Southern Water is investigating millions of contaminated plastic pellets washed up on Camber Sands beach, threatening an “environmental disaster”.
Biobeads could have a terrible impact on marine life, a local MP has said, with fears rare sea life including seabirds, porpoises and seals could ingest them and die.
Helena Dollimore, MP for Hastings and Rye, suspects the beads may have been spilled at a local water treatment center and has written to Southern Water chief executive Lawrence Gosden demanding an explanation.
Camber Sands in East Sussex is one of England's best-loved beaches, with sparse dunes and vast stretches of golden sand.
Volunteers are rushing to clear the beads, filling dozens of bags with plastic waste, but the scale of the pollution is enormous and it is unlikely they will be able to clear it all.
Andy Dinsdale, from the Plastic Pollution Campaign Group Strandlinerssaid on Saturday: “This is the worst pollution I've ever seen. It's contaminated plastic. Marine animals ingest small plastic objects when they're in the sea, they attract algae and effectively smell like food.”
“Once they eat it, that's it: they won't be able to get it out. They'll float on the surface. It'll create a spot that attracts diving seabirds.”
He said the cleanup efforts have been tedious. “I was there yesterday cleaning up the mess. We're trying to really piece together the chronology and history of this terrible event. It's terrible. It's terrible.”
“They are so small that from a distance the beach looks normal. But as soon as you get closer, you will see millions of black granules hidden under the seaweed. It is an impossible task – the volunteers have been raking for days and they will continue to rake, but we will not be able to get rid of them all. This is the worst thing I have ever seen on a polluted beach.”
Dollimore, a Labor and Co-op MP who joined the clean-up effort, said: “The huge amount of plastic pellets dumped here risks environmental disaster. These bio-beads are deadly to marine life and wildlife and we are already seeing more dead seals, fish and porpoises on the beach.”
“Local residents are working tirelessly to remove as many of the pellets as possible, but it is a race against time. Southern Water must urgently investigate whether their local wastewater treatment plant could be the source of these biobeads and I have asked them to commit all available resources to supporting the clean-up operation in the meantime.”
The balls are also dangerous for dogs because they contain high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are known to be carcinogenic, and often contain toxins including lead, antimony and bromine.
A Southern Water spokesman said: “We are working closely with the Environment Agency and Rother District Council in their investigation into the source of the plastic pellets washed ashore at Cumber Beach and this investigative work is ongoing.
“Rother District Council is leading the beach clean-up, using specialist vehicles with suction equipment to remove the beads. We also support cleaning.
“We carried out water sampling at the beach which showed no impact on environmental water quality. This data has been shared with Rother District Council and the Environment Agency.”
An Environment Agency spokesman said: “We know large quantities of plastic pellets have been washed up along the East Sussex coastline, including Camber Sands.
“We are providing advice and guidance to Rother District Council, who have hired contractors to carry out the clean-up operation and this work is currently underway.
“We are working with other responders to determine the source of the contamination.”
