🔗 Share this article

Southern Water is conducting an inquiry after millions of polluted polymer pellets appeared on Camber Sands beach, sparking fears of a possible "environmental catastrophe".

The plastic pellets could cause severe harm on ocean creatures, according to a local MP, with concerns that protected marine species, including coastal birds, small cetaceans, and marine mammals, might ingest them and die.

A local official suspects the beads may have been released from a local filtration facility and has sent a letter to the water company's chief executive, requesting an explanation.

Camber Sands, located in East Sussex, is one of England’s most beloved beaches, known for rare dune habitat and vast stretches of fine grains.

Local helpers have been working urgently to clear the beads, collecting dozens of bags with the synthetic debris, but the scale of the contamination event is vast, and it is unlikely they will be able to remove all of them.

A representative from a environmental organization remarked over the weekend, "This represents the most severe contamination incident I have ever witnessed. It is contaminated plastic. Marine animals will ingest tiny synthetic pieces once they are in the sea; they will draw in microorganisms, they will smell like food, effectively."

"After ingestion, that’s it: they cannot expel it. They will float on the surface. It will form a layer which attracts diving coastal birds."

He added that the clean-up efforts have been draining. "Yesterday, I was on site removing the debris. We are trying to really piece together the timeline and the story for this horrendous event. It’s awful."

"The pellets are minuscule that from a very long way off, the shoreline appears unaffected. But as soon as you approach closely, you see there are millions black pellets, hidden among marine plants. It’s an unachievable mission – volunteers 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 worst 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 ecological disaster. These biobeads are deadly to marine life and wildlife, and we are observing more dead seals, fish and porpoises on the beach."

"Community members are laboring diligently to remove as many beads as possible, but it’s a race against time. Southern Water must urgently establish if their nearby treatment facilities could be the origin of these biobeads, and I’ve asked them to commit every possible asset to aiding the removal efforts in the meantime."

The beads are also dangerous to canines as they hold a high number of PAHs, which are known to have carcinogenic properties, and they often contain toxins including heavy metals, metalloids, and chemical elements.

A spokesperson for the water company stated, "We are working closely with the regulatory body and district authorities to investigate the source of polymer pellets which have been deposited on the shoreline. This investigation work is ongoing."

"The district council is overseeing removal of the beach, using trained personnel with a vehicle with suction equipment to extract the pellets. We are additionally assisting with the removal process."

"We have performed water-quality sampling on the coast, which has shown no impact to the aquatic environment. These results has been shared with the local authorities and the Environment Agency."

Regulatory officials has been contacted for comment.