Environmental technology firm Pollution Solution has today unveiled their new ground-breaking in-road solution for capturing dangerous pollutants from vehicles which has been scientifically tested and verified to reduce roadside exposure to humans by 91%.
Roadvent™ is the first of its kind, in-road system to be independently proven to reduce air pollution exposure to humans by 91%, signalling a viable solution to significantly improving air quality in urban areas and pollution hot spots.
Through a series of controlled experiments carried out at the world’s first Roadvent ™ installation, located at UTAC Millbrook Proving Ground, Bedford, UK – by scientific experts from independent firm, Cambustion UK, they have been able to quantify and verify the solution’s efficacy to capture and clean polluted air directly from the roadway.
Last year, following the coroner ruling that Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah’s death was caused by exposure to air pollution, the government pledged to invest an extra £6m to local councils to improve air quality but more needs to be done.
A study completed by Public Health England warns that if no action is taken to control pollution levels, costs to the NHS and social care could reach as high as £18.6 billion by 2035. According to PHE, there could be around 2.5 million new cases in the UK of coronary heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, childhood asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, low birth weight, and dementia by 2035 if current air pollution levels persist.
Professor Frank Kelly – Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health & Battcock Chair in Community Health and Policy – PhD, FKC, FRSB, FRSC, FMedSci (Imperial College London) – stated: “Although progress has been made in reducing vehicle emissions in urban locations, hotspots still exist where traffic is idling or moving slowly. To date, there has been no effective way of removing pollution at the roadside other than banning vehicles such as in the Clean Streets programme. Roadvent™ provides a promising viable alternative to banning traffic as the system sucks up pollution at the road surface before it can disperse to nearby pavements. Early tests of the system demonstrate significant reduction in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations one of the major pollutants emitted from diesel vehicles.”
Professor James Lee – Atmospheric Chemistry, York University – stated: “It has been really nice to see the system in operation. The data from the testing is compelling, showing the system to take the levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from an unhealthy amount above the limits as recommended by the World Health Organisation, to below those limits. If that was to be rolled out worldwide, it really could make a remarkable difference. I believe it is something that should be taken forward and I think Pollution Solution have done a great job in the production.”
Thomas Delgado, Inventor, founder and CEO of Pollution Solution, has dedicated over eight years to developing the Roadvent™ system, which has the potential to save and improve millions of lives on a global scale, saying “We are both proud and excited by the scientific validation Roadvent™ has received. We now have an opportunity to improve air quality for communities worldwide. We look forward to working with governments, councils and employers to act now. Our focus is to prevent any more unnecessary deaths, reduce pollution related illnesses and help people lead longer, happier and healthier lives.”
