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Public Health (London) Act, 1936. Emission of Smoke.
The expression "smoke," as defined by the above Act,
includes soot, grit and gritty particles. Private dwellings are
exempt from action under this Act.
It is not generally known that action may also be taken
with regard to smoke under common law procedure for the
purpose of securing both an injunction and damages.
Forty-one complaints were received during 1952 of alleged
nuisances from the emission of smoke from factory chimneys.
The district sanitary inspectors kept 44 observations but it did
not become necessary to serve any Intimation Notices nor to
institute legal proceedings in any instance.
The smoke fog of December 5th-8th, which occurred
throughout London, not only caused great suffering but affected
seriously the health of the occupants of the Borough and was the
cause of a sharp increase in the number of deaths from respiratory
diseases.
The deleterious effects of smoke and other air pollution
are well known and can only be remedied by increased production
of smokeless fuels and the establishment of smokeless zones
throughout the country.
In December of the year under review the Metropolitan
Boroughs' Standing Joint Committee invited the constituent
Councils to co-operate with the London and Home Counties
Smoke Abatement Society by setting up stations in their areas
for measuring and recording the extent of atmospheric pollution.
The Council agreed to set up such a station in Camberwell and
at the end of the year consultations had been arranged between
officers of the Public Health Department and the Fuel Research
Station, Greenwich, with a view of arranging for the purchase
of the appropriate equipment and the selection of a suitable
site.
Bombed Sites and Static Water Tanks.
The number of bombed sites in the Borough is being steadily
reduced by the progress of the housing programme, and in
consequence complaints concerning nuisances arising on such
sites have diminished. An open site at the corner of Coldharbour
Lane and Crawford Road, however, gave rise to some concern
among local residents as it was used on occasions by persons
occupying moveable dwellings, viz., motor coaches converted
into caravans. Close supervision was exercised by the sanitary
inspector for the area to ensure that there was no infringement
of the Council's By-laws relating to such vehicles and it did not
become necessary to take any statutory action to secure the
abatement of any nuisance.