The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
MOD told to open up to public
A RETIRED Ministry of Defence radiation expert is calling for more “transparency and openness” in Government as pressure mounts on the MOD to admit liability for radioactive contamination at Dalgety Bay beach.
Fred Dawson (56), a former assistant director of health physics with the MOD who specialised in radioactive waste management during a 30-year career, told The Courier he believes it is time for polluters to be identified and “held to account”.
Since retiring in 2009, Mr Dawson has established himself in Surrey as an independent researcher investigating the legacy of past and current military activities.
The MOD have recently admitted to Mr Dawson via a Freedom of Information request that they have spent £850,000 in relation to Dalgety Bay. The outlay is just 0.002% of the department’s annual budget.
However, they have refused to tell him how much money the MOD has spent there since 1990 when radioactivity was discovered. The MOD says providing the information would not be cost effective.
It recently emerged that a confidential report from 1958 warned of the potential risks at sites where wartime aircraft had been dumped.
What is not clear is whether any of the £850,000 was spent as far back as then.
Mr Dawson said: “Why would the MOD volunteer to spend £850,000? As a layman I suspect it could be construed as an admission of guilt, but I am no lawyer.”
The earlier part of Mr Dawson’s career was spent providing advice to the MOD research establishments including Aldermarston and Porton Down. In more recent years he represented the Mod’s interests in the development of national policy.
However, his retirement has allowed him to speak about issues of “public interest”.
He added: “David Cameron encouraged us as part of his ‘localism’ agenda to hold government to account. This is in part what I am interested in doing – in particular to encourage transparency and openness in government and for government to walk the talk on issues it might f ind uncomfortable.”
Mr Dawson (right) claims the MOD has become less open over the last decade, and added: “I also have a belief that polluters should be held to account, and it is interesting to see how the MOD has responded to the issues raised in the media.”
Radiation at the Dalgety Bay site is believed to be from radium paint used on aircraft instruments.
The Ministry of Defence is investigating how the radioactive pollution might be cleaned up, but has yet to accept liability. A joint agreement has been signed with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to investigate the site further. This will continue until May 2013.
The MOD has stated that where liability for contaminated land is identified it works to meet its portion of that liability.
Last week it emerged that Dalgety Bay is just one of nine potentially radioactive sites across Scotland which are under scrutiny by Sepa, including RAF Kinloss in Moray and RM Condor at Arbroath.