Traces of radioactive material found at seaside beauty spot near decommissioned nuclear site
Suffolk's Southwold beach is the second to be hit by contamination in two months
A SEASIDE paradise in Suffolk is now the centre of a nuclear leak scare after traces of deadly radioactive materials were found on the beach.
The contamination on the idyllic Southwold beach is feared to be linked to the Sizewell A nuclear plant, which is located on coast not far from the popular seaside spot.
The nuclear factory is in the process of being decommissioned at a cost of £1.2 billion after shutting down ten years ago.
The coastal spot is nicknamed Hampstead-on-Sea because of the all the celebrities who flock there for the holidays.
Chris Evans, Dame Judi Dench and Stephen Fry and other big names regularly visit the beach spot.
Alarmingly, Southwold is the second Suffolk beach to be hit by the contamination in just two months.
In April, scientists monitoring the area around Sizewell revealed that a 'small amount' of an particularly dangerous and 'unusual' radioactive isotope had been found at Aldeburgh, eighteen miles from Southwold.
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The Sizewell plant, which houses two outdated magnox nuclear reactors, is on the coast between the two resorts.
The Environment Agency insisted today that there are 'no safety or environmental concerns and no risk to members of the public'.
Spokesman Stuart Parr said that Caesium - a metal used in medical applications, industrial gauges, and hydrology, and said to be 'mildly toxic' - had been found at Southwold.
"It was a very small amount and could be to do with tide patterns" he said.
Sizewell A is in the midst of its own investigations over the discovery of Strontium-90, produced by nuclear fission, at Aldeburgh beach - one of five coastal areas monitored by the site.
Extra samples have been taken along the shoreline and Mr Parr said "We are continuing to engage with the operator in this investigation.
"The results from the analysis of these additional samples are not yet available.
"It can take many weeks for Strontium-90 to be analysed due to the complexity of the analytical technique, which needs to be done in a laboratory.
"A sample taken from Aldeburgh beach earlier this year has been sent to two laboratories for comparison.
"Differences in working practices in different laboratories can cause subtle differences in analytical results which become important when working with such low concentrations of Sr-90 in these samples.
"Once all the data has been received and analysed a full report will be made by Sizewell A.
"It is important to note that these results are unusual, the levels of radioactivity detected are extremely low and do not represent a hazard to anyone using the beach."
Sizewell A power station was shut down on 31 December 2006, with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority placing the contracts at a budgeted cost of £1.2 billion.
On 7 January 2007 a contractor working on the decommissioning of the station noticed water leaking on to the floor of the laundry where he was washing his clothes.
The water was found to be cooling water from the pond that holds the reactor's spent nuclear fuel which had dropped more than 1 foot (0.30 m) without activating any of the alarms.
It was feared that up to 40,000 gallons (151,500 litres) of radioactive water had leaked from a 15ft (4.6 m) split in a pipe, with some spilling into the North Sea where it could wash along the Suffolk coast.
Had the exposed irradiated fuel had caught fire, it would have resulted in the release of radiation into the air.
Southwold is popular with holidaymakers - the town's populations is typically less than 2,000 but this figure swells to almost 10,000 in summer.
It's picture perfect coastal location is made famous by the multi-coloured beach huts, which change hands for over £100,000.
George Orwell was one of the towns most famous residents.
There are actually two Sizewell nuclear power stations, both near the small fishing village of Sizewell between Aldeburgh and Southwold.
A third power station is planned.