Scientists at the University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC) in Peru say they have developed  an air-purifying billboard that has the cleansing power of 1,200 trees to scrub the air of pollutants.

UTEC has installed a billboard in construction site in Lima, one of South America's most polluted cities, as an acid test for its technology. Polluted air is captured in the system, dissolved in recyclable water and then released as fresh air. The scientists claim the billboard recently proved 99 percent effective in removing airborne bacteria - dust, germs, etc. -  during a one-week period. The results could be experienced within a five-block radius, they add.

One can only begin to imagine the impact the technology might have inside a 50,000-square-foot wood products plant.