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most of the contraventions of the Clean Air Act are spasmodic
and generally found to be due to some unforeseen
circumstances, such as a mechanical breakdown or
inexperienced supervision of plant. These matters can
generally be dealt with by discussions with the management
who have been found to be co-operative.
In the case of persistent contravention however formal
action has to be taken and this was done in the case of
excessive emissions from a chimney serving a furnace producing
metallic oxide.
A prosecution was taken but the case was dismissed on
the grounds that a certificate of exemption from the provisions
of Section 1 of the Clean Air Act had been issued by
the Council as provided for in Section 2 of the Act. The
certificate referred to was for a period of six months which
had expired eight months before the Court proceedings.
At the end of the year steps were being taken by the
Company concerned to install an oil fired furnace which
should be smokeless in operation.
Another prosecution was taken against a firm of scrap
metal dealers in respect of excessive smoke emission from
an installation used for burning the insulation from scrap
cable. In this case a fine of £5 was imposed.
One serious source of pollution which gives rise to a
number of complaints are the bonfires associated with scrap
metal yards where car bodies and scrap cable are burned.
Section 16 of the Clean Air Act is the only legislation
applicable to this type of pollution. This section deals with
smoke other than that from chimneys. In order to succeed,
any action under this Section must show that an emission
is a nuisance to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. This
so difficult to establish as to prohibit the use of the
Section. It is felt that such emissions should be subject to
the same limitations as to colour and density as those for
chimneys.
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