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44.
Atmospheric Pollution from Heavy Vehicles.
In their passage to and from the London Docks from all parts of the
country it is estimated that almost two million vehicles travel through this
concentrated square mile of London every day, and the amount of atmospheric
pollution exhausted from these vehicles is a factor of considerable importance
to the local authority.
As in 1961 the policy of writing to the owners of vehicles observed to
be emitting an undue amount of smoke has continued throughout 1962, and the
campaign has "been intensified bearing in mind the significance of this work.
648 letters were sent to owners of vehicles during the year, suggesting
that the resultant pollution may be due to faulty maintenance and operation
of the vehicles concerned, drawing attention to the very serious atmospheric
pollution being caused, and inviting their observations and measures they may
be taking to alleviate these conditions.
The response to these letters has been encouraging and the general
attitude of owners is that they welcome any information Public Health
Inspectors may be able to supply, concerning the operation of their vehicles,
often hundreds of miles from their bases. Many letters of appreciation have
been received, and it has been possible to summarise a list of the type of
defects which upon examination have been found and remedied.
Defective fuel injectors 28
Defective fuel pumps 22
Defective governor diaphragm 1
Defective governor spring 1
Engine change required 2
Defective fuel timing 2
Defective exhaust pipe 1
Cylinder head gasket broken 1
Oil change required 1
Defective carburettor choke 1
Excessive engine wear 1
Defective cylinder valve 1
Dirty air filter 1
Overhaul required 1
Vehicle scrapped 1
There can be no doubt that the amount of time devoted to this work is of
real value in our efforts to rid the air of pollution and it is to become an
established policy of the Public Health Department of this Borough to continue
with the work in the hope that other local authorities may in their wisdom
follow our example.
The Smog December 1962.
During the smog which invaded the London area in December
hourly readings of sulphur dioxide and solid pollution were taken during
normal working hours. Reference to the charts on the pages 46 & 47 present a
very concise picture of the extent of atmospheric pollution as compared with
a normal amount of atmospheric pollution taken at a similar period last year
when the atmosphere was devoid of fog.