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industrial premises in the district and provides penalties for contraventions. The
Section does not apply to smoke emitted from any chimney of a building or from a
chimney to which Section 1 of the Clean Air Act, 1956, applies, nor to dark smoke
accidentally or inadvertently emitted if all practicable steps have been taken to
prevent or minimise the emission of such smoke, nor to premises controlled under
the Alkali, etc., Works Regulations Act, 1906. With these exceptions, the Section
proves most useful in dealing with conditions which arise especially in smoke control
areas, from the burning of large quantities of waste material in the open, and closes
a serious loophole in the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Several occasions arose
where the attention of possible offenders was drawn to the Section, but no formal
action was necessary.
This Section is much stronger in its effect than Section 16 of the Clean Air Act
1956, which makes it necessary for the local authority to prove that a nuisance is
being caused to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, where smoke, other than that
dealt with in other Sections of the Act, is produced.