Business boom for tanker company helping combat construction dust
Business is booming for a Horsham company that deploys dust-busting vehicles on construction sites across the UK.
T&M Bowser Solutions has a fleet of 78 tankers used to distribute fluids and suppress builders’ dust - and all 78 of them are currently out on various construction, highways and infrastructure projects.
T&M managing director Terry Beasley said: “Any project that has earthworks going on must be aware of the potential for dust gathering on both the site area and haulage routes into them.
“As soon as the weather warms up, the ground temperature rises and it dries out quickly.
“Dust particles can be very small — not always visible — and as tools are used, vehicles travel, or as
the wind picks up, this dust can circulate in the air that workers are breathing.”
The Health and Safety Executive warns that construction dust is not just a nuisance but is a real risk to people’s lungs causing a number of diseases.
T&M, which manufactures custombuilt tankers, has 32 4x4 10,000-litre capacity vacuum tankers and 46 4x2 tankers, ranging in capacity from 3,000 to 10,000 litres.
T&M’s fleet of 4x4s can be used to supply water to machinery and tanks, while many have spent the winter months sucking up rainfall from sites to prevent them from flooding.
However, the company says that the priority now, as summer approaches, is on dust suppression.
The vehicles suck water from holding ponds through a pipe with a heavy-duty strainer on the end to prevent stones being drawn up with liquid.
The versatile vehicles can also remove summer rainfall and deposit it back into holding pools.
The 4x2s, meanwhile, are filled from a hydrant or static tanks on site.
T&M say they are especially useful on motorway or urban projects where tractors or heavier duty vehicles can’t be used.
Terry Beasley added: “Both our 4x4 and 4x2 fleets can be used full-time on larger projects, as the risk of a site being shut down due to a lack of dust control is too high given the costs incurred.”