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Railway engines in the dock areas like those in the City will be subject to smoke control
under the new Act. By powers given under the Public Health (London) Act, 1936 smoke from
vessels in the Port could be accounted a 'nuisance', but it is anticipated that the power to be
given under the new Act to prosecute for the emission of dark smoke for longer than a fixed
period will prove much more effective.
Under the new Act both in the dock areas and in the City, notice of intention to install or to
vary the installation of heating appliances (except for domestic purposes) must be given to the
City Corporation.
The new regulations as to 'authorised fuels' supplement and vary to advantage the City's
pre-existing powers in these matters.
Recommendations
(1) That notices of intention to install new furnaces in the City of London under Section 3 of the
Clean Air Act, 1956 in existing buildings be sent to the Medical Officer of Health, and in new
buildings to the City Engineer; in the Port all notices (for new and old) be sent to the M.O.H.
(2) That it be recommended to the Court of Common Council —
(a) to add the following smokeless fuels to the list of approved authorised fuels for the
purposes of the City of London (Various Powers) Act, 1954:— electricity; gas;
briquetted fuels carbonised in the process of manufacture, and
(b) that the designation "low volatile steam coals" be substituted for "Welsh Dry Steam
Coal" in the approved list of authorised fuels.
(3) That Mr. Town Clerk be requested to give appropriate publicity to the subject matter of
recommendations 1 and 2 above.
MEASUREMENT OF ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION
The period covered by the results of the measurement of atmospheric pollution, as set out in
the Tables, coincides with the first complete year of the coming into operation of the smoke
abatement provisions of the City of London (General Powers) Act, 1954, and Mr. McGrath reports
as follows :—
Deposit gauge at Golden Lane. This general purpose instrument is effective for sampling ash
and other particles which fall rapidly or are washed down by rain. The month to month fluctuations
in the results are primarily due to meteriological conditions, but another factor influencing
the results is the deposit of wind blown grit and dust. With the re-development of war damaged
sites in 1956 in the neighbourhood of the gauge at Golden Lane, demolition and rebuilding must
have been reflected in the results obtained. The results of the measurements set out in Table I
may be summarised as follows :—
(a) The monthly rainfall average for 1956 — 44 millimetres — was the same as the average for
the five years 1951-1955. This is equivalent to approximately 1.7 inches of rain.
(b) The average monthly total of solids deposited — 21.08 tons per square mile — was less than
was less than in the two previous years, and less than the average for the previous five years.
(c) Whilst the undissolved matter (tarry matter, ash, &c.) — equivalent to 13.31 tons per square
mile — was less than that recorded in 1955, the monthly average was in excess of the average
for the previous five years, i.e. 12.13 tons per square mile.
(d) A marked improvement will be noted in the figures for dissolved matter (calcium, chloride
and sulphates) — 7.80 tons per square mile. This result was the lowest recorded in the
previous six years and was well below the monthly averages for the five years 1951-1955,
i.e. 9.93 tons per square mile.
Sulphur dioxide measurement by the lead peroxide method. The Corporation maintains two stations
for measuring sulphur pollution by this method — one at Golden Lane and the other in
Finsbury Circus Gardens. It will be seen that at both stations there is a slight improvement when
the results are compared with 1955 and with the average of the previous 5 years.
Volumetric estimation of smoke and sulphur dioxide. Tables II and III are the results obtained at
the four stations maintained in the City. This method recognizes the distinction to be drawn
between relatively coarse particles of pollution deposited by their own weight — as measured by
the deposit gauge — and fine particles which remain suspended in the air. A description of this
method of measuring the concentrations of smoke and sulphur has been given in a previous annual
report. It is too early to draw any reliable conclusions from the results obtained from the instruments
at Tishopsgate, Cloak Lane and Snow Hill since observations only commenced in April,
1955. At Golden Lane the results for 1956 show that there has been a slight improvement in the
concentrations when compared witii 1955 and the average of the five years 1951-1955.
20.