Environmental regulator investigating discovery of biological specimen bags on Caithness coast
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Scotland's environmental regulator is investigating the discovery of three biological specimen bags that were washed ashore on the east coast of Caithness.
The semi-transparent packages, each containing an unidentified liquid, were found at Keiss by local resident Nigel Eustace. The 63-year-old believes they could constitute a "biohazard" and is worried that more could turn up.
He alerted Highland Council and other authorities.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) confirmed on Thursday that it is carrying out an investigation and has been liaising with the local authority on the safe uplift of the bags.
Each one has a graphic stating "UN3373" above the words "biological substance, category B" in three languages.
Internet checks indicate that specimens marked UN3373 are "human or animal materials" being transported for diagnosis or investigation.
Mr Eustace spotted the first two packages on the shore near Keiss Castle on Sunday afternoon and the third on the shingle beach at Stain, south of the village, on Tuesday morning.
Mr Eustace is a keen bird-watcher who walks up to six miles each day with his dog Max.
The sealed bags have individual reference numbers and barcodes which, according to Mr Eustace, make them "obviously traceable".
The bottles inside the bags are about a half-litre or a third of a litre in size. Two contain an orange/red liquid and are about two-thirds full, while the other has a dark substance and appears to be full to the brim.
“One label inside has completely perished, so that means the seawater has got into it. They are all actually degraded inside,” said Mr Eustace, an ex-RAF corporal who also held a number of UK government posts.
Originally from Gloucestershire, he is now retired and has been living in Keiss for six years.
The two packages he found near Keiss Castle were within about 20 yards of each other.
“They were almost level with the high-tide mark. We’ve had strong winds for the last couple of weeks," he said.
“If there’s obvious rubbish there I’ll pick up the rubbish anyway. When I saw it was dangerous goods I took some photos and decided that it wasn’t safe to leave them anywhere so I picked them up.
"I didn’t touch them – I put them in a plastic bag that I carry. I brought them back, looked online to see what the UN numbers stood for and if I could trace what they were. I found out they were category B biological hazard and then tried to find out who I could contact to inform.”
He reported it to Highland Council, NHS Scotland and the Aberdeen office of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
"Obviously you don’t want to chuck them in the waste or whatever," Mr Eustace said.
“Three people are waiting for the results of their tests, if they are human tests – or it could be livestock tests. It could be anything.
“But it’s not Covid, because Covid would be small swabs. This is nearly half a litre or a third of a litre of a liquid.
“A container ship lost a container over the winter and there were medical supplies in there. But you wouldn’t send stuff going to a laboratory for testing on a container ship."
Mr Eustace took care to use gloves when handling the packages and to store them in additional plastic bags.
He is concerned that children or pets could have come across the bags and believes others may emerge. Two of the reference numbers are consecutive, ending with the digits 511 and 512, whereas the other package ends with 517.
“The two I found on Sunday were north of the one I found on Tuesday, so depending on the tide I would imagine there probably are others,” he said.
“Obviously I wouldn’t open them up or anything because you just don’t know whether there are dangerous toxic fumes or whatever, or a biohazard."
Mr Eustace put messages on a Facebook group and on Twitter to help make people aware of the issue.
He added: “We’ve got a lot of swimmers who swim in the bay here, and also there are now holidaymakers. It is concerning and I’d be interested to know what the outcome is.”
A spokesperson for SEPA said on Thursday: “We were notified on Wednesday about the discovery of these waste products on Keiss beach.
"We have been liaising closely with Highland Council on the safe and secure uplift and storage of the waste items and have been giving guidance on their disposal. SEPA is currently investigating the incident.
“We would advise members of the public who find waste on beaches to contact their local authority in the first instance. We will work with the local authority to investigate the source if required and ensure it is disposed of safely.”
A Highland Council spokesperson said its advice to members of the public if they find any further items is to avoid contact and get in touch with SEPA.
