bad news on biobeads

News just in from Ali Ferris at Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre:

I have been working with Philip Strange to ascertain where some new larger black bio beads might be coming from that we have found washed up in Charmouth in the last 6-12months. I collected and sent samples off to Plymouth University and this is what has come back……
 
“I have finally heard from Dr Turner at Plymouth about the pellets you collected and sent to him.  He found that the small and large pellets had very similar profiles of trace elements (lead and bromine), similar to other small black  biobeads he has analysed and probably made from recycled electronic waste.  The blue pellets showed copper only and this probably reflects the blue pigmentation.
 
The results fit well with the idea that the large pellets are made for SWW from recycled small black ones and suggest that the large biobeads you see at Charmouth are coming from SWW sewage plants (either overall carelessness or a spill).  SWW have still not given me the information I requested  about the large beads, I will chase them up again.”