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Southern Water is conducting an inquiry after a vast number of polluted polymer pellets appeared on the shoreline at Camber, sparking fears of a potential "environmental catastrophe".

The plastic pellets could cause severe harm on ocean creatures, according to a regional representative, with apprehensions that rare sea life, such as coastal birds, small cetaceans, and marine mammals, might consume them and perish.

A local official believes the beads may have been released from a local filtration facility and has written to the top official, requesting an explanation.

Camber Sands, located in the southeastern region, is a highly popular shoreline, known for rare dune habitat and expansive areas of golden sand.

Local helpers have been racing against time to clear the beads, collecting dozens of bags with the synthetic debris, but the scale of the contamination event is immense, and it is improbable they will be able to remove all of them.

A representative from a environmental organization remarked recently, "This is the worst pollution event I have ever seen. It is contaminated plastic. Sea creatures will ingest small plastic items once they are in the ocean; they will attract algae, they will appear edible, in essence."

"After ingestion, that’s it: they can’t get it out. They will remain buoyant. It will create a slick which draws in diving coastal birds."

He added that the clean-up efforts have been draining. "Yesterday, I was out there cleaning it up. We are trying to accurately reconstruct the timeline and the details for this horrendous event. It’s awful."

"The pellets are minuscule that from a a distance, the beach appears unaffected. But as soon as you approach closely, you see there are millions black pellets, hidden among marine plants. It’s an unachievable mission – helpers have been raking for days, and they will continue to rake, but we won’t be able to get rid of them all. It is the most severe I have ever encountered of a polluted beach."

The elected official, who participated in the removal work, remarked, "The immense quantity of plastic beads that have washed up here threatens an ecological disaster. These biobeads are lethal to marine life and wildlife, and we are already seeing increased mortality among marine species on the coast."

"Community members are laboring diligently to remove as many pellets as possible, but it’s a race against time. The water company must quickly determine if their local wastewater plants could be the origin of these biobeads, and I’ve asked them to dedicate all available resources to aiding the removal efforts in the meantime."

These pellets are also dangerous to dogs as they contain a significant amount of PAHs, which are recognized for carcinogenic properties, and they often contain toxins including lead, antimony, and bromine.

An official representative for Southern Water stated, "We are collaborating with the regulatory body and district authorities to look into the cause of plastic beads which have washed up on Camber Beach. This investigation work is ongoing."

"Local officials is leading the clean-up of the shore, using specialists with a specialized machinery to extract the beads. We are also supporting with the clean-up."

"We have performed environmental testing on the beach, which has revealed no effect to environmental water quality. These results has been provided with the district council and the Environment Agency."

The Environment Agency has been reached out to for comment.