I am sure by now you have seen the satellite images, show a large smudge over Chelmsford, tinting the trees with pink. We put it on our front page, because it's shocking, but it doesn't begin to show the extent of the pollution and how far the dust is spread by these lorries.
Even after a heavy rain to wash away the worst of the dust, the trail of dust tracks for miles through Chelmsford, and once on the road, every vehicle which passes over it kicks it up into the air for it to get into our eyes and lungs. We document it in the videos in these three tweets.
In the last week, the site has had a visit from the operations manager of Chelmsford's public health and protection services. However, they decided not to shut the site down, instead allowing them more time to rectify the issues. Yet more time. I am sure they were on their best behaviour, but within an hour of the inspection, the volume of trucks increased again, speeding down Brook Street without covers on, and absolutely no sign that the dust had been wetted down with the dust suppression system.
You have seen these videos and photos, does it look to you like a dust suppression system is in operation? If it is, then it obviously isn't good enough and the site should be closed down to protect the health of Chelmsford residents. We have no idea how they managed to get a licence to operate in the centre of town in the first place. We will be scouring the newspapers for images of local politicians patting themselves on the back, cutting ribbons, opening new building projects.
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