View report page

Smoke
The tragic effects of the fog in and about London in 1952 aroused
or stimulated interest in the question of the pollution of the atmosphere by
smoke, and many papers have been read in the last year bearing on this
subject and a number of reports published.
One of these, the Beaver Report, is the interim report of the Committee
on Air Pollution. Accepting that improvement will be a slow
matter the Committee set out some measures that might be taken during
the winter months to avoid the worst effects of smoke. These include:—
1. The prescribing by doctors of masks for patients suffering
from heart or lung diseases living or working in an area where
smoke-polluted fog is likely to occur.
2. The issue by the Meteorological Office of warnings when
serious fog is expected to prevail at least 24 hours in areas of normally
high pollution.
3. Householders during these periods to burn smokeless fuel.
When persistent fog is forecast it is suggested that coal fires should
not be banked up at night; that those who can use smokeless fuels
should confine themselves to these ; that rubbish should not be burned
in open fires ; that elderly people and those suffering from chronic
heart or lung conditions might be helped by wearing a mask or scarf
wrapped round the mouth and nose if they have to go out in the fog ;
and the general public should refrain from bringing motor vehicles
into densely populated areas.
On the position of smokeless zones, the report reads:—
"The 'smokeless zone' provisions of some local Acts unlike the
smoke provisions of the Public Health Acts, apply to domestic as well as
industrial smoke. The effect of the provisions of the Acts where in
force, is to prohibit the emission of smoke from any premises in certain
areas which are defined either by the Acts themselves or by orders made
by the local authorities and confirmed by the Minister of Housing and
Local Government or the Secretary of State for Scotland.