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appreciated by the inspectorate. At the end of the year 125 traders
were members of this Association.
6. ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION. The Committee on Air
Pollution under the Chairmanship of Sir Hugh Beaver reported in
November of this year. It was appointed to examine the nature,
causes and effects of air pollution and the efficacy of present preventive
measures; to consider what further preventive measures are
practicable; and to make recommendations.
In the introduction to this Report the Committee state their
emphatic belief that air pollution on the scale with which we are
familiar in this country to-day is a social and economic evil which
should no longer be tolerated, and that it needs to be combated with
the same conviction and energy as were applied one hundred years
ago in securing pure water. They are convinced that pollution on
the scale we know can be prevented. To do this will require a
national effort and will entail costs and sacrifices; the recommendations
made will involve expenditure by the Government, local
authorities, industry and householders alike. They express confidence
that their proposals, if carried out, will secure happier and more
healthy living conditions for millions of people, and on all counts the
cost of the cure will be far less than the national loss in allowing
the evil to continue.
The most serious immediate problem to be tackled is visible
pollution by smoke, grit and dust, and definite recommendations are
made in regard to these, although it is emphasised that the problem
is not one which can be solved overnight. Real improvement can be
secured only by a continuous programme urgently and insistently
carried out over a number of years. The objective of the recommendations
is that by the end of ten to fifteen years the total smoke in
all heavily populated areas will be reduced by something of the order
of 80 per cent. This will mean a degree of freedom from air pollution
which many parts of the country have not known for more than
a century. With regard to gaseous pollution, there is not yet the
knowledge to deal effectively with the whole problem; but recommendations
for preventive action are suggested and research projects
recommended.
It is basic to all the recommendations that at the outset it should
be made the declared national policy to secure clean air, and that a
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