THE MAGAZINE FOR THE DRAINAGE, WATER & WASTEWATER INDUSTRIES
MAIN FEATURE
Agency and other industry experts to better understand the potential contribution that road transport has on micro-plastics.”
The outcome of further research will be the evidence base to inform future decision making, enabling us to take positive action to manage identified risks, inform policy and identify further areas of research.
Helen Wakeham, Environment Agency Deputy Director Water Quality, Groundwater & Contaminated Land, said: “This research contributes to the work we do with partners to understand the sources and scale of micro- plastic pollution. We supported this research by Highways England as it provided a valuable review into the current knowledge of the potential scale of micro-plastic and chemical pollution from highways. We look forward to continuing work with Highways England on this important topic as the work progresses. This will help us better understand the contribution from the road network as a source of micro-plastics and emerging chemicals of concern entering the environment.”
Highways England decided to undertake research to identify whether there is a micro- plastic waste issue from water running off roads. The research will help the company
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better understand the scale of this issue, the nature of the problem and identify any further detailed research to inform changes to its current policy or design standards.
Alice Horton from the National Oceanography Centre, said: “This research is a key step in understanding the contribution of the strategic road network to micro-plastic pollution within the terrestrial and aquatic environment. This study has identified the critical knowledge gaps that should be addressed going forwards to enable us to understand the extent and implications of micro-plastic runoff from roads, and measures that should be put in place to limit this environmental contamination.”
A crucial part of this first stage of research, which has just been published, involved identifying suitable methods to collect and analyse samples of road runoff to establish the presence or absence of micro-plastics.
Judith Brammer, microplastics technical lead for the Atkins Jacobs Joint Venture, said: “This is cutting edge research that has the potential to transform our understanding of the contribution of road runoff to micro-plastics in the water environment. The Atkins and Jacob Joint Venture sat at the heart of it, gathering and assessing the evidence base to guide
future research, informing Highways England’s policy and decision making going forward.”
This work will ensure that Highways England’s understanding of the environmental effects associated with the Strategic Road Network (SRN) is up to date, and that the assessment and design guidance standards which is published and maintained in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) are robust.
COLLABORATION
The successful operation of roadside drainage often relies not just on the local authority or its main contractor getting things right. It is more often than not the collaboration from the top of the chain right down the contractors, subcontractors and product suppliers that ensures that any works undertaken reach a successful conclusion.
One company Keyline offered an opinion as to why this type of collaboration is vital to the sector. Here, Paul Massenhove, Regional Director for the South East at Keyline Civils Specialist looks at how road (and rail) projects can benefit from strong supply chain service and relationships, exploring how and why working alongside a specialist merchant can improve project productivity, quality and costs.
March 2021 | 9
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