View report page

17
SMOKE ABATEMENT.
In my last annual report I gave a short account of the history of the Corporation's efforts
to make the City a smokeless zone and printed in full the provisions of Sec. 4 of the City of
London (Various Powers) Act, 1954, which received the Royal Assent on 5th July, 1954.
Sec. 4 was brought into operation at the earliest date permitted under the Act., viz. 2nd
October, 1955.
I awaited "zero hour" with some trepidation, fearing that we should not only observe many
smoking chimneys ourselves, but that we should be inundated with reports from members of
the general public who had been made well aware by the Press and by the B.B.C. that the
City was to be a smokeless zone from the beginning of October.
I was delighted to find that the. owners and occupiers of premises in the City had been
quietly making arrangements to comply with the Act by the appointed day. We observed a few
smoking chimneys and we had a score or so of complaints within the next week or two. These
were investigated and in all cases those responsible were co-operative.
It is too early to expect that the measurements of atmospheric pollution as recorded at
the five recording stations now operating in the City will prove that there has been definite
improvement, for not only are we surrounded by densely built up areas emitting smoke but
atmospheric pollution is much influenced by climatic conditions, which are so variable that
reliable deductions cannot be made from comparison of the measurements over a short period
of time..
I hope that "the wish is not farther to the thought", but it has appeared to me that the sky
has been clearer over the City than over other districts in the vicinity, than it was even in
the City in previous years in the months of October, November and December. Certainly the
occasional emission of smoke from an individual chimney has attracted one's attention as it
never did before, and the volumes of smoke emitted from railway engines at certain times of the
day, particularly at Moorgate Station, have been painfully obvious.
Being no longer Medical Officer of Health and having retired to the country, I shall only
occasionally have the opportunity of observing atmospheric conditions in the City, but the
contrast with the clean air in which I now spend most of my days will make me a very severe
critic, and I shall hope that my impression of obvious improvement will be confirmed not only
by my own occasional observation, but by the reports of regular observers and ultimately by the
records of the actual measurements of atmospheric pollution.
At least I can say with confidence that the City has made a stout effort in the campaign
for clean air, and I desire to express my thanks to the owners and occupiers of premises; to
those responsible for the operation and maintenance of fuel burning appliances; and to those
who supply various types of fuel in the City, for their ready co-operation.
I should also like to thank the Press for their invaluable support, and last but not least
Mr. McGrath of my department, who has studied the subject of atmospheric pollution with
such diligence and has carried out most of the field work with admirable persuasiveness, tact and
patience.
MEASUREMENT OF ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION
Mr. McGrath reports as follows: —
"The measurement of smoke and sulphur pollution undertaken in co-operation with the
Department of Scientific & Industrial Research continued during the year. The Public Health
Committee authorised the establishment of three more stations to measure the concentrations
of smoke and sulphur dioxide by the volumetric method. The additional apparatus has been
placed in the Police Stations at Bishopsgate, Cloak Lane and Snow Hill. Observations
commenced on the 1st April.
Deposit Gauge. In such a district as the City of London, situated as it is in the centre of
an enormous area of mixed, commercial, industrial and residential development, the measurements
of atmospheric pollution vary not only with the volume and type of emission from
chimneys, but also with meteorological conditions such as rainfall and the direction and strength
of the wind. Because of this a long period of observations, sufficient for these meteorological
factors to average out, is necessary before significant conclusions can be drawn as to the trend
of atmospheric pollution.
Table I shows that during the year the average monthly deposit was 21.71 tons per square
mile. The highest monthly deposit occurred in May when it amounted to 44.80 tons. This
coincided with the heaviest monthly rainfall of 4.16 inches. The average for the year of 7.99 tons
per square mile of water-soluble deposits compares with the average of 11.73 for the previous
five years. The average of undissolved matter, i.e. "tarry matter", ash, and combustible
matter other than tar, was 13.73 tons per square mile, compared with 11.42 for the previous
five years. Extensive building operations in the immediate vicinity of the gauge will have
contributed to the increase.
The gauge is sited on the northern boundary of the City and, with winds from a direction
other than southerly, collects matter from the areas outside the City. In 1955 fresh winds
prevailed on 187 days—109 from a northerly and 78 from a southerly direction. A "fresh" wind
has a velocity of 10 miles or more per hour. This is of a strength sufficient to extend a light flag.
Since the deposit gauge is most valuable for measuring deposits of ash, grit and particles which
fall quickly, consideration might be given to the provision of another gauge placed at a more
central point in the City, thus providing a truer index of the smokeless zone provisions.