BEACH FAILS TEST
A popular North Fife beauty spot has failed an important pollution test after investigators from Scotland's environmental watchdog found higher than permitted levels of human and animal waste at Tayport beach.
The shock result was announced after officials from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) tested the cleanliness of the beach in relation to the standards set by a EU Bathing Waters Directive.
SEPA took water samples during the tourist season from the beach, and the latest batch of tests indicated an increased presence of pollution from human sewage.
Predominant causes of poor bathing water quality usually include discharges from sewer outflows, animal manures and slurries washing off farmland into rivers and coastal waters.
The Directive is designed to protect and also enhance the quality of bathing waters throughout Europe and Scotland.
The Tayport beach showed an increased level of faecal streptococci, the natural inhabitants of the gut of humans and other warm-blooded animals, which tend to be found in greater numbers in waters contaminated by agricultural pollution.
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Weather for Stonehaven
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 9 C to 14 C
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