THEY were the industrial powerhouses that drove the North-East economy.

From the early 1800s to the latter stages of the 20th Century, the region's skyline was criss-crossed by towering pit wheels, belching cokework chimneys and grimey factories.

They may have been the lifeblood of the North-East but, as the great plants started to close, their terrible legacy became clear.

Acre upon acre had been contaminated with a cocktail of chemicals, coated in dust and littered with spoil heaps.

However, during recent times, large swathes of contaminated land have been cleaned up for redevelopment.

One of the organisations heavily involved is the University of Teesside, in Middlesbrough.

Building on expertise that is recognised nationally and internationally, the university is advising companies which plants and micro-organisms to use to revive brownfield sites, degrading toxic substances rather than moving them to landfills.

The Bioremediation Programme is a consultancy, part of the university's Clean Environment Management Centre (Clemance), which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Project manager Dr Richard Lord said: "We focus on promoting sustainable methods using biotechnology for the restoration and development of polluted land. We aim to help landowners clean up their land through research to solve particular contamination problems.

"Solutions using micro-organisms and plants will ensure that treatments are environmentally-sound.

"We offer advice and expertise, and hope to encourage companies to develop expertise themselves.

"Contamination of soils, groundwater, sediments, surface water and air with hazardous and toxic chemicals is one of the major problems facing industrial societies today, and our own historic legacy might be a significant obstacle to the economic regeneration of the North-East."

Although the programme is primarily designed to help small and medium-sized businesses, a key element is collaboration with major companies that own significant brownfield sites in the North-East.

Dr Lord said: "We hope that, through our work, we can help businesses restore these old industrial sites and so aid the region's economic growth."

Published: ??/??/2004