THOUSANDS of radioactive particles from the seabed near Dounreay nuclear plant may need to be collected by divers.

Scientists believe it could take three years to recover the leaked deposits, each no bigger than a grain of sand but capable of burning a hole in skin, causing ulcers and tissue damage. The task is so risky that lives could be lost, but if they are not retrieved it will take 100 years for the particles to naturally decay.

In a report to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) on the extent of pollution around the nuclear research facility in Caithness, scientists propose to send divers more than 100ft down with radiation detectors to retrieve particles that have leaked from the plant during the course of the last 40 years.

Remote-controlled underwater vehicles could be used but Dounreay Particles Advisory Group (DPAG), which compiled the report, said that although using divers would be risky, it was the most effective way to solve the problem.

“Information has been given to SEPA which will enable them to weigh up the risks of particles coming onshore at Dounreay, and possibly elsewhere, and the risks of diver recovery,” said a source. “It would take two or three years to clean [the seabed] up. If something isn’t done, the beach will have to be closed for quite a long time. But the risks to divers are real, divers could be lost in the process.”

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of radioactive particles — fragments of irradiated nuclear fuel — have leaked since the 1960s from a waste pipe that runs 600 metres out to sea.

Most have dispersed harmlessly into the open sea but up to 2,000 are thought to be buried in sediment. Since November 1983, more than 900 particles have been found on the seabed, and about 240 on the foreshore at Dounreay — including one last week. Another 68 were retrieved on the adjoining Sandside beach.

Last year a contaminated pebble and radioactive particle were found on Dunnet beach, Caithness, a short distance from the Castle of Mey, a former residence of the Queen Mother and a holiday retreat of the royal family.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority is now facing prosecution after an investigation by SEPA into the way Dounreay was managed. A decision by the procurator fiscal is expected shortly.

Geoffrey Minter, the owner of Sandside beach, said: “The size and frequency of radioactive finds is increasing and I welcome any steps to tackle the dreadful problem of radioactive pollution.”

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