🔗 Share this article

Southern Water is currently investigating after millions of polluted polymer pellets appeared on the shoreline at Camber, sparking worries of a potential "ecological disaster".

The plastic pellets could have a dire impact on marine life, according to a local MP, with apprehensions that rare sea life, including coastal birds, porpoises, and marine mammals, might consume them and die.

The area's representative suspects the beads may have been spilled from a local filtration facility and has written to the top official, demanding an account.

This coastal area, located in the southeastern region, is one of England’s most beloved beaches, known for rare dune habitat and vast stretches of fine grains.

Volunteers have been racing against time to clear the pellets, collecting dozens of bags with the synthetic debris, but the extent of the pollution spill is vast, and it is improbable 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 polluted polymer. Marine animals will ingest small plastic items once they are in the sea; they will attract algae, they will appear edible, effectively."

"Once they’ve eaten it, that’s it: they cannot expel it. They will float on the surface. It will form a layer which draws in diving coastal birds."

He added that the clean-up efforts have been exhausting. "Yesterday, I was out there removing the debris. We are trying to accurately reconstruct the sequence of events and the details for this devastating incident. It’s terrible."

"The pellets are minuscule that from a a distance, the shoreline appears unaffected. But as soon as you approach closely, you see there are millions dark beads, hidden among marine plants. It’s an impossible task – 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 most severe I have ever seen of a contaminated shoreline."

The local MP, who joined the clean-up efforts, stated, "The immense quantity of polymer pellets that have washed up here threatens an environmental catastrophe. These biobeads are lethal to ocean and land animals, and we are already seeing more dead seals, fish and porpoises on the beach."

"Local residents are working tirelessly to clear away as many pellets as possible, but it’s a urgent effort. Southern Water must urgently establish if their nearby treatment facilities could be the origin of these pellets, and I’ve asked them to commit every possible asset to aiding the removal efforts in the interim."

These pellets are also dangerous to canines as they hold a high number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are known to have cancer-causing traits, and they often contain harmful substances such as heavy metals, antimony, and bromine.

An official representative for the water company stated, "We are working closely with the regulatory body and district authorities to investigate the cause of plastic beads which have washed up on Camber Beach. This investigation work is ongoing."

"Local officials is overseeing removal of the beach, using specialists with a specialized machinery to extract the beads. We are also supporting with the removal process."

"We have performed water-quality sampling on the beach, which has shown no impact to the aquatic environment. This data has been provided with the district council and the regulatory body."

The Environment Agency has been reached out to for comment.