View report page

56
The majority of these rooms are now heated by gas fires, whereas
it appears direct electric heating appliances have become less popular.
A steady increase in the number of appliances being installed suitable
for burning hard cokes was also found.
INDUSTRIAL PREMISES
All the boiler plants in factories in the district are capable of being
operated without infringing the provisions of the Clean Air Act but
mechanical faults and human errors cause sufficient smoke to be emitted
from time to time to warrant the Department asking managements to
give stricter supervision to the control of these plants.
Co-operation between factory managements and the Local Authority
on the question of reducing air pollution is good and an example of this
is that of one large concern in the Borough which extended the height of
the chimney to an existing boiler installation in an effort to reduce the
ground level concentration of sulphur dioxide.
NATIONAL SURVEY OF AIR POLLUTION
Co-operation with the Warren Spring Laboratory of the Department
of Scientific and Industrial Research has continued during the year,
information being obtained from the four air sampling stations in the
Borough.
Station No. 1 at Kynaston Court, Harrow, is in an area of light
residential development close to the green belt.
Station No. 2 is at a Wealdstone Factory in a heavily developed
mixed industrial and residential district.
Station No. 3 at a school in Roxeth, is surrounded by housing estates
subject to Smoke Control Orders.
Station No. 4 is in a similar area to No. 3 at Stanmore which is not
smoke controlled.
Difficulty has again been experienced in maintaining consistent
operation of all the stations. Illness and staff shortage at Station No. 2
led to a cessation of readings for two months; it has always been difficult
to obtain an adequate number of valid readings here due partly to heavy
week-end pollution. This invalidates some of them through excessive
density even when a 2 inch clamp is used. A proportional tinier has now
been installed and will overcome this difficulty. It has also been difficult ,
especially during school holidays, to produce a monthly average at No. 3
station and an automatic 8-port valve was installed in September an
has enabled daily readings to be maintained since.
The Department's thanks are again due to the factory laboratory staff
and to the pupils and staff at the two schools for their continued assistance
in operating these stations without which Harrow could not continue
to play its part in this National Survey.