Dalgety Bay Appropriate Person Report
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FINAL Dalgety Bay Appropriate Person Report Author Miss Nina 26 June 2013 Patton Reviewed Dr James 27 June 2013 Gemmill Approved Ms Janice Milne 27 June 2013 for Release Page 1 of 73 FINAL Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................... 4 1. Introduction...................................................................................................... 6 1.1. Part IIA of the EPA 1990 ............................................................................. 8 1.2. Implementation of the Radioactive Contaminated Land Regulations.......... 8 1.3. Appropriate Persons.................................................................................... 9 1.4. Determination of Appropriate Persons ...................................................... 10 1.5. Structure of the Report .............................................................................. 11 1.6. Site Boundary............................................................................................ 11 2. Information Search............................................................................................ 15 2.1. Land Ownership and Land Activities Investigation.................................... 15 2.1.1. Summary ........................................................................................... 15 2.2. Ministry of Defence Activities .................................................................... 16 2.2.1. History and Development of Airfield .................................................. 17 2.2.2. Radium Luminising & Development of the Radiation Protection Framework ........................................................................................................ 20 2.2.3. Salvage, Incinertion and Disposal Activities ...................................... 21 2.3. Dalgety Bay New Town Development Activities........................................ 24 2.3.1. Dalgety Bay Sailing Club Activities.................................................... 30 2.3.2. Fife Council Activities ........................................................................ 32 2.3.3. Board of Trade Activities ................................................................... 33 2.3.4. Other Parties Activities ...................................................................... 34 2.4. Interested Parties ...................................................................................... 35 3. Land Reclamation, Coastal Erosion and Topographic Changes....................... 38 3.1. Topographic Changes ............................................................................... 38 3.1.1. Infilling ............................................................................................... 43 3.2. Land Reclamation and Erosion ................................................................. 43 3.2.1. Boat Park to Ross Plantation............................................................. 44 3.2.2. New Harbour to Headland ................................................................. 44 3.2.3. Rock Armour Placement and Replenishment.................................... 45 4. Identified Significant Pollutant Linkages............................................................ 46 4.1. Origin of the Contamination in Relation to the Present State and Past History of the Area ................................................................................................ 48 4.1.1. Factual Investigation Information....................................................... 49 4.1.2. Headland ........................................................................................... 50 4.1.3. Boat Park and Demarcated Area....................................................... 54 4.1.4. Ross Plantation ................................................................................. 55 4.1.5. Slipways ............................................................................................ 56 4.1.6. Other Areas ....................................................................................... 56 4.1.7 Non-radioactive Artefacts .................................................................. 57 4.2. Significant Pollutant Linkage Areas........................................................... 58 5. Potential Class A and B Persons ...................................................................... 61 5.1. Appropriate Persons.................................................................................. 61 5.2. The Statutory Guidance ............................................................................ 61 5.3. Appropriate Person - SEPA Findings ........................................................ 65 5.4. Class A Exclusion Tests............................................................................ 68 5.5. Class B Exclusion Tests............................................................................ 70 5.6. Apportionment of Liability .......................................................................... 70 5.6.1. Hardship Considerations ................................................................... 71 5.7. Conclusions............................................................................................... 71 6. References........................................................................................................ 72 Page 2 of 73 FINAL Appendices 1. North, Central and South Study Area Plans 2. Information Sources 3. Correspondence 4. 1949 Minute of Sale, 1962 Disposition and 1964 Corrective Disposition 5. Title Deeds 6. Witness Statements 7. News Items 8. Timeline of Events 9. Scothomes Development Phase 4 Plan, Dalgety Bay Primary School Contour Plan and Moray Way South and North Contour Plan 10. Dunfermline District Council Planning Correspondence with DBSC 11. Photos of Model of Dalgety Bay New Town 12. Figures from Aerial Photo Report 13. Non- Radioactive Artefacts & Trial Pit Summary 14. DBSC Constitution 15. DBSC Resolution 16. Cross Section Figures Figures Figure 1: Site Location............................................................................................................... 6 Figure 2: Area Covered by Appropriate Persons Report......................................................... 12 Figure 3: Dalgety Bay Beach Areas ........................................................................................ 13 Figure 4: Area of Dalgety Bay within scope of the current investigation................................. 14 Figure 5: Dalgety Bay Beach Areas ........................................................................................ 48 Figure 6: GPR transects and a brief interpretation of the data Dec 2011 (Tyler 2011):.......... 50 Figure 7: GPR transects at Dalgety Bay (Ruffell & Tyler 2012) .............................................. 51 Figure 8: GPR Transects in Areas A & C (Ruffell & Tyler 2012)............................................. 52 Tables Table 1: Information Summary ................................................................................................ 15 Table 2: Parties Identified from Historical Accounts................................................................ 35 Table 3: List of Parties Involved in Sale of Land Parcels at Dalgety Bay................................ 36 Table 4: Parties Indentified from Newspaper and Archive Documents................................... 37 Table 5: Maps Used for Spot Height Comparison................................................................... 38 Table 6: Comparison of Spot Heights from 1:10,000 (or equivalent) Maps ............................ 41 Table 7: Evidence for Significant Pollutant Linkages .............................................................. 47 Page 3 of 73 FINAL Executive Summary This Appropriate Person Report includes a comprehensive study of land ownership and history at Dalgety Bay. Donibristle airbase opened in August 1917 with the Royal Air Force (RAF) taking over in 1918. The airfield, HMS Merlin, was commissioned in 1939 as a Royal Naval Aircraft Repair Yard and decommissioned in 1959 before being sold off through the 1960s. Subsequently, Dalgety Bay New Town and industrial premises were built in the area. All interested parties, former or current owners or occupiers of the land, have been identified and contacted where appropriate. This Report should be read in conjunction with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) recently published Risk Assessment Report (Dale, P. 2013) and the Ministry of Defence contractors intrusive investigation report: AMEC Factual Investigation Report (AMEC, 2013c). It is concluded that the luminising of aircraft instrument dials using paint containing radium-226 was routinely undertaken at HMS Merlin. This was common practice at such sites and is supported by witness statements. It is also understood that solid wastes arising were incinerated and disposed on site. Again this was common practice and witness statements recount the burning of dials and other cockpit parts with ashes being disposed near the shore. This Report reviews historic aerial photographs of the site along with historic OS maps. These indicate the presence of a deposit of material in 1945 on the shore to the east of New Harbour which is later mapped as a refuse tip by OS in 1963/64. A second area mapped as a refuse tip by the same date is located at what is now Sealstrand. Both appear to be connected to what was the Salvage Section on the airbase. Intrusive investigations undertaken