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INDUSTRIAL BONFIRES
Legal proceedings were instituted against two car breakers for causing the emission of dark
smoke in contravention of Section 1 of the Clean Air Act 1968, and for similar offences one was
fined £15 without any costs, and in the second £10 with £10 costs.
Further summonses in respect of a demolition contractor and commercial refuse tip resulted
in fines of £20 with £5 costs, and £20 with £10 costs, respectively.
SMOKE NUISANCES
165 complaints of smoke nuisance were received during 1971 and 561 visits were made
in an attempt to control or to educate the persons concerned with the object of preventing a
recurrence, and where necessary, enforcement action was taken. An application for a Nuisance
Order to prevent a recurrence of the emission of a smoke nuisance was made to the local magistrates
in respect of a manufacturing company whose premises are situated in Harefield. Evidence
on behalf of the company was given by a representative of the National Industrial Fuel Efficiency
Service and for the Council by a public health inspector. The defence first asked the Court to dismiss
the case on the ground that the action was improperly brought because if a nuisance was as severe
as alleged then the emission of smoke would be dark and therefore the action was improperly
brought under this section. The bench did not accept this argument, but did accept the legal
defence that the company had taken the best practical means to prevent the nuisance and therefore
did not make the Order. However, they expressed the view that the action was properly brought
and did not award costs against the Council.
DUST AND GRIT
The Clean Air (Measurement of Grit and Dust from furnaces) Regulations 1971 came into
operation during 1971 and define for furnaces having a heat input of 1¼—5¾ million British thermal
units per hour, the maximum permitted quantities of grit and dust in lbs per hour that can be emitted,
and authorise the local authority to require measurements of emissions. 147 visits were made to
premises in connection with the inspection and maintenance of plant installed to contain dust
and grit emissions and 11 complaints of nuisance from dust were investigated. It was not necessary
to take legal action in respect of any of these nuisances but one person did agree to cease operating
the plant responsible following failure to comply with a statutory notice requiring works of
maintenance and improvement to the dust suppression plant.
Measurement of Dust and Grit
Because of vandalism one of the standard deposit gauges in operation in the vicinity of the
Uxbridge Industrial Estate was withdrawn. The other in the locality of an establishment manufacturing
asbestos products has remained on site. One of the tests that has been carried out on
the materials deposited in this gauge has been to check for the presence of asbestos dust. No
such dust was detected by the infra-red method which is capable of detecting limits of 2.5% of
the weight of the sample.
Industrial and other odours
245 inspections were made in connection with emission of industrial fumes and 892 inspections
in connection with offensive odours from all sources. Equipment for the detection of some
specific gases including Perchloroethylene fume which is the gas emitted from do-it-yourself
dry-cleaning establishments is maintained in the department. No major defects were noted at
this type of establishment.
Information concerning some of the more difficult problems in connection with odours from
industrial and commercial processes is set out below:
(a) Fumes from aircraft.—In 1970 reference was made to the nuisance from kerosene odours in
the vicinity of Heathrow Airport and to the fact that it was hoped that the Warren Spring
Laboratory would undertake measurements. No progress has been made on this, largely due
to the technical difficulties in measurement. Equipment cannot detect or record smell other
than by its chemical constituents. Although it is possible for the human sensory system to
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