London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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City of Westminster 1962

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]

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74
Installation of new furnaces
Under Section 3 of the Clean Air Act, 1956, the installation of all
new furnaces of or exceeding 55,000 British Thermal Units per hour
capacity must be notified to the local authority. The purpose of the
section is to ensure that new furnaces installed shall be capable, so far
as is practicable, of being operated without emitting smoke.
During 1962, 75 such notifications were received.
Provision is also made in this section of the Act for proposals relating
to the installation of new furnaces to be submitted to the local authority
for approval, and during 1962, fourteen applications were approved.
Since the Clean Air Act, 1956, came into operation on 1st January,
1956, up to the end of 1962, a total of 428 notifications have been received
concerning the installation of new furnaces, of which 84 applications were
submitted for approval.
With the type of modern development that is now taking place within
the City, whole blocks of property covering several acres of ground, are
being developed as one unit, with one central boiler house, and the means
of heating and supplying hot water is, in effect, a District Heating scheme.
These schemes require the provision of furnaces with heat ratings of
several million British Thermal Units; and it is of interest to note that in
three recent cases the furnaces installed had ratings of 75,000,000,
64,000,000 and 17,000,000 British Thermal Units respectivelv.

Smoke Abatement—Results of Observations and Action Taken

1956195719581959196019611962
Complaints received87416758534154
Observations made2,6341,603625497897572584
Notices issued-
Preliminary236-13--
Statutory---1---

Clean Air Act, 1956
In the Report of the Government Committee on Air Pollution, issued
in 1953, the City of Westminster and adjoining Boroughs were included
in the list of "black areas," that is, areas where pollution is particularly
bad. In January, 1959, the Minister of Housing and Local Government
issued a Circular drawing attention to the fact that about half the smoke