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(b) Atmospheric Pollution
Romford is one of 120 towns that have agreed to co-operate
with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in a
National Survey. Five volumetric meter stations have been set
up within the Borough and daily recordings are assessed and the
results forwarded to the Ministry Department. A monthly bulletin
is to be published showing a comparison between the towns
participating. The sites were chosen under direct Ministry
guidance and designed to standardise throughout the country the
positioning of the meters so that National figures when obtained
were from basically similar stations. These stations are set in the
following positions:-
1. Residential district with high population density
2. Residential district with low population density
3. Industrial district
4. Business and commercial district
5. Proposed smoke control area.
A volumetric meter consists of apparatus capable of extracting
from the atmosphere approximately 70 cubic feet of air per day.
This air passes through a filter pad to remove the smoke and into
a hydrogen peroxide solution to arrest the sulphur dioxide. By
reading the stain density on an electrometer concentrations of
smoke in microgrammes per cubic meter of air are obtained and
by titration the concentration of S02 is obtained.
Daily weather records are required and the Royal Liberty
School Meteorological Society are kindly co-operating and
supplying these records.
These daily recordings by use of the volumetric meter were
commenced on the 1st November, 1960.
In view of the Council's decision to co-operate in this scheme,
the measurement of atmospheric pollution by the old system of
using a rain deposit gauge and lead peroxide candle was
discontinued in June, 1960, therefore, owing to the change over,
a table showing atmospheric pollution records is not included in
this report.
5. RAINFALL
During the year the amount of rainfall recorded at Raphael
Park was 22.36 inches, this being 6.2 inches less than in 1960.
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