RADIATION levels at a Scottish beach pose no serious public health threat and should not stop anyone visiting the area, according to a scientific report published today.
The report by the Health Protection Agency calculated that a person’s chances of developing a deadly cancer from “breathing in or eating a radioactive object” encountered at Dalgety Bay was less than one in 100million.
HPA scientists have also worked out that the risk of a ‘typical’ beach user encountering a radioactive object ranged from 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 10,000.
However the agency called for regular monitoring of the beach to be continued to ensure that contaminated objects are detected and removed.
It also urged the Scottish Government to commission a detailed public health risk assessment and said that more work was needed first to find out how people use the beach at the moment.
Dr John Cooper, director of the HPA’s Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards (CRCE), said: “Our view, as explained in this new report, is that although the risks to public health from radioactive objects on the beach are low, momentum must be maintained to resolve the problems at Dalgety Bay.
“We also believe that every effort needs to be made to work towards a timely agreement on the long term management strategy for this situation - for the benefit of all those involved.”
More than 2,000 radioactive particles are thought to have been uncovered at the beach since last October, when high-activity radiation was found at the bay and parts of the beach were closed.
The contamination is thought to stem from residue of radium-coated instrument panels used on military aircraft which were incinerated and put in landfill in the area at the end of the Second World War.
The government asked the HPA to assess the risks to public health amidst concerns that people could develop cancer.