A CHEMICAL company is furious after being accused of polluting the River Misbourne with radioactive sewage.

Nycomed Amersham, an International healthcare and life sciences company in White Lion Road, Little Chalfont, said it had been hounded by the national press after it was reported that 'radioactive sewage' leaked into the Misbourne after heavy rainfall in the Chilterns.

The company is authorised by the Environment Agency to dilute small amounts of chemicals into the sewage system, but the agency has said that the current assessment is that it is a minimal amount and that it will give no cause for concern to the public.

David Boyd, public affairs manager for the company, said: "We have been getting calls from the press which would make us believe we have pumped radioactive waste in to the river. It has been blown out of all proportion and is worrying residents unnecessarily. It is someone else's accident. It is not a health risk. The real issue is the sewage flow."

A spokesman for the Environment Agency, said: "The sewers from the vicinity of Amersham flow underground beside the River Misbourne to the Maple Lodge sewage treatment works.There are balancing tanks to regulate the flow during high flow conditions and these can overflow into the river when they are full.

"This has occurred during the recent flooding, and sewage has entered the river. This has resulted in small radioactive releases into the river upstream of the normal release point.

"At present the abstraction of drinking water from nearby boreholes has been stopped. This is a result of the sewage effluent being released to the river and not because of concerns relating to radioactivity."