The London Borough of Camden is undertaking a trial to investigate the
efficiency of NOX reducing paint. A wall at an enclosed area at Central Saint Martins College will
be partially painted with photocatalytic paint and a monitoring station with two NOX analysers will
monitor the air 10cm and 1.5m respectively from the painted wall. Meteorological sensors will also
monitor the impact of prevailing weather conditions.
The NOX reducing paint contains titanium dioxide (TiO2), which is a strong photocatalyst that
breaks down NOX into nitrates in the presence of sunlight and water vapour.
To measure the difference in air quality the site will collect one year’s data before the wall
is painted and compare it with a year’s data after the paint has been applied.
The site has been chosen for its location in the heart of Camden’s busy business district,
inside the congestion charge zone. It therefore experiences high NOX concentrations with low
dispersion conditions. These are the optimum conditions under which the paint should work.
The City of London carried out a similar study in 2006 but for a shorter period of time and
measurements were carried out further away from the wall (approximately 5m).
That study found no identifiable effect of the paint.
The data from the Central Saint Martin’s site will be continually updated on our
LAQN web page for the trial period. The results of the trial will provide useful information
about what effect the photocatalytic paint has on its surrounding environment and if the results
are favourable it could provide a tool to battle air pollution in London and elsewhere.
Item date 20/08/2007
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