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WORKPLACES - Public health Act, 1936
Inspections Number of written and verbal notices Occupiers
prosecuted
51 8 -
CLEAN AIR ACT. 1956
The remaining provisions of the Act, not already covered by
the Clean Air Act {appointed day) Order 1056, and 'The Dark. Smoke
(permitted Periods) Regulations, 1958' came into operation on the
1st June, 1958.
Section 1 of the Act prohibits, with certain exceptions, the
emission of dark smoke from chimneys. A chimney is defined as
including structures and openings of any kind from or through which
smoke may be emitted (e.g. louvres in the roofs of buildings).
The regulations permit the following:-
(1) Not more than 10 minutes of dark smoke in the aggregate
from any chimney in any period of 8 hours, or 14 minutes
in 8 hours if soot-blowing is carried out within that
period. These periods are extended in the case of chimneys
serving more than one furnace.
(2) No continuous emission of dark smoke (other than that
caused by soot-blowing) shall exceed 4 minutes: and
(3) No emission of black smoke (i.e. as dark or darker than
shade 4 on the Rlnglemann Chart) shall exceed 2 minutes
in the aggregate in any period of 30 minutes.
In the case of proceedings for discharging dark smoke it
would be a defence to prove that the emission was solely due (a)
to the lighting of a furnace from cold, (b) to some failure of a
furnace or of apparatus, and (c) to the use of unsuitable fuel
when suitable fuel was unobtainable.
Section 2 of the Act also provides a further defence
available until 4th July 1963, if it can be proved that the
emission of dark smoke was due to the nature of the building and
equipment, and not due to failure of proper maintenance and it
had not been practicable to alter or equip the building so as to
enable it to be used for the purpose for which it was intended
without the likelihood of contraventions of Section 1.
Sections 5 to 9 relating to grit and dust from furnaces;
Section 16 - abatement of smoke nuisances; and Section 19
relating to Railway Engines, also came into operation on the
1st June, 1958.
Smoke Abatement and Atmospheric Pollution There are but
few industrial chimneys in the Borough.
Nineteen complaints of smoke emission were received and
14