The Ministry of Defence says it would be “wrong” to claim that it failed to attend crunch talks to discuss radiation contamination in Dalgety Bay because it was not scheduled to be there.
Local MP Gordon Brown said a crunch meeting called to discuss Ministry of Defence options for cleaning up radioactivity on Dalgety Bay beach ended in anger when the MoD didn’t show up.
Mr Brown said the MoD were scheduled to give a report at the two-hour forum in the Inverkeithing Civic Centre but no one appeared.
The MP has now put down parliamentary questions demanding an explanation and calling for a meeting involving the MoD’s infrastructure organisation in the next week.
But an MoD spokesman told The Courier: “It is wrong to claim that the MoD failed to attend the Dalgety Bay Forum. We were not scheduled to attend or present a report.
“We remain happy to attend as and when our presence is necessary, as invited by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa).”
The MoD spokesman added: “We recognise that Sepa will need to keep the forum informed of progress and are working with Sepa, Fife Council and Dalgety Bay Sailing Club to address long-term solutions to the contamination issue.”
The MoD named as polluter of Dalgety Bay after dumping ash from 800 contaminated planes in the foreshore was expected by Mr Brown to come face to face with groups demanding a clean-up.
He said more than 20 organisations and representatives turned up to meet at what was already a long-delayed summit to consider options to remove the radiation particles from the bay, or to concrete in contaminated materials, or simply to adopt the controversial Ministry of Defence Option No1.
It proposed merely to fence in the contamination and even suggested it might leave the contamination unaddressed and simply put up warning notices.
The summit had been called after previous meetings had been postponed because the ministry had yet to complete its reports.
At Thursday’s meeting, it was left to Sepa to explain that continuing delays may mean it will now be late summer before the MoD settles on what to do based upon analysis of all the data.
It admits it may not be until early next year before work is able to be carried out.
Until then there will be monitoring of radiation levels and from the monitoring data and the range of readings taken they will pinpoint the pockets of radiation and estimate the costs of removing them or leaving them in the ground.
A further health report from the committee on medical aspects of radiation is due in a few weeks and will be issued in advance to the forum.
It is expected that in it public health ministers will demand that a long-term solution must be implemented as a matter of urgency.
At the same time Sepa unveiled a plan for consulting residents.
Mr Brown said: “The delays are now inexcusable. Not to turn up and to give no explanation is unacceptable.
“I will be asking for an urgent meeting to set out a realistic timetable that will stop these endless delays.”