Radioactive poison found on Games site

Olympic chiefs have discovered radioactive contamination on the Games site.

Hotspots of the highly poisonous heavy metal radium-226 were discovered near Stratford.

The contamination has been linked to a former factory producing luminous paints once used for "glow in the dark" items such as aircraft dials and watches.

The Olympic Delivery Authority stressed the contamination was low level with no risk to public health.

Radium paint was produced in large quantities but banned in the Fifties after around 100 watch dial painters who used their lips to shape the paintbrush died from radiation.

A survey carried out for the ODA by earthworks firm Atkins found "low level" contamination during excavation and waste sorting from 17 September this year.

The contamination is of three types:

* Several "above background" levels of contaminated soil at "hotspots".

* A 10cm radium-luminised gauge dial face.

* Mildly radioactive phosphatic rock found at a waste sorter.

The Atkins report recommended monitoring for radioactive material at the waste sorter. It added: "Activities at the site will not lead to unnecessary public and worker radiation dose provided the finds are of the same general nature as those to date and procedures are robust and properly implemented."

ODA Chief Executive David Higgins said: "Health and safety is our major priority. This report makes clear that the health of the public or workers has not been put at risk. We do want to be open and transparent about cleaning up the site. That is why we are publishing this expert report.

"It is important that this find is kept in perspective. It demonstrates our procedures are working and we are already acting on the recommendations from our experts to strengthen them further."

The ODA aims to clear and clean the majority of the 2.5 square kilometres park by next summer.

The work includes demolishing more than 250 buildings and cleaning over 1.3 million tonnes of contaminated soil. Over a third of the site is already clear.