There been a further radioactive particle found on the beach near Dounreay nuclear power plant in what is the most active hot-spot so far detected.
The discovery on Thursday came just hours after the UKAEA - Dounreay was fined £140,000 at Wick Sheriff Court for releasing radioactive particles into the sea and illegally dumping radioactive waste over a 20-year period.
The latest find appears to be a fragment of metallic reactor fuel and is the 85th particle discovered since Dounreay's operators, the UK Atomic Energy Authority, started monitoring the beaches 24 years ago.
The UKAEA said the latest find had an activity reading of 500,000 Becquerels. That is 20,000 Bq above the next hottest which was unearthed in January.
It is not only beaches in northern Scotland that face this pollution threat.
In November 2006 a report revealed that 95 radioactive particles had been discovered on the foreshore of the Solway in the North Irish Sea in 2005. The quantity of material recovered showed an increase compared to a total of 31 particles found over the previous five years.
The material had originated from the decommissioned nuclear power station at Chapelcross in South West Scotland.
The Dounreay and Chapelcross incidents highlight the continuing pollution legacy of Britain's nuclear industry.
J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League
17/02/07
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