Costs on the 2012 Olympic stadium and aquatics centre are likely to rise further after a recommendation by the Games’ sustainability watchdog that their cooling systems be reworked
Shaun McCarthy, chair of the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, said the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) was in danger of “spoiling a very good job” if it pressed ahead with plans for chillers that use high carbon-emitting hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The commission first recommended these plans be reviewed in 2007.
He said: “It would cost more, but I’m unsympathetic because if they had done it when we recommended it, that wouldn’t be the case. You can’t be the most sustainable Games in history if you have HFC cooling in your aquatics centre.”
Meanwhile, £19m has been released from the contingency fund to beef up the security of venues.
The ODA said: “We are still looking at the issue of cooling systems.
This is not about costs but about the technical challenges of alternatives to HFCs, which can be toxic and explosive.”
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