🔗 Share this article

Southern Water is currently investigating after a vast number of polluted polymer pellets appeared on the shoreline at Camber, raising worries of a potential "environmental catastrophe".

These biobeads could have a dire impact on ocean creatures, according to a regional representative, with concerns that rare sea life, including coastal birds, small cetaceans, and seals, might consume them and die.

The area's representative suspects the pellets may have been spilled from a nearby water treatment centre and has sent a letter to the top official, requesting an explanation.

Camber Sands, situated in East Sussex, is a highly popular shoreline, featuring rare dune habitat and vast stretches of golden sand.

Volunteers have been working urgently to remove the pellets, collecting multiple sacks with the synthetic debris, but the extent of the pollution spill is immense, and it is improbable they will be able to remove all of them.

An expert from a plastic pollution campaign group remarked over the weekend, "This represents the most severe contamination incident I have ever seen. It is polluted polymer. Marine animals will consume tiny synthetic pieces once they are in the ocean; they will draw in microorganisms, they will appear edible, in essence."

"Once they’ve eaten it, there's no turning back: they can’t get it out. They will remain buoyant. It will create a slick which attracts diving coastal birds."

The expert continued that the clean-up efforts have been draining. "Recently, I was out there removing the debris. We are trying to accurately reconstruct the sequence of events and the story for this horrendous event. It’s awful."

"The pellets are minuscule that from a a distance, the beach looks normal. But as soon as you get close up, you see there are millions black pellets, hidden among marine plants. It’s an impossible task – helpers have been raking for days, and they will continue to rake, but we won’t be able to get rid of them all. It is the most severe I have ever seen of a contaminated shoreline."

The elected official, who joined the removal work, remarked, "The immense quantity of polymer pellets that have appeared on this shore threatens an environmental catastrophe. These plastic items are lethal to marine life and wildlife, and we are observing more dead seals, fish and porpoises on the beach."

"Community members are working tirelessly to clear away as many beads as possible, but it’s a urgent effort. Southern Water must quickly determine if their local wastewater plants could be the source of these pellets, and I’ve asked them to commit every possible asset to aiding the removal efforts in the interim."

These pellets are additionally hazardous to canines as they contain a significant amount of PAHs, which are known to have cancer-causing traits, and they often contain toxins including heavy metals, antimony, and chemical elements.

An official representative for the water company said, "We are working closely with the regulatory body and district authorities to look into the source of polymer pellets which have been deposited on the shoreline. This investigation work is ongoing."

"The district council is leading the clean-up of the beach, using specialists with a vehicle with suction equipment to extract the beads. We are also supporting with the clean-up."

"We have performed water-quality sampling on the beach, which has shown no impact to environmental water quality. These results has been provided with the local authorities and the Environment Agency."

The Environment Agency has been contacted for a statement.