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42.
ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION (Contd.).
Smoke Control Areas.
During I96I two Smoke Control Areas were declared in Shoreditch, and
on 14th March, the Shoreditch (Pitfield) Smoke Control Order was confirmed,
and on 28th December, the Shoreditch (Wenlock) Smoke Order was confirmed,
the former becoming operative on 1st June 1962 and the latter on 1st September
1962.
Very wide publicity has been given to these pending Smoke Control
Orders, in letters to occupiers and owners, in the Press, in the Shoreditch
Borough Council newsletter, and on the various notice boards throughout the
Borough.
The Public Health Department therefore has been kept extremely busy
answering the numerous enquiries made to the Department and applications for
grants are already being received and investigated.
The Smoke Control Programme is well up to date, and it is reasonable
to estimate that, if the present rate of progress can be maintained, we shall
easily fulfil the programme as planned, in fact if the complicated procedure
invoked by the Ministry could be simplified, and there are indications that
this may be so, there is no reason why we should not be in advance of our
original planning.
Modern family trends and the domestic chimney.
The growing trend of the wife going out to work as well as the husband.,
is having an added effect in reducing pollution from the domestic chimney.
Nearly half the dwellings of this Borough are believed to come under this
category, and in order that those returning from work may be able to produce
a comfortable fire quickly, the electric fire, the gas fire and the oil
heating appliance have gradually reduced the use of solid fuel fires and
automatically reduce the extent of air pollution.
Recent surveys have furthermore established, that over the past two
years the number of oil fired appliances have declined and given way to gas
and electric fires.