Lewisham and Bexley chosen for trial to cut air pollution (From News Shopper)

Lewisham and Bexley chosen for trial to cut air pollution

10:16am Tuesday 3rd January 2012 in Bexley By Jim Palmer

TECHNOLOGY to cut air pollution at industrial and construction sites is being trialled in Bexley and Lewisham.

A dust suppressant, which acts as a glue on the road to stick the PM10 pollutant and prevent it becoming airborne, is in place at the industrial site in Mercury Way, Lewisham, and is due to be implemented in Manor Road, Bexley, at the beginning of this year.

Lewisham and Bexley were two of five London boroughs chosen for the trial, after the chemical brought down pollution levels by 14 per cent in earlier tests in central London.

Funding for the project, which also includes deep cleaning of the road surfaces, comes from the Mayor of London and Transport for London, working with the Environment Agency.

The Environment Agency’s Chris Lowe said: “We welcome this innovative approach to tackling particulate pollution at sites we regulate.

"We take the issue of particulate pollution extremely seriously and are working with site operators to explore all the different avenues we could take to reduce the amount of particulates created.”