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apparatus to ascertain the amount of pollution in the atmosphere
they will start measuring sunshine, which at the moment seems
to be completely the prerogative of the Meteorological Office. At
this stage it might well be convenient to repeat the Council of
Europe's Declaration of Principles on Air Pollution Control
which reads:—
“As air is essential to life, its natural quality must be
maintained in order to safeguard man's health and well-being
and to protect his environment.
This natural quality of air may be affected by the
introduction of a foreign substance or by a significant
variation in the proportion of its components.
Air is deemed to be polluted when the presence of a
foreign substance or a variation in the proportion of its
components is liable to have a harmful effect or to cause
nuisance”.
This vast improvement in atmospheric conditions which has
resulted from a considerable diminution of smoke from domestic,
industrial and railway sources as a result of the operations of
the Clean Air Act, has brought into prominence other forms of
air pollution— fume, effluvia, smoke, dust and grit from processes
other than combustion and not covered by the Clean Air Act, Alkali
Acts or other specific legislation. The number of complaints
in this connection is increasing and these nuisances — some
of which arise from the uncontrolled burning of waste and
intensive farming methods in the more rural parts of the area —
can in the main be summarised under the following headings:—
Fumes, (smells mainly of a chemical nature),
Effluvia (smells mainly of organic origin)
Smoke, dust and grit.
One important piece of legislation which might well have
effect of remedying some of these nuisances, is the Clean Air
Act, 1968.
CLEAN AIR ACT, 1968
Several sections of this Act will come into force from 1st
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