Routine monitoring of the Dalgety Bay area, carried out as part of the joint Food Standards Scotland (FSS)/ Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) radioactivity monitoring programme, has detected a radioactive source in the mussel beds which sit offshore of the beach at Dalgety Bay.
Dr Paul Dale,said,“While carrying out routine monitoring of the Dalgety Bay area this weekend, our Radioactive Substances team found a radioactive source in mussels beds which sit offshore from the beach area. This is the first time that sources have been found in the mussel beds and Food Standards Scotland has been informed of the findings.
“A monthly monitoring and recovery programme by Defence Infrastructure Organisation’s contractors remains in place. Continue to periodically check this monitoring, and monitor the mussel beds, in order to assess the potential spread of radioactive sources, prior to remediation of the site by the Ministry of Defence and their contractors.
“This find demonstrates the importance of people following the signs staying off the demarcated area and not picking up items from the beach, we do not believe that at this stage any further actions are required.”
Dr Will Munro, Scientific Adviser in FSS said:
“A Food and Environment Protection Act (FEPA) order prohibits the removal of any seafood from the Dalgety Bay area so we consider that this finding does not present a food safety risk. This measure, to protect public health, was introduced on 9 May 2012 and will remain in place until effective remediation measures are completed by MOD and their contractors.
Mussel beds are included in the monitoring programme as mussels are most likely to ingest particles due to the way that they feed. Although the particles originate from specific parts of Dalgety Bay, the FEPA area covers the whole of the bay, in order to prevent fishing from areas to which the particles may have been transported.”
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