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67
SMOKE AND ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION.
Sixteen instances of smoke nuisance or annoyance from chimneys were dealt
with during the year. Some of these were of a temporary character and did not recur,
others were abated upon the service of the usual form of notice upon the offenders and
there has been no occasion to take further action.
As mentioned in previous reports the annoyance and the evil from coal smoke
cannot satisfactorily be dealt with by law until the enactments at present in force are
strengthened or amended. The accompanying dirt and discomfort continues, although
doubtless in a lesser degree than in former years, and for which the enormous number
of the chimneys in surrounding Greater London are partly largely responsible.
During the year, with the concurrence of your Sanitary Committee—in conjunction
with the Committee for the Investigation of Atmospheric Pollution, appointed by the
International Exhibition and Conference in London, 1912—a critical examination of
the air in the City has been commenced.
An apparatus consisting of a large rain gauge, has been placed in a convenient
position upon the roof of the shelter in Golden Lane, and the rainwater from a known
area of surface is collected monthly. This rainwater containing the soot, grit and dust
washed from the air has been submitted for examination to the Public Analyst and the
results tabulated. For comparison the results obtained from similar observations made
upon the Thames Embankment by the London County Council are added.