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purposes in Harrow suggests that many houses already satisfy the requirements
of properties in a smoke control area. However, before any
proposals can be started, it is necessary to have a survey of some properties.
Unfortunately, at present the shortage of staff prevents even these first
steps being taken. In the meantime, though, every opportunity is being
taken to make the public aware of this question of smoke prevention. If
all of the many people who change their grates or cookers in their homes
would install appliances suitable for the consumption of smokeless fuel
and would then use them for burning smokeless fuel, improvement would
come about even before the designation of any smoke control areas. This
is something which will come about only when the householder realises
the need for such action. This is where the education of the public is so
important.
The Public Health Committee supported in different ways the meeting
and exhibition on Clean Air arranged in May at the Baptist Church Hall,
College Road, by the Harrow Branch of the Women's Gas Federation.
The meetings were very useful in giving indications of the points about
which the public needs to be reassured. Many, of course, will take some
convincing that it really is necessary that something should be done.
While they accept the damage to health of such a fog as that which
occurred in London in 1952, they are not prepared to see that they have
any responsibility for taking action to reduce the risk of such occurrences.
Many of them no doubt will have the added reason for deciding to do
nothing because they are satisfied that from no other form of heating can
they derive the comfort they have from their coal fires. Some seem to
go further and feel that other forms of heating might even injure their
health in some way. Not all those who agree in general that efforts could
be made to reduce atmospheric pollution are satisfied that anything needs
to be done in Harrow itself, or in their particular part of Harrow. So
many continue to see the problem as one to be dealt with by the industralist,
and have not appreciated how much it is the responsibility of the householder.
Those who are satisfied that the householder can play a big part
still need satisfying on a number of points. First perhaps they need to be
convinced that other forms of heating a room can be just as satisfying
and as comfortable. They need, too, to be satisfied that alternative means
are not more costly; there is the cost of conversion and the continuing
cost of the different fuel. Fortunately, about this they can be assured:
because of the greater efficiency of the heating units which can replace
the existing ones, the bill for fuel consumption will be so much reduced
that they would soon save what they have to pay out as their contribution
to the cost of the conversion. Then quite a lot is heard about the difficulty
of obtaining suitable fuel. Many of the complaints about this are probably
because, to many, smokeless fuel means one of the special proprietary fuels
and does not include coke. Those who presumably are in the best position
to know, are reassuring about the availability of this fuel, and it is doubtful
if progress throughout the country in converting heating appliances which
will increase the demands for smokeless fuel will be sufficiently rapid that
supplies cannot be increased at the same rate.
The case for an attempt to reduce the amount of smoke in the area
is based on the damage it does in so many different ways, some of it due