend Community Council, said everyone involved was anxious to avoid the land being classed as radioactive.

He said: "There is low-level radiation, and it is a borderline case.

"Once it is recorded, it is there for ever. You can imagine the devastating effect that would have on Dalgety Bay.

"People have lived with this all these years and it's at the back of their minds, but others elsewhere would think the whole of Dalgety Bay is radioactive."

Defence Estates, part of the Ministry of Defence, agreed at a meeting in Dalgety Bay yesterday to devise proposals by the end of January.

Colin Bayes, Sepa's director of environmental protection, said: "We believe that the best way forward is to ask key agencies to take voluntary action to deal with the problem as speedily as possible. The most practical solution involves breaking the pathway between the radioactive sources and the public.

"This could be achieved in a variety of ways, for example erecting clearer signage or concreting the areas where the highest concentrations of particles have been found."

A spokeswoman for Sepa said: "As an immediate measure, we are talking about improved signage to ensure the public can make an informed decision about whether to use the foreshore or not.

"If concreting parts of the beach was proposed, we would consider it as part of any appropriate risk-management arrangement."

BACKGROUND

THE Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has been forced to take new action over the Dalgety Bay radiation by the Radioactive Contaminated Land Regulations (2007) and supporting guidance, which came into force in April.

Sepa said that surveys in 2006 and this year had confirmed there was radioactivity in the area.

However, the agency added that the guidance stated a site could avoid being designated as radioactive contaminated land "if effective voluntary actions are taken to protect human health".