Asbestos-hit beach set to remain shut for months

An asbestos-hit beach is expected to remain shut for several months while experts determine the source of contamination.

Mount Batten beach in Plymouth, Devon, remains closed after "high levels of asbestos fibres" were found in the sand in July.

Plymouth City Council said it was "in the process of commissioning specialist consultants to carry out further investigations" with options for making the beach "safe to open" expected in the spring.

It said regular clean-ups would also need to take place at nearby Teats Hill beach and Clovelly Bay, after "asbestos-containing material" was found in concrete there. Those beaches, however, remain open and pose low risk to public health, officials said.

Teresa Cullip, consultant in public health for Plymouth City Council, said the "key message" was that Teats Hill and Clovelly Bay were "safe for the public to visit".

"The risk is very low and we're managing the asbestos that's been found through clearance," she said.

"Mount Batten itself remains closed to the public because we think the risk there is much more significant - that will remain closed until we've determined that it is safe for visitors to return."

Cullip said the "most important thing" for Mount Batten was to work out where the asbestos was coming from, "stop that" and then "work out how we can clean up the fibres we've already identified".

The process, however, is expected to take time.

Adrian Tagg, associate professor in building surveying at the University of Reading, said something so small was "really difficult to find and remove and eradicate".

He said the clean-up of asbestos from buildings was more straightforward, "because we can encapsulate it, we can remove it, we can take it away safely".

Once it was out there in the "public realm," however, it was "harder to control".

"Once it's out there it can be very difficult to contain if it's spreading, and then I suppose with the currents and the tides, it could take it significantly further," he said.

"I think the most appropriate course of action has been taken so far."

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