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A Survey of Global Air Pollution
Published online: 16 Mar 2012.
To cite this article: (1966) A Survey of Global Air Pollution, Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association, 16:11,
573-593, DOI: 10.1080/00022470.1966.10468519
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A Survey of
GLOBAL AIR POLLUTION
This survey of global air pollution is based on the Con-
tinental Reports presented at the International Clean Air
Congress held in London in October. The survey covers
air polluting emissions, abatement activities, and control
legislation for the industrialized countries of the major
continents. The reports and the reporters are:
AFRICA
ASIA
AUSTRALASIA
EUROPE
NORTH AMERICA
SOUTH AMERICA
P. C. G. Isaac, United Kingdom
Tahakide Taga, Japan
J. L. Sullivan, Australia
A. A. Roussel, France, and H.
Stephany, Federal Republic of
Germany
J. H. Huguet, United States of
America
J. A. Rispoli, Argentina
November 1966 / Volume 16, No. 11 573
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AFRICA
In the developing countries of East, West, and Central Africa,
air pollution is not yet a serious problem. Industrial air pollu-
tion in these countries is beginning to be observable in towns
from road vehicles and from newly established industry. None
of these countries can, for much longer, afford to be unarmed
against air pollution; some of them can deal with it under gen-
eral public-health legislation and a few others are considering
legislation.
The Republic of South Africa is already suffering from a wide
range of the air pollution problems well-known in industrialized
countries, and it has recently enacted comprehensive legislation
to control it.
In most countries of the world air pollution is as-
sociated with advancing industrialization, and I have often
been wryly amused to be told by health officials in developing
countries that, in view of the rate of their industrial develop-
ment, they expected soon to be faced with air pollution
problems. This is a kind of keeping-up-with-the-Joneses that
no one ought to pursue! It is, therefore, very interesting to
me to have the opportunity of analyzing the answers to the
questionnaire which the Director of the National Society for
Clean Air addressed to 51 African nations and territories.
Of the 51 countries approached, 12 answered and we have
detailed information for South Africa, which you will have
seen in articles published in the Spring and Summer 1966
issues of Smokeless Air. The countries which answered were
Basutoland, Bechuanaland Ghana, Ivory Coast, Malawi,
Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South-West Africa, Tanzania,
and Upper Volta. The extent of industry in parts of South
Africa is so different from that in the other twelve territories
mentioned that it is considered separately.
Effects of Pollution on Health
Most of the answers were prepared by administrators or by
medical officers of health; it was particularly valuable, there-
fore, to have the comments of a pathologist in Malawi who
wrote, on the basis of 450 post mortem studies he had carried
out, "I have been surprised to find rather extensive anthacosis,
comparable to my observations in post-mortem studies of the
metropolitan areas on the U. S. West Coast... It is particu-
larly surprising as the average age of death is far below that in
the United States. On the other hand, I have had very few
cancers of the respiratory tree in surgical and autopsy cases,
less than 1%. The pathologist also points out that tobacco
smoking is widespread among Africans, who take up this habit
early. It is clear, therefore, that the ill-effects of air pollution
on health are probably more widespread than would have been
expected from the lack of visual evidence of air pollution in
most parts of Africa. Bechuanaland, Ghana, South-West
Africa, Tanzania, and Upper Volta claim to have no (or
negligible) trouble from air pollution.
Nature of Air Pollution
Odor is occasionally mentioned as a problem, but this must
be so local that we can ignore it in this context. The northern
region of Nigeria suffers from natural air "pollution" by
Sahara dust during the harmattan, and the Niger Republic
mentions trouble from road dust during the dry season. In
many parts of the world a simple agricultural cycle begins
with the burning of the bush; this causes air pollution in
Sierra Leone, Malawi, Tanzania, and Nigeria. This practice
is probably more serious on account of the disastrous soil
erosion it helps to promote than on account of the local air
pollution it causes.
Nigeria, Basutoland, Ivory Coast, and Malawi mention
domestic smoke from cooking fires and, in Basutoland, from
winter heating. The fuel is mainly wood, but charcoal and
cow dung are also used; coal is uncommon. In towns in-
creasing attention is being paid to environmental sanitation,
including refuse disposal. In some areas household refuse is
composted, but in others it is burnt. Such incinerators as I
have seen were very crude, producing much smoke and very
offensive odors.
Most African countries are making a determined effort to
introduce manufacturing industry to reduce their economic
dependence on primary products. A natural desire to attract
foreign capital tends to produce somewhat generous control of
industry with the consequent possibility of local pollution
trouble. Among the industries that may give rise to air
pollution are cement, oil refining, rubber processing, quarries,
asbestos, and earthenware. Generally industry is concen-
trated in, or close to, one of the few large towns in each of
these countries. Such pollution as there is, therefore, causes
problems mainly in the towns; this is exacerbated by the
vehicle pollution mentioned in most answers.
On the whole, maintenance of mechanical plant, especially
road vehicles, in the developing African countries is very poor
(partly because most of the heavy lorries are owned by men
and women!in a very small way of business, partly because
spares are not easy to obtain in Africa, and for other reasons);
574 Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association
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in consequence pollution from vehicles can be very great.
Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania also mention air pollution
from railway locomotives; we all know how bad this can be
locally.
Effects of Climate on Air Pollution
It hardly needs saying that, since the whole of Africa is
intertropical or subtropical, domestic heating is unnecessary
in most parts of the continent. Africa is, therefore, spared
Britain's scourgethe domestic open fire with its lethal
smoke.
On the other hand, there are a number of climatic conditions
which can promote air pollution or exacerbate its effects.
The harmattan has already been mentioned. In Maseru, the
capital of Basutoland, temperature inversions, which are
rather common, produce a mixture of smoke and mist in lower
areas of the town, where winter heating is very primitive.
There is an industrial estate at Ikeja, close to Lagos airport,
and it has been noticed that, during the months of November,
December, and January, there have been increased delays to
air traffic because of fog. It is not clear to what extent indus-
trial air pollution contributes to this; indeed the foggy con-
ditions appear to be associated with the Inter-tropical Dis-
continuity (or Front) that runs East-West in that part of
Africa and which often lies over Ikeja.
Control of Air Pollution
As may be expected from the foregoing account of air pol-
lution in Africa, most countries do not find it necessary to have
legislation specifically designed to control air pollution,
though the Western Nigerian correspondent felt that there
was an urgent need for a review of both public health and
factory legislation. Several countries indicated that where
air pollution was a nuisance or danger to health it could be
controlled under general public health legislation. Maseru
(in Basutoland) has adopted the model by-law of 1963 for the
control of nuisance from smoke or fume; in addition, prior
approval of larger office building in Basutoland's capital per-
mits heating with smokeless fuel only. The Niger Republic
has air pollution legislation under consideration in its Four-
Year Plan, and the Ivory Coast is also examining the need
for control measures, though it is not felt likely that air pol-
lution will cause trouble in the next decade.
South Africa
Of all the countries of Africa, South Africa is the most
heavily industrialized and is therefore, the country with the
greatest air pollution problems. In 1965, the Republic passed
its Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act, which is perhaps the
most comprehensive statute controlling air pollution since it
deals with pollution from combustion, with dust, with indus-
trial gases and fumes generally, and with pollution from
vehicles. The Act also provides for the establishment of a
National Air Pollution Advisory Council.
As in Britain, the control of industrial air pollution is the
responsibility of the central government, which will shortly
appoint a Chief Air Pollution Control Officer, and pollution
from combustion is subject to the control of municipal au-
thorities. A great deal of attention has also been paid to pre-
venting the emission of black smoke from diesel vehicles.
Fuller accounts of these and other matters will be found in
the Spring and Summer 1966 issues of Smokeless Air. Suffice
it to say here that the Republic of South Africa has equipped
itself well to control air pollution and that it seems that the
larger municipalities will make full use of the powers granted
to them.
Conclusion
It seems probable that, although almost 40 of the 51 coun-
tres approached did not answer the questionnaire, we have a
fair picture of air pollution in East, West, Central, and South
Africa. It is, however, sad that no reply was received from
North Africa, especially from Egypt, which would have com-
pleted our sketch.
THE AUTHORS OF THIS SURVEY
Huguet, J. H., B.S., M.S., ChE., Industrial
Conservation Co-ordinator, Ethyl
Corporation
Stephany, Dr. H., Ministerialdirigent A.D.,
President, VDI-Kommission Reinhaltung
U.S.A. der Luft Fed. Rep. Germany
Isaac, P. G. G., Professor of Public Health
Engineering, University of Newcastle upon
Tyne, Department of Civil Engineering
United Kingdom
Rispoli, Dr. J. A., President, Asociacion
Argentina Contra la Contaminacion del Aire
Argentina
Roussel, Prof. A., Vice President,
Association pour la Prevention de la
Pollution Atmospherique
Sullivan, J. L., Ph.D., M.Sc, A.M.I. Chem. E.,
A.R.A.C.F. Principal Air Pollution Control
Engineer, Air Pollution Control Branch, New
South Wales Department of Public Health
Australia
Taga, Mr. T., Chief Director and Executive
Secretary, The Kanto-Shin-Etsu Heat
France Control Society Japan
November 1 966 / Volume 1 6, No. 11
575
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ASIA
It is emphasized that conditions in the continent of Asia make
the report unavoidably incomplete. It deals with the situation in
Formosa, the Korean Republic, the Philippines Republic, Thailand,
India, and Japan.
M
I any of the countries on the continent of Asia are
relatively undeveloped and some are still politically unstable.
Diplomatic relations are yet to be established between several
countries and that of the present reporter, i.e., Japan. This
has resulted in an unavoidably incomplete and unbalanced
account. The report covers the following aspects: Legisla-
tion and organizations for enforcement, institutions and
societies concerned with air pollution problems, supervision
and inspection, standards, and most contaminated areas.
The countries and areas dealt with are: Formosa, Korean
Republic, Philippines Republic, Thailand, India and Japan.
Asia is a very large continent, including many undeveloped
and some politically unstable ones. This alone makes the
preparation of a report on the present position in respect of air
pollution control a difficult one. Further, diplomatic relations
between some of the countries and my own have not yet been
established. Consequently this report is inevitably un-
balanced, a mixture of reasonably accurate facts from reliable
sources and general impressions gathered in the course of
visits and talks with people in the countries concerned.
Formosa
No national law is as yet promulgated. The draft of Law
on air pollution prevention is to be presented on the Diet this
year. Before this, since 1958, Taipei Sanitation Authority,
Ministry of Sanitation, has formally taken up the problem and
in collaboration with the Police Bureau gave advice or levied
penalties on offenders as provisional steps (details are not
known).
But, in proportion to the trouble taken, actual effects were
not as favorable as was expected. And at present, symposia
"on efficient combustion" are often sponsored for boiler oper-
ators so as to develop their knowledge on air pollution pre-
vention at its origin. There are no local regulations.
The Institute of Environmental Health is the only organi-
zation dealing so far with matters concerned with the effects
of air contaminants on human health.
Since March 18, 1966, an organization called "Executive
Subteam Performing Air Pollution" (including motor car
exhausts) was established and organized by the officers of
government organizations concerned and devoted to the study
of the effects on human health of air contaminants. There is
no civil organization.
Dust and gases to be regulated in the law are as follows:
Deposits from the combustion products by burning fuels;
refuse discharged from incinerators; oxidants, carbon
oxides, nitrogen oxides, sulfides, etc., discharged from com-
mercial and industrial activities. But the concentration
limits of those are not clear.
The city most contaminated by polluted air is Taipei, the
capital having one million population and 170 industrial plants.
The proportional discharge rates classified by source are,
plants, hotels, bath, and restaurants, 45%; domestic ovens,
42%; public buildings, 6%; Taipei railway station, 4%;
automobiles, 3%.
Fall-out dust (tons/km
2
): 1959,44.91; 1963,50.90; 1964,
55.43.
In Formosa the price of automobiles being very high their
number at present is limited and the amount of gasoline con-
sumption is small. As coal occupies a major part of fuel con-
sumed in plants and factories, fall-out dust alone makes it a
serious nuisance in cities.
Korean Republic
An Air Pollution Prevention Law was promulgated on
November 5, 1963 and enforced from January 1, 1964. De-
tailed regulations were promulgated on October 16, 1964 by
Presidential Ordinance. The Law defines the kind of con-
taminants, contamination limits, and penalties. The Director,
Department of Health and Social Affairs designates the dis-
tricts where the law should be enforced.
The authorities actually in charge of managing the above-
mentioned enforcement are the Section of Hygiene, Authority
of Health and Social Affairs, or the competent Sections of the
districts. There must be particular detailed regulations en-
forced independently in the designated districts but details
are not available.
The number of governmental institutes studying matters
on air pollution prevention are four in all, but there is no civil
one.
As for the surveillance of air pollution problems all over the
country they have vigorous desire and fairly sufficient
facilities. Unfortunately, present economical state prevents
them from taking activities in this concern.
Safety limits prescribed in the Ordinance for dust and gas
are as follows:
(a) Gases (includes smoke and fume). (See table, next
page.)
(b) Dusts. Cyanide, fluoride, lead, yellow phosphorus,
and phosphorus pentachloride are included in this category,
their safety limits being same as those described in item (a).
The safety limit applied to mineral dust having no silica
or silicon being not excluded is 1750 particles/cm
3
.
As the nationwide surveillance on air pollution state has
never been conducted before, it is not possible to show which
part of the country is contaminated most but according to the
surveillance conducted to the City of Seoul by Seoul Hygiene
Institute in December 1965, concentrations of a few gases and
dust measured in the city were: (a) Oxidant4-34 pphm
576 Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association
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Maximum Allowable Concentrations, Korean Repubic
Carbon monoxide, ppm
Hydrogen oxide, ppm
Carbon disulfide, ppm
Hydrogen chloride, ppm
Acetaldehyde, ppm
Benzene, ppm
Hydrogen fluoride, ppm
Nickel carbonyl, ppm
Phosgene, ppm
Phosphorus trichloride, ppm
Tetrachlorethylene
Cyanide (as CN), mg/m
3
Fluoride, ppm
Yellow phosphorus, ppm
Ammonia, ppm
Nitrogen dioxide, ppm
Chlorine, ppm
Hydrogen cyanide, ppm
Acrolein, ppm
Formalin, ppm
Hydrogen selenide, ppm
Phosphine, ppm
Lead, ppm
Phosphorus pentachloride, ppm
100
20
20
5
200
35
3
0.001
1
0.5
100
5
2.5
0.1
100
5
1
10
0.5
5
0.05
0.05
0.15
1
with a mean of 9.5 pphm; (b) Nitrogen oxideshighest 0.22
pphm with a mean of 0.049 pphm; (c) Dust397-2090
particles/cm
3
with a mean of 729 particles/cm
3
.
As it is only two years since the passing of the law on air
pollution prevention, activities in this field cannot be recog-
nized as positive. Efforts to decrease contaminants emitted
from stacks, i.e., to prevent generation of pollutants at origin,
are not yet active. This may be due to the fact that in Korea
as anthracite is used as fuel in almost all plants, visible smoke
in stack gas is not so dense as in the case when other coals are
used, and so is liable to be overlooked.
Philippines Republic
The national law, the Republic Act 3931, will set up the
National Water and Air Pollution Control Commission
(NWAPCC) which will prescribe regulations regarding the
measurement, control, or abatement and prevention of both
water and air pollution. The law has a penalty provision for
noncompliance.
The National Water and Air Pollution Control Commission
is the government agency in charge of air pollution supervi-
sion. There are no other civil organizations on air pollution
control.
There are a number of apparently nonrelated provisions of
laws as they are cited in the statutes creating certain govern-
ment agencies. It is only when R.A. 3931, cited above, is
passed that a fairly comprehensive set of provisions, together
with penalties, will be included.
Institutes scientifically studying air pollution control
problems: (a) Department of HealthAir Pollution Control
Project, (b) University of PhilippinesInstitute of Hygiene.
There is a surveillance program on air pollution only in the
Manila area at four locations. Sporadic surveys are made
from time to time on certain specific power or industrial
plants. A total of 70 such surveys from 1963 to 1965 have
been conducted. A continuing surveillance and some re-
search work are being maintained by a unit of the Department
of Health. When the new NWAPCC is fully implemented,
research work will be further intensified.
Air pollution sources in the Philippines that are potentially
or actually hazardous on the grounds of public health nuisance
and cost are:
Motor vehicle exhausts in the Manila Area
Smoke and SO
2
from power plants
Dust of unpaved provincial roads
Sawdust of lumber mills, plywood factories
Fumes and smoke from chemical plants, factories, etc.
Limestone dust of cement factories.
The most contamination and pollution of air occurs in the
Manila Area and the immediate vicinity of certain mines. At
the most busy intersection in Manila, air pollution measure-
ments caused by motor vehicle emissions from March 1964
to March 1965 were as follows:
Aldehydes, 0.041-0.427 with a mean of 0.138 ppm
Oxide of nitrogen, 0.030-0.470 with a mean of 0.109 ppm
Oxidants, 0.01-0.075 with a mean of 0.019 ppm
There is hardly anything being done with the air contami-
nants emitted from chimney stacks. In Manila, early in the
morning, there is a visible cover of smog when viewed from the
distance, most probably due to local atmospheric temperature
inversions and air pollution. As the sun rises, however, the
smog clears.
Thailand
The information I asked to have through the Thailand
Embassy had not yet arrived when the note was prepared so
I give a general account of the state of the country on air
pollution activities in a few lines grounded upon the knowl-
edge I got during the talks with an Embassy officer concerned.
There is no national law or even local regulations on air
pollution prevention except that which is enforced automobiles
running in the city of Bangkok. The application is not very
strict. Policemen appeal to the care of drivers when much
gas is discharged. Some ten years ago, we received a letter
from the mountain district in Thailand asking us if we had
any equipment to effect perfect combustion of wood chips and
I wrote him in return advising him to use the step-type fire-
grate. I am not sure if it had anything to do with air pol-
lution control at origin, but it was certain that they showed
great concern on combustion techniques then. Moreover,
the use of fuel oil is prevailing in that country too. So, from
my personal experience I believe that activities on air pol-
lution control must be developed much more than the talks I
had, suggest.
India
Concerning the position on air pollution control in India,
my contact through the Indian Embassy in Tokyo did not
succeed in getting information from the country in time to
prepare a report. So, I record how some of the impressions I
got during the talks with members of the study team who had
come from India during May 1966 to see heat control activities
in Japan.
In India heat energy comes principally from coal. Coal
occupies some 74% of total energy, which amounts to 110 mil-
lion tons of coal equivalent in 1966. Oil and hydro-power
account for 13%. The largest energy consumers in industry
are railways, steelworks and steam power generation whose
totalized consumption of coal amounts to 36 million tons a
year. Quality of the domestic coal is generally poor, the ash
being high; the cost of washing and screening if done would be
tremendous. On this account, looking from the viewpoint of
ash content only 2.5% of the whole production shows below
16%, 85% of as high as 25% ash and the remainder 15-16%
is of 16-28% ash.
Moreover, before 1947, steam power stations were estab-
lished around large cities and their suburbs without consider-
ing the effects of dust emission in various forms. Recently,
the electricity transmission loss has been decreased greatly on
account of the scientific progress in this concern and from the
economical point of view the move of steam power stations
near to coal mines has been in progress in recent years. This
in turn will bring forth a different state in air pollution abate-
ment activities. Some 14 out of the whole 17 districts of
India seem to maintain legal steps in this respect but details
are not clear yet.
November 1966 /Volume 16, No. 11 577
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Japan
National Law "With Regard To Regulate, etc. The Dis-
charge of Smoke," was promulgated in June 1962 and en-
forced since April 1963. Before this, in Tokyo, Osaka, and a
few other prefectures, local regulations exclusively on smoke
prevention had been enforced within the jurisdiction of each.
But, as actual authority to enforce the law was to be invested
on the cities or the prefecture authorities upon their having
been specified as designated regions by law, they also improved
their original regulations so as to conform to the specialities of
regions and have enforced them, as a matter of fact never
conflicting with the law.
Following the promulgation of law, particular noxious
materials and smoke generating equipments to which the law
should be applied were defined and also the designated cities,
towns, prefectures, and regions were made public between
1962-1963 by Cabinet Order and standards of emission by
Ministry Ordinance. The law, orders, and ordinances have
been revised in some way later.
In carrying out these legal affairs, three cities and 49 prefec-
tures each has set up Section of Public Nuisance by 1965. The
numbers of full-time staff employed in the sections were:
Tokyo Municipality, 110; Kanagawa Prefecture, 35; Osaka
Prefecture, 35; Aichi Prefecture, 17; Yokohama City, 17;
Nagoya City, 15. Others all have less than 10 staff.
The Counter-measure Conference of Enterprises against
Public Nuisance was established in two cities and three regions
during 1965, as an advisory organ for Ministry of Inter-
national Trade and Industry. In September 1965, Advisory
Committee against Public Nuisance was also set up in the
Ministry of Public Health and Welfare.
Nationwide civil organizations concerned with law enforce-
ment, actual measurements and study on preventive methods
of air pollutants are: seven District Heat Control Societies
and Central Conference on Heat Control, National Congress
on Air Pollution Prevention and Air Pollution Control
Association. Local civil or semicivil organizations of the
above-mentioned kind are established in Osaka, Shizuoka,
Hyogo, Yamaguchi, and Fukuoka Prefectures.
Institutions
Institutes have been set up in the Ministries of Labour,
Agriculture, Construction, International Trade and Industry,
Public Health and Welfare, and Transportation and the rele-
vant matters in each particular field are studied. Institutes
of the same kind on a rather small scale are established in some
of the universities, city, and prefecture offices.
Among the manufacturers of instruments and meters to be
used in the field of air pollution investigations there are some
who set up their own establishments, some of them doing
excellent work and compare favorably with those of govern-
ment or prefecture institutes in this connection.
Civil organizations such as ours do not have their own large-
scale institutes but have the particular convenience of availing
themselves of those above-mentioned.
Inspection
Up to now, large-scale sporadic surveillance of air pollution
by means of conventional ground set instruments and aerial
facilities such as balloons and helicopters have been conducted
in various districts throughout the country, led by the
Ministry of International Trade and Industry. But their
results have not been made public in detail.
The Ministry of Public Health and Welfare worked out a
schedule to set up 20 measuring stations to create a nationwide
surveillance net. Three stations, in Tokyo, Osaka, and
Amagasaki have been furnished, setting up by 1965.
Prefecture offices maintain the same in each jurisdiction and
suspended matter and deposits as well as sulfur dioxide are
measured. These are established in the cities of Tokyo,
Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Ube, Kitakyushu, and Sapporo.
They are very active in the undertaking.
Large enterprises such as are found in electricity power
generation, gas, cement, iron, and steel and some other
industries keep their own institutes and individually or to-
gether with other institutes conduct measurements to study
the relevant problems in each particular field of activity on air
pollution.
On the particular problems such as the effects of discharged
gas from internal combustion engines or sulfur dioxide dis-
charged by pulp industries, etc. the government sponsors and
subsidizes research work done at particular plants for studying
and developing preventive techniques.
The above-mentioned three civil organizations conduct
measurements and study preventive methods in each particu-
lar field of activity, results of which are disseminated among
members for their information and guidance. The main
fields of activity are: Heat Control Societyin the flues of
boilers and furnaces; National Congress on Air Pollution
Preventionoutside stacks, principally from the viewpoint
of public health and nuisance; Air Pollution Control Asso-
ciationmainly on the efficiency of various kinds of dust
collectors.
Standards
In our law, the expression smoke is applied to the following
matters: soot, dust particulates, and sulfur dioxide (sulfurous
anhydride) generated by burning fuels or other combustible
matters as well as those emitted when electricity is employed
as thermal energy.
The law designates particular toxic substances as follows
(1965): hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen sulfide, selenium dioxide,
hydrogen chloride, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorine,
silicon fluoride, phosgene, carbon dioxide, hydrogen cyanide,
and ammonia.
The maximum permitted emission of smoke is defined in 15
categories according to the kind or capacity or by grate area
of equipment. No application of law is contemplated regard-
ing those that do not come within the above categories.
Measuring devices are designated for equipment discharging
40,000 cu m of gas per hour and penalties and emergency
steps are also prescribed in law.
The most contaminated cities in Japan are: Tokyo, Kawas-
aki, Yokohama, Nagoya, Yokkaichi, Osaka, Amagasaki, Ube,
and Kita-Kyushu, the respective prefectures being Tokyo,
Kanagawa, Aichi, Miye, Osaka, Hj^ogo, Yamaguchi, and
Fukuoka. Some of the air contaminants in cities for 1964 are
shown in the following Table.
Quarter
(a) Fall-out dust (deposit) (ton/km
2
/
montii
Rural
Residential
Commercial
S emi-industrial
Industrial
(b) SO
2
(mg/day/100 cm
2
)
0
Rural
Residential
Commercial
Semi-industrial
Industrial
Nagoya
8.75)
12.13)
.
15.75

1.00)
1.43 J

2.49
Yokohama
7.35
6.46
9.03
13.35
0.36
0.75
1.65
1.88
a
Lead dioxide (PbC>2) method.
Conclusion
Arrangements made in Japan to prevent or abate air pol-
lution, in legislation and in application, are quite orderly.
But, it is only three years since the promulgation of law so
that standards or figures designated by regulations are still in
the course of being applied. Their proper and practical
values are likely to be found after some years of experience
and be revised as the time goes on. Everything depends upon
the effort of the nation in future.
578 Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association
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AUSTRALASIA
Air pollution in Australia and New Zealand is mainly of indus-
trial origin, domestic heating being done mainly by smokeless
means, except in Christchurch, in New Zealand, where coal of
high sulfur content creates a well developed domestic pollution
problem.
Legislation follows the pattern of the Alkali Act of Britain.
Most states have legislation based on registration of industries
and the establishment of maximum permissible emission stand-
ards. Most air pollution legislation provides for regulation of
future industrial development, but over-all planning with respect
to air pollution is still tentative.
and New Zealand are the only countries in
the South Pacific Region where air pollution problems of any
significance exist. Occasional minor sources of pollution are
located on some of the oceanic islands, such as a cement works
on Fiji, but these cause only minor local problems.
Both Australia and New Zealand are young countries by
northern hemisphere standards and serious attention has been
given to air pollution only during the past decade or two,
though legislation of some form has existed since the early
part of the present century. Because the Australian State of
New South Wales was the first to be settled and it has always
been the most heavily industrialized area of the region, it has
probably been the most active. It was here that the first
known reference to air pollution occurs in the form of a stanza
in a poem by Andrew "Banjo" Paterson when he speaks of the
fetid air and grit in Sydney, the State's capital city. This
was written in 1888 and the State's first air pollution legis-
lation, "The Smoke Nuisance Abatement Act," was passed in
1902.
Notwithstanding this Act and other provisions that were
later included in the Health and Local Government Acts in
most of the Australian states, no serious attempts were made
to control air pollution or to prevent its spread in the years
before World War II. No doubt, general preoccupation with
sterner matter of the "bread-and-butter" variety, and the
comparatively low populations of even the cities, were the
main reasons why air pollution failed to arouse serious public
concern. At that time in Australia most industries were
relatively small and in most cases these were reasonably well
away from residential areas.
This position changed rapidly within a few years after the
end of the war as city populations began to expand rapidly and
industrial development started to grow at an even greater rate.
The States of New South Wales and Victoria, both located in
the southeastern corner of the continent and containing nearly
70% of the Australian population, were the first to be affected
appreciably. During the 1950s both initiated action which
led ultimately to the introduction of new legislation.
Three other states, Queensland, Western Australia, and
South Australia, followed with the same action at later stages
leaving only one state, Tasmania, without postwar changes.
The Australian federal government has never had any air
pollution legislation; the problem in the past has been con-
sidered to be a state matter and this attitude persists.
New Zealand is more basically oriented to an agricultural
economy than Australia, even though agriculture is impor-
tant in the latter. Consequently air pollution in New Zealand
caused little public concern until a major (though local)
problem developed in Auckland, the Dominion's largest city.
The problem arose as the result of hydrogen sulfide evolution
from shallow mud flats in Manukau Harbour which were pol-
luted by blood and wastes from three large abattoirs as well
as by a variety of other organic materials from other sources.
The odor of the hydrogen sulfide, and paint blackening, up to
at least three miles radius caused widespread complaint during
the season of poor natural ventilation each year which, un-
fortunately, coincided with the peak killing season and warm
temperatures.
This in itself should have occasioned no difficulties as the
cure would have been obvious, but the presence in the same
area of three superphosphate works all operating the chamber
sulfuric acid process with the usual nitrogen dioxide plumes
caused considerable confusion. Many people blamed the sul-
furic acid works for the paint becoming blackened and for
other effects because heaps of sulfur could be plainly seen on
the works' properties, and all New Zealanders are familiar
with paint-blackening effects of "sulfur" gas in the country's
thermal regions. Matters became so confused amid dis-
claimers of responsibility by both industries with a Royal
Commission could not reach a conclusion; but in the Com-
mission's report it was recommended that the British Govern-
ment be asked to make an Alkali Inspector available to advise
on the problem as well as on the need for new legislation.
An investigation was subsequently completed and as a re-
sult recommendations were made in a report by Damon which
led to the incorporation in the New Zealand Health Act of
certain provisions generally similar to the Alkali Etc. Works
Act of Great Britain. However, Damon also concluded, as
the result of a simultaneous survey by Sullivan, that the
major air pollution problem was caused by the pollution of
salt water mud flats and he recommended that action be taken
to prevent this. This advice was taken and the "fumes"
November 1 966 / Volume 1 6, No. 11
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attacks ceased, but the legislation and the organization to im-
plement it have continued to exercise control over a steadily
increasing industrial development.
Australia
The Australian continent has a total area of slightly less
than 3,000,000 sq mi extending from the tropics in the north
to a cool temperate climate in the south. The major
portion of Australia is sparsely populated, being either arid or
devoted to agriculture, and the only significant centers of
population are the state capitals and a small number of indus-
trial cities in New South Wales and Victoria. Of these two
states, New South Wales has the greater share of industry,
particularly those segments concerned with heavy production
such as metals and chemicals.
Australia is sufficiently temperate, even in the south, to
obviate the need for extensive domestic heating and there is
thus no problem from this source. Most homes use smokeless
methods of heating and cooking mainly by town gas or elec-
tricity. Natural gas, of which reasonable supplies have been
discovered in recent years, also offers promise as a domestic
fuel for the future.
Unlike domestic pollution, problems caused by industrial
production are quite severe in some areas. This is particularly
the case in New South Wales, but all states have certain
industrial plants which cause some local complaints. The
city of Sydney, with a population of 2,350,000, is a center of
manufacturing industries including chemicals, oil refineries,
metals, and engineering works. There are also numerous
lighter manufacturing industries of varying sizes many of
which consume coal and oil fuels. Another characteristic
problem in Sydney is smoke and other combustion products
from intermittent ceramic kilns mainly producing bricks and
drainage pipes. Until recently the great majority of these
were hand-fired and caused voluminous smoke clouds, but a
significant start has been made toward conversion to me-
chanical firing with coal or oil.
Fifteen years ago the main problem in Sydney was due to
power production, most of the generating stations for the
State's supply being within the city area. This is now a
diminishing problem as newer stations built in sparsely
settled areas adjacent to coal mines are rapidly absorbing the
main load. Shipping smoke is another problem affecting
Sydney as the city largely surrounds and radiates from Sydney
Harbour which handles a large overseas, as well as intra- and
interstate, trade. Consequently, the problems that affect the
city, other than localized sections, are largely attributable to
combustion products and most citizen's complaints relate to
dust-fall and smoke haze. On many days of the year the
latter produces a visible pall over the city and on most winter
and autumn mornings visibility is restricted, sometimes to a
mile or less. However, most public attention in New South
Wales has been aroused by specific industries in local areas
and numerous complaints have been made about odors and
acid gases as well as district dust or soot-fall and smoke
problems.
Two of the areas that have been most affected by air pol-
lution are the industrial cities of Newcastle and the industrial
sections of Wollongong. These are roughly the same size,
each containing about 150,000 people, and both owe their
chief importance to iron and steel production. The City of
Wollongong also has within its boundary a copper smelter
which for many years caused concern because of sulfur dioxide
emissions. Very high concentrations of the gas frequency
occurred, sometimes ranging as high as 10-15 ppm on con-
tinuous recorders, though the highest 24-hr readings were
usually no more than 0.6-0.7 ppm.
Because of the high concentrations recorded at ground level
a medical survey involving examinations of about 500 people
in the affected areas and of an equal number of controls was
undertaken in 1960. The survey, subsequently reported by
Bell and Sullivan included the taking of medical histories,
medical examinations, lung function tests, and sputum exami-
nations. However, despite the occurrence of intermittent
though frequent short-term concentrations of sulfur dioxide
in the affected area no positive correlation could be found to
indicate a link with respiratory ill-health. Apart from this
survey, no other systematic study of the health effects of air
pollution has been undertaken in Australia or in New Zealand.
The City of Melbourne in the State of Victoria has a popu-
lation of 2,120,000 but its industries are mainly of the lighter
varieties and air pollution is not so noticeably a problem. Also
industry in the state tends to be less concentrated than in New
South Wales and there are few, if any, areas where air pollution
tends to become severe. The same may be said of the other
major state capitals Brisbane, Queensland; Adelaide, South
Australia; and Perth, Western Australia, all of which have
populations of about 500,000. In each of these cases any air
problems are local in character and confined to relatively few
areas.
Another reason why Sydney, Newcastle, and Wollongong
tend to be more severely affected than other Australian cities
is their location on the East Coast of the continent. This
region is subject to subsidence inversions often for relatively
prolonged periods and it is also subject to the barrier effect
of the Great Dividing Range which runs roughly parallel
with the coast at distances of 30-60 mi from it. The highest
smoke densities occur in subsidence inversions when the light
winds which then prevail are pushed back by katabatic
currents from the range. Ground inversions of about 400-ft
altitude occur under these conditions and smoke densities
reach 2500 Mg/
m3
calculated from the D.S.I.R. United King-
dom calibration. This is roughly equivalent to 15 COH
units per 1000 linear feet. It is interesting to note that when
these conditions happen to coincide with the annual Common-
wealth (formerly Empire) Day celebrations, when thousands
of small boys light bonfires and explode fireworks, smoke con-
centrations usually reach those recorded during extreme con-
ditions in London.
Monitoring of air contaminants started in New South Wales
in 1953 and in Victoria in 1960. Work of the same type also
started more recently in South Australia, but other states have
not so far carried out systematic continuous measurements.
The routine studies have been concerned mainly with dust-
fall, smoke density and sulfur dioxide; typical results are
shown in Tables IIII. In New South Wales routine measure-
ments are also made for ozone (total oxidant), nitrogen oxides,
and sulfur dioxide on continuous recorders and total particu-
lates and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on intermittently-
collected high-volume samples. Automatic hourly samplers
are also being substituted for the daily manual smoke density
instruments used previously. Results for polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons have been published for the City of Sydney.
There is no evidence, as yet, that Sydney or Melbourne or
any other Australian city is subject to a problem of motor
vehicle pollution other than the local effects of smoke and
irritant gases from diesel engines. These arouse citizen's
complaints but probably add little to the general problem of
pollution. On the other hand, Sydney and Melbourne have
motor vehicle pollutions approaching one million and this
number is expanding rapidly. The climatic conditions of
Sydney have been discussed and the likelihood of an analogy
with Los Angeles is apparent. This possibility was also
raised by Taylor, Hasegawa, and Chambers but on the evi-
dence of oxidant measurements it would appear that any
problem of this nature is so far of only minor proportions.
Concentrations shown by continuous recorders have shown
that oxidant concentrations do not exceed 0.05 ppm.
New Zealand
The two main islands of New Zealand, which contain about
2,700,000 people, occupy an area of about 103,000 sq mi and
are situated about 1200 mi east of Australia in the same
latitudes as Australia's southern states. New Zealand is,
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therefore, in a cool temperature-to-cold region being for the
most part similar to Southern Australia. However, the
southern half of the South island experiences somewhat colder
conditions and certain cities such as Christchurch have domes-
tic heating problems. As coal is the chief fuel used, air pol-
lution of some severity occurs during the winter months and
smoke and sulfur dioxide readings equivalent to one-fifth of
those that used to occur in London are frequently recorded,
even though the fuel consumption is only one-tenth as much.
This can be accounted for partly by poor natural ventilation,
but also because some of the New Zealand coals have a much
higher sulfur content than those generally available in the
Britain.
Throughout the rest of New Zealand the main air pollution
problems are industrial in origin and largely confined to
localized areas. The largest of these ever encountered was,
as already described in the introduction, the one which precipi-
tated the introduction of legislation in 1957, but the causes of
this have been removed and it ceases to be a problem. New
Table IDust-fall Readings in Australian Cities
During 1965
Location
Sydney,
New South
Wales
Wollongong,
New South
Wales
Melbourne,
Victoria
Adelaide,
South
Australia
Area Type
Commercial
Residential
Industrial
Mixed,
mainly
Industrial
Commercial
Commercial
Industrial
Residential
Rural
Industrial
Commercial
Residential
(Long
Insoluble
Solids
13.4-21.7
4.9-12.2
18.8-32.6
12.8-70.5
15.1
12.6
10.5
4. 5
4. 5
14.1
10.6
4. 6
Tons/m
2
/m
I
i
5
5
7
3
2.
4
4
1
2
6
4
3,
IVater-
^oluble
Matter
. 0- 6.1
. 3 - 8.0
. 3- 9.0
.1-14.4
.6
.1
.3
2
's
.8
.8
.4
Lonth)
Carbo-
naceous
Matter
3. 8- 5.6
1.5- 3.4
3.3-10.2
3.1-21.8
3. 4
3. 4
2. 9
1.2
1.6
4. 0
2. 5
1.2
Table IISmoke Density Readings in Australian Cities
During 1965
Location
Sydney, New
South Wales
Melbourne,
Victoria
Adelaide, South
Australia
Area type
Commercial
Industrial
Residential
Commercial
Industrial
Residential
Commercial
Smoke Density-
Yearly
Mean
60
50
45
20
10
20
(Mg/m
3
)
Highest
Month
140
70
55
30
15
40
Negligible
Highest
Day
460
490
140
55
40
60
20
Table IIISulfur Dioxide Concentrations Measured in
Australian Cities During 1965
Location
Sydney, New
South Wales
Melbourne, Victoria
Adelaide, South
Australia
Area Type
Commercial
Residential
Industrial
Commercial
Residential
Industrial
Commercial
. s
Yearly
Mean
2. 1
0. 8
2. 3
1.7
1.0
2. 1
a
ulfur Dioxide
(ppm)
Hig;hest
Month
4
1
5
2
1
3
1
. 1
.2
. 9
.7
.3
.9
.7
Highest
Day
10.6
2.7
9.7
6.5
4.3
6.3
4.0
a
Records for complete year not available.
Zealand is as yet comparatively little industrialized, and a
large proportion of the industries creating problems are con-
cerned with animal products, timber, and fertilizer (superphos-
phate) production. One of the chief existing problems is
created by wood waste disposal, mainly in incinerators, which
emit particles of char and ash in sufficient quantities to cause
troublesome "fall-out."
New Zealand's largest city is Auckland, with a population
of about 500,000. Regular measurements of air pollution are
conducted in the city and a considerable amount of work has
been done to assess the contribution by motor vehicles.
However, the measurements of oxidant and nitrogen oxides so
far made have yielded only low results, and as the city is not
subject to extended periods of stagnant air a significant prob-
lem from motor vehicles in the foreseeable future is not en-
visaged. The routine measurements made indicate an aver-
age city dust-fall (insoluble solids) of 5-13 tons/m
2
/inonth
and smoke and sulfur dioxide usually do not exceed 100
Mg/m
3
and 5 ppm, respectively.
Legislation
As indicated by the previous outline, the major problems in
the two countries are industrial in origin, so it is perhaps not
surprising that legislation has tended to follow in form the
British Alkali Act. New Zealand introduced powers similar
to the Alkali Act into the Health Act of 1957 and the govern-
ment appointed a chemical inspector to supervise scheduled
processes, of which there are now more than 200. These
processes are subject generally, where practicable, to control
by legislative emission standards, although these have so far
applied principally to superphosphate sulfur acid works.
The present technical staff establishment is three and no
significant changes in this or in the legislation are expected.
In Australia the first state to seek revision of old legislation
was New South Wales. This was to some extent precipitated
by the growing severity of the problem but the London disas-
ter of 1952 also stimulated public awareness in Australia. As
an initial step the state government established in 1955, a
special committee whose composition and terms of reference
were similar to those of the "Beaver" Committee which had
reported to the British Government in the previous year.
Before the New South Wales Committee had completed its
investigations the British Clean Air Act appeared. However,
this had little impact on the Committee's recommendations,
which were to the effect that legislation in the form of the
British Alkali Act would be most suited to local conditions.
Formal matters and discussions with industry delayed the
introduction of the legislation, but the New South Wales
Clean Air Act was ultimately passed by the State Parliament
in 1961, and it has since taken effect by the introduction of
suitable regulations.
The main provisions of the New South Wales Act are as
follows:
(a) Power is given to prescribe limits of emission of air
impurities, by regulation.
(b) Where such limits are not prescribed the use of the
"best practicable means" of preventing air pollution is re-
quired.
(c) Certain industries known to present air pollution
problems or where special control difficulties exist are re-
quired to be licensed as scheduled premises.
(d) Implementation of the legislation with respect to the
scheduled premises is the responsibility of the New South
Wales Department of Public Health.
(e) Implementation of the legislation with respect to
other premises can be initiated by local councils with assist-
ance, where required, by the Department; alternatively,
the Department can initiate action if considered desirable.
(/) New scheduled premises or major process changes
on existing scheduled premises are required to have Depart-
mental approval; new fuel equipment installed on premises
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that are not scheduled are required to obtain approval from
the local council.
(g) An Air Pollution Advisory Committee to make
recommendations on regulations and matters relating to the
administration of the Act was created by the legislation.
Since the introduction of the New South Wales Act, two
other states, Queensland and Western Australia, have passed
almost identical legislation and it appears that this will form
the general future pattern throughout the country. Victoria,
on the other hand, passed legislation in 1957 of a general form
more nearly equivalent to the British Clean Air Act, partly as
the result of an initial stimulus by a private member's Bill.
However, Victoria's Clean Air Act has been amended more
than once since its introduction and the emphasis is moving
toward control by emission limits. Industries are not
scheduled in Victoria and do not pay annual licence fees. The
latter contribute significantly to the cost of administration in
New South Wales, where the annual fee can be as much as
$Al,000 (400 sterling approximately). The South Austra-
lian legislation took the form of an amendment to the Health
Act in 1963 and gives powers to prescribe emission limits and
establish an advisory committee, but there are no provisions
for the scheduling or licensing of industries.
Administration
In nearly all Australian states as well as New Zealand, air
pollution legislation is jointly administered by a State Health
Department (national in the case of New Zealand) and local
authorities. Generally the central organizations resemble the
structure of the British Alkali Inspectorate but the functions
have been widened in most cases to include research and
monitoring of air pollution. The tendency, also, is for local
authorities to work in close liaison with the central organi-
zation and to depend upon the latter for technical advice and
services. As is also the case with the British counterpart
those states that have scheduled industries accept prime
responsibility for their control by routine inspections and
emission tests.
A unique feature of Australian legislation is that all existing
Acts provide for Statutory Committees composed predomi-
nantly of nondepartmental, chiefly university and industrial,
personnel. These committees are normally described as being
advisory but in all cases they are concerned to a greater or
lesser degree with administrative functions. For example, in
New South Wales an Air Pollution Advisory Committee
makes recommendations to the Under Secretary of the Health
Department who acts on behalf of the Minister, but in Queens-
land an Air Pollution Council administers the Clean Air Act
directly for the Minister for Health. Other variations occur
from state to state, but the basic principle of sharing respon-
sibility with an outside but technically oriented committee is
the same.
With the exception of New South Wales, the organizations
carrying out the full-time duties associated with administra-
tion of air pollution legislation are small. New Zealand, which
does not employ an advisory committee, has a total staff of
three technical personnel, while the other Australian states
have from one to four persons. New South Wales has de-
veloped further and has a technical staff of nine engineers, six
chemists, and ten field and laboratory assistants. The
engineers are the equivalent of alkali inspectors and are re-
sponsible for daily contact with industries, and the chemical
staff carries out routine source testing and ambient monitoring
as well as a certain amount of research. In addition to these
functions, the Air Pollution Control Branch prepares reports
for the Air Pollution Advisory Committee, of which the head
of the Branch is a member.
Future Controls and Planning
The regulation of industrial development is provided for in
most Australian states and New Zealand by the air pollution
legislation as, in general, prior approval now must be obtained
for new industries or processes and fuel-burning equipment.
In most cases this approval applies to the location of a pro-
posed works or a process on an existing works as well as to the
measures which must be incorporated to reduce the emission of
pollution. Thus, a proposal can be rejected, if considered
necessary, by reason of adjoining use, topography, etc., even
though it may be in a specially designated industrial area.
However, this is avoided where practicable means exist of
reducing pollution to an extent where no problem can be
predicted.
On the wider aspect of over-all planning the present situ-
ation is not so satisfactory. Planning ordinances and codes
exist but these generally have given scant attention to air
pollution. Attempts have been made in the past to define
industrial areas, and in the less highly developed Australian
states and New Zealand these have been reasonably successful
because it has been possible in most cases to provide reasonable
separation between different types of development. There is
also room for breathing space in these areas for realistic plans
to be made.
A somewhat different situation prevails in the two more
heavily populated areas, Victoria and New South Wales,
particularly in the latter because of its greater industrial
development and less favorable meteorology and topography.
Unfortunately, most of the city of Sydney, which is the prime
example, has in the past developed haphazardly and in most
areas there is inadequate separation between residences and
factories. There have been planning schemes, but evidence
of the lack of awareness of air pollution as a town-planning
factor is shown by the small boundaries, often consisting of a
street width or a narrow river, which exist between industrial
developments and homes.
One significant step made in recent years was the establish-
ment of a State Planning Authority under a State Planning
Act in 1964. However, despite the wide public attention
which has been given to air pollution in recent years it receives
little attention as an over-all planning matter. Consequently,
although the powers of the Clean Air Act can prevent future
problems from, being created by unsuitable industrial develop-
ment there is no established policy to prevent the same out-
come because of the construction of homes or even multistory
home units.
Highway development has also reached the stage where
major constructions are proceeding and will rapidly extend in
the next decade or two, but no consideration has been given to
the potential air pollution aspects of motor vehicles. Some of
the proposed highway outlets from Sydney follow the floors
of valleys because of the easier grades, but unless radical
changes occur to reduce emissions from vehicles these are
likely to be air pollution problem areas of the future.
Conclusions
Air pollution in most of Australia and New Zealand is not a
major problem, being generally restricted to specific local
areas, but the industrialized State of New South Wales is
probably affected to an extent equal to most other parts of the
world. The major general problems are caused by smoke
haze and dust-fall which reach levels considered as heavy in
most United States and British cities.
Legislation throughout the area is closely modeled upon the
British Alkali Act and similar type organizations have been
developed for its implementation. However, although all of
the Acts to control pollution contain punitive provisions the
emphasis in the early stages of their application has been on
cooperation and persuasion. This policy has in very large
measure succeeded and a great deal of progress has been
made even though final installations are not complete in
many cases. No doubt, when the major problems have been
controlled attention will be more strongly focused upon re-
maining sources as well as some other unresolved questions
such as smoke from shipping and discharges from motor
vehicles.
582 Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association
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EUROPE
Air pollution by industry, domestic heating, and motor vehicles
is a result of the local overburdening of the atmosphere which
particularly occurs in fully industrialized and densely populated
countries. Numerous statistical facts show that the areas of a
questionable quality of air are chiefly localized in the congested
areas of Middle Europe and that the unceasing progressive de-
velopment of urbanization and industrialization currently in-
creases the endangering of life and property by more and more
densely spread and almost more yielding emission sources.
Without any doubt neither the hygienic control of the atmos-
phere is sufficiently developed nor are the effects of complex air
pollutions satisfactorily studied. Nevertheless, those measures
may be recognized which wi l l be necessary for the restoration of a
sufficient air resource. A survey on European air pollution con-
trol legislation shows how far already the conclusions have been
drawn from the reported facts.
N
I ow as ever industrial plants, domestic heating, and
motor vehicles are the origin of conventional air pollution.
Nonconventional radioactive air pollutions are not dealt with
in this report. The current development and extension of our
civilization causes an increasing of the number, the abundance
and the area density of these sources. The process of urbani-
zation is still going ahead without showing any sign of satu-
ration and the emissions are still growing more rapidly than
our methods and means of control.
Immense as the amount of waste materials emitted into the
atmosphere sooner or later, however, might be, in a uniform
distribution they would offer no cause for worry. All experi-
ences and simple considerations show rather that neither the
total air volume nor the surface of the earth on the whole nor
the oceans may be considerably burdened by conventional
processes. The air pollutions observed in all European
countries result rather from the local overburdening of the
atmosphere by emission sources the abundance of which is
surpassing the critical range valid at times.
The irrational situation from which our mutual reserve of
breathing air is becoming more and more obnoxious, particu-
larly in densely populated areas, thus in the centers of its con-
sumption, finally is the result of a current change of structure
the inhabitants of our continent are subject to. The area for
a current increasing population remains nearly constant.
Incomparabry higher is the increase of local density of popu-
lation caused by the progressive urbanization. Symptoms of
the agglomeration process are the boundless extension of the
large towns and the growing together of vast scattered indus-
trial and residential areas to huge complexes.
Urbanization and industrialization are developments of the
same origin; that is why the industrial potential of Europe is
growing in conformity with the population density, as may be
seen from figures for annual production of electrical energy, of
crude steel, and of cement.
In all industralized countries the same industrial plants are
held responsible for the most significant emissions: thermal
power stations, iron works, including steelworks, other metal-
lurgical works, re-melting plants, coke oven plants, petroleum
refineries, cement plants, the chemical industry (in the broad-
est sense of its meaning), and, for the cities, also domestic
heating and motor traffic.
Emissions
The most important emissions are, of course, the following:
dust and fume of any kind, flue gases and vapors, especially
malodorous and corrosive effluents. Specific examples are:
dark smoke from heating plants, the dense white cement dust
emissions from cement works and the iron oxides of very fine
particles: the so-called brown fume from steelworks. Empha-
sis should be laid on the fact that the dusts with large particles
and a high sedimentation rate are, however, more annoying,
but that from the hygienic viewpoint the fine airborne dust is
more serious.
With regard to the gaseous emissions interest is concen-
trated primarily on SO
2
and on motor vehicle exhaust gases,
and here especially on CO; it will be necessary to pay atten-
tion to other components of these exhausts too, and above all
to hydrocarbons. The complex emissions from chemical and
metallurgical plants and petroleum refineries are considered
November 1 966 / Volume 1 6, No. 11 583
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particularly unpleasant: fortunately they are not so numer-
ous, however, as are heating plants and motor traffic. Nui-
sance from offensive odors from the chemical industry, from
food production, from fish-meal factories, and numerous other
industrial plants are aggravating problems of chiefly local
importance. On the other hand, diesel engine fume and
soot from fuel oil heating is a frequent plague. Moreover,
soot from fuel oil heating has a corrosive effect because of the
deposited sulfuric acid.
It is remarkable that up to now there have been relatively
few discussions on the carcinogenic effects of polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons. This is supposed to have two quite
different causes: (a) identification of these compounds,
occurring in the atmosphere in merely low concentrations, is
exceptionally difficult and the procedure is practiced by very
few European institutions; on the other hand (b) the causa-
tion between the occurrence of those substances in the atmos-
phere and the increasing morbidity of lung cancer is certainly
presumed, though this supposition still meets with some
scepticism.
The uniformity in the appraisal of the most important pollu-
tants is confronted with an extraordinary variety and differ-
entiation of the problems of atmospheric hygiene. Strictly
speaking each case of a considerable pollution of the atmos-
phere has its own individual and often very complex structure.
The universal complaints about the annoyances by the emis-
sions from domestic heatings in large towns for example, are
based on varying facts: even within the fully industrialized
districts the annual period of heating will range from two
months in southern to ten months in northern countries.
Equally different are quality and quantity of the emissions
depending on the system of heat production, heating appli-
ances, and the practice of heating. Neither the geothermal
heat of Iceland nor the electrical systems frequently used in
Sweden and Norway produce any effluent. Moreover, the
variety of possibilities extends from district heating, well
maintained central heatings for coke and oil, to the English fire-
places, fed with bituminous coal. The many factors influenc-
ing the relationship of emission and immission differentiates the
actual degree of the concentrations of pollutants even within
one and the same city.
It would be obvious to estimate at least the emissions of
special plants from the throughput in order to attain com-
parable statements. Such a method will be possible and use-
ful in some cases, but only of conditional value in another case,
and under certain circumstances only unreliable statements
would result.
The SO
2
emissions from combustion of coal and fuel oil are
easily calculated from the sulfur content of the fuels and the
throughput. This shows a total emission of about 3.4 X 10
6
tons of SO
2
in Great Britain for 1963. In the Federal Repub-
lic of Germany the SO2 emissions reached 1.4 X 10
6
tons in
1962, this being calculated for thermal power stations only.
From similar calculations it is seen that the amount of
smoke, grit, and dust in Great Britain reached a total of about
2.2 X 10
6
tons and that for the German Federal Republic
about 1.1 X 10
6
tons in 1962 from thermal power stations
only. It must be realized, however, that the average effi-
ciency of dust removal is by no means constant. Moderniza-
tion of the equipment resulted in higher efficiency of dust re-
moval and in reducing the total dust emissions. While during
the period 1952-1962 the throughput of solid fuels and the ash
content of the firing plants of the thermal power stations of
the Federal German Republic were nearly doubled, the total
effluent of ash fell by about 30%.
A more conclusive example is given by the cement pro-
duction of the Federal German Republic, the output of which
has tripled from 1950 to 1964, while the total emissions have
dropped to one-third. Nevertheless, the dust emissions were
still about 160,000 tons in 1964 and the situation in all the
other countries is about the same.
Much more difficult to survey are the emissions from other
plants, e.g., from the chemical industry and from several
metallurgical plants, because there are often a great number
of emissions from different and changing processes and meth-
ods, on which sufficient information is scarcely obtainable and
as little information is available on emissions by motor traffic,
because they depend on the traffic density, the types of motor
vehicles, operating cycles in city traffic, daily average distance
covered, motor fuels, and the outdoor temperature.
It cannot be denied that immense quantities of hetero-
geneous contaminants are continually emitted into the open
air. Well-known examples of this complex picture are several
smog disasters, especially in London; deterioration of mate-
rials in polluted atmospheres, which amounted to more than
250 X 10
6
per year in Great Britain; damage of Norwegian
agriculture by industrial plants settled along small fjords for
utilization of water power; nuisances from odors caused by
malfunctioning of fuel oil heating plants at Zurich; heavy
smoke pollution in many industrial cities, e.g., in the Mid-
lands, in South-West and South-East Lancashire, in the cities
of the Ruhrgebiet, in the valley of the river Meuse, in the
industrial district of Upper Silesia and again in London and
Paris; and last but not least, motor vehicle exhaust gases
which are so troublesome at Frankfort a.M., Paris, Genoa, and
Milan.
In view of the complicated situation, the alarmingly high
concentrations of pollutants repeatedly reported from different
congested areas only confirm what was to be expected with
regard to the statistics of emitted substances: dust-fall of
more than 100 g/m
2
per month; air-borne dusts more than 5
mg/m
3
hr (average); SO
2
: 2-5 mg/m
3
(average per day), and
above 5 mg/m
3
(average per hour); CO: about 40 ppm
(average per hour) and above 100 ppm for a short time.
Finally two negative experiences may be reported, which
we owe to some investigations made in Iceland and in the
district of the Swiss Alps. Both regions are distinguished by
very low levels of atmospheric pollution. They are ideal
health resorts with low population density, nearly without
industry or traffic. In Iceland, even thermal energy is gained
from the natural thermal sources. The increase of lung cancer
in these areas, and the correlation with tobacco consumption
show, however, that air pollution is by no means exclusively
responsible for this disease.
The evaluation of the reported facts and the knowledge of
what ought to be done, depends to an essential extent on our
judging the near future. The consequent rise of the total
production of industry without any sign of reaching saturation
in line with the growing population, especially in congested
areas, shows already that official departments responsible for
atmospheric hygiene are confronted with a rapidly growing
and imminent risk of danger which in the long run will not be
combated merely by modernization and replacement of
plants as in the cases of the German power stations and the
cement works already cited.
More revealing information may be obtained from calcu-
lations and estimates by qualified experts of the E.E.C.,
according to which the production of thermal energy from
mineral fuels will continue in rising and there is no reason to
hope that the atmosphere will be less burdened in the near
future by using other sources of energy like water power,
natural gas, or nuclear energy.
The development of the number of motor vehicles in the
member countries of the E.E.C. and the relative number in
Britain was estimated. According to this recent investigation,
the saturation point of demand will be reached by the year
2010, by which time the number of people in Britain will have
reached 74 X 10
6
and the number of motor vehicles will have
increased to 41 X 10
e
with a relative quota of 0.55 vehicle per
head.
Planning authorities in France assume that within the period
1965-2000 there will be an increase of population from nearly
50 to 75 X 10
6
, 77% of them already living in towns by then.
In Paris alone, a district with nearly 9 X 10
6
inhabitants and
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nearly 2 X 10
6
motor cars will be obligated to accommodate
about 14 X 10
6
people with about 5 X 10
6
motor cars in the
year 2000.
Enormous efforts will clearly be urgently necessary to con-
trol this imminent accumulation of emissions, especially within
the congested area.
Emissions Control
What can be done and what has to be done to master this
problem. There is no reason for complacency, because we are
already at the beginning of the danger. The following are the
most important and practicable means of attack.
1. Control of the most important serious emissions with regard
to atmospheric hygiene
(a) From industrial plants by processing and chemical
engineering and flue gas control.
(b) From domestic heating by complete combustion of
smokeless fuels of low sulfur content and by heat
supply from district heating or by domestic supply
with gaseous fuels or electrical energy.
(c) From motor vehicles by improved mechanical design
and by afterburning of exhaust gases.
2. Long-distance dispersion and diffusion of emission by high
stacks
3. Municipal hygiene, planning, and zoning
(a) Universal achievement of air of satisfactory quality in
capital cities and congested areas by separating in-
dustrial from residential areas, by traffic control,
enforcement of air circulation, and green plantation.
(b) Planning and zoning according to atmospheric hy-
giene.
4. Control programs
(a) Organization of networks of sampling and measuring
stations for continued monitoring of the quality of
the atmosphere.
(b) Assignment of sufficient power to control authorities
to prosecute for flagrant offences against hygienic re-
quirements.
5. Central promotional activities
(a) Financial subventions to important hygienic research
and development, to documentation and libraries.
(b) Encouragement of private initiative to improve air
quality by granting credits, governmental subsidies,
and tax relief.
(c) Training of experts for all branches of air pollution
control.
(d) General publicity on the dangerous effects of air pol-
lution and on the purpose and progress of the official
efforts to combat them.
6. Skeleton legislature with the aim of employing all means for
the achievement of an atmosphere of highest quality;
implementory provisions flexibly adapted according to the
technical knowledge.
7. International cooperation with the aim of exchange of
experiences, of a division of labor and the coordination of
research, development, and documentation.
Nearly all these methods have already been adopted in the
European countries, although sometimes hesitatingly. Pro-
visions on the employment of smokeless and sulfur-reduced
fuels in domestic heatings are already in use, e.g., in many
places in Britain and Paris. The emission of diesel engine
smoke is restricted in Belgium, Finland, France, Britain, Nor-
way, Sweden, and the Federal Republic. Sanitary protection
of cities and country planning are excellently practiced in the
Departement de la Seine. Measuring networks exist already
in Britain and Paris and will soon be arranged in the Republic
also. Surveying of emissions has been done in Britain for a
long time; the Annual Report on Alkali, etc., Works by the
Chief Inspectors since 1864 are almost classic reading. The
Gesundheitsinspektorat (Public Health Inspection Depart-
ment) der Stadt Zurich, proceeding with unprecedented pluck
against fuel oil heating plants which are badly maintained,
deserves honorable mention.
Many kinds of research on atmospheric hygiene are done
with special intensity in the Soviet Union and in West Ger-
many; the faculty of forest science at Tharandt has devoted
itself for more than 100 years to investigating damages in
forests caused by smoke. The National Society for Clean
Air (N.S.C.A.) at London and the Association pour la Pre-
vention de la Pollution Atmospherique (A.P.P.A.) at Paris
are especially successful in their efforts to keep the public-
interested in atmospheric hygiene. West Germany is en-
gaged on documentation work for the entire special branch
and West Germany too has the most up-to-date air pollution
legislation at its disposal. Last not least most of the countries
are ready for international cooperation.
Owing to limitations of space this report can do little more
than indicate the general state of affairs throughout the con-
tinent because the subjects dealt with are in current fluency
and also because unfortunately the desired information could
not be obtained from all industrial European countries.
Control Legislation
Most European countries have been impelled to issue suit-
able laws and decrees. Depending on the gravity of the
danger and the political structure of each country either a
national law or local provisions or both have been enacted.
In certain countries the legislation is of ancient date, and it is
fair to name England as precursor of air pollution control
legislation because, since the thirteenth century, those re-
sponsible for air pollution in the city of London had to sub-
mit to the most severe penalties.
All provisions aim at the combat of the different sources of
pollution, as industry and domestic heatings. Legislation
against pollution from road vehicles does not come under
any of the clean air legislation up to the present, but it is under
preparation in a number of countries. The various pollu-
tants, as dust, grit, smoke, and gas are covered by provisions.
In several countries special protected zones have been created
regions specialty liable to suffer from pollution.
Federal Republic of Germany
A comprehensive air pollution control legislation exists in
the Federal Republic of Germany. More than 100 years ago,
the so-called Gewerbeordnung (trade regulations) contained
already provisions according to which installation permits
were required for all installations emitting air pollutants.
These provisions have been reformed and considerably ex-
tended by the "Gesetz'zur Anderung der Gewerbeordnung
und Erganzung des Biirgerlichen Gesetzbuchs" of December
22
;
1959. This law, generally known as "Luftreinhalte-
Gesetz" (Clean Air Act), is a skeleton law. Installations
which may cause considerable disadvantages, danger, or
annoyances for the neighborhood are subject to an approval
which is also necessary in case essential alterations of chemi-
cal and process engineering methods or a change of an indus-
trial plant are being made. For existing installations the
law provides subsequent control measures in the event of the
neighborhood having ceased to be protected sufficiently. The
legislation also provides for the legal basis according to which
supervisions, liable for costs, are effected.
The law authorized the Bundesregierung (federal govern-
ment) to issue, on August 4, 1960, regulations regarding in-
stallations which need installation permits. These regu-
lations comprise 52 types of equipment, most of which are
subject to installation permits because they emit air polluting
substances. All relevant appliances, with a few exceptions
only are covered provided they are operated within commer-
cial enterprises.
The provisions of the law include the "Technische Anleitung
zur Reinhaltung der Luft" (technical instructions for air pol-
lution control) dated September 8, 1964. This is an admin-
istrative directive addressed to the competent administrative
authorities and contains the necessary instructions to deal
with air pollution control. These technical instructions con-
tain general provisions and special requirements for the
various types of installations. They are supported by the
VDI-Richtlinien (directives) established by the VDI-Kom-
mission Reinhaltung der Luft.
November 1966 / Volume 16, No. 11
585
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The latest law, enacted on May 17, 1965, covers precaution-
ary measures for the air pollution control and has created the
legal basis for constant monitoring of the atmosphere in the
whole German Federal Republic.
Enactments to avoid pollution of the atmosphere by exhaust
gases from motor vehicles of all kinds are contained in the
Strassenverkehrsordnung (highway code). Implementory
provisions on this subject particularly for the reductions of
emissions of CO and hydrocarbons are in preparation and will
be available by the end of 1966.
As far as installations are not covered by the Bundesrecht
(federal legislation), the federal laws are supplemented by
emission laws for the protection of the various Lander, as
Nordrhein-Westfalen, Baden-Wiirttemberg, Niedersachsen,
and Rhineland-Pfalz. These laws of the Bund and the Lander
offer the possibility of proceeding in respect of each polluting
emission.
Great Britain
In Britain the legislation is represented by two essential
laws: the Clear Air Act of July 5, 1956 and the Alkali Act of
1906 as amended in 1928 and 1958. The 1958 amendment
refers essentially to the "classified industries" (the so-called
scheduled works) and indicates precisely the types of new
installations or the alterations of procedures subject to oper-
ation or installation permits.
The Clean Air Act, however, contains precise obligations.
(a) Some refer to the production of smoke. Each smoke
the color of which is equal to or above no. 2 of the Ringelmann
scale is prohibited; each new firing plant with a capacity of
more than 14,000 cal/hr must operate as far as possible with-
out production of smoke and plants fired by solid fuels and
with a consumption exceeding 1 ton/hr can be put in oper-
ation only when they are provided with efficient dust remov-
ing equipment.
(b) Standardization of stack heights has been established
by a provision of May 15, 1963, which, however, is not appli-
cable to the installations covered by the Alkali Act.
(c) Finally, the law has created smoke-free zones in which
particular controls are obligatory.
Belgium
Belgum adopted a law on December 28, 1964, which has to
be supplemented by implementory provisions. This law
prohibits certain kinds of pollution, regulates the use of de-
vices and application of procedures for the control of pollu-
tions, and requires suitable supervision.
Netherlands
The Netherlands do not have a legislation of their own but
only provisions covering plants subject to approval. These
provisions establish the conditions under which industrial
installations have to undergo controls and determine the
emissions of the various pollutants. An inspection of environ-
mental hygiene has recently been created as well as a com-
mission for combating air pollutions.
Italy
Italy also has no air pollution control legislation. How-
ever, a bill for an "anti-smog law" is under preparation. Its
essential enactments provide for the creation of protected
zones, the utilization of fuels and the supervision of heating
plants, industrial and motor vehicle emissions. Particular
regulations were adopted in 1952 by the town of Milan and in
1963 by the town of Torino.
France
France was controlled for a long time by the law enacted in
1917 regarding installations liable to an approval. Since the
problem of the air pollution has become more and more im-
portant, the "Ministre de la sante publique" has been in-
duced by the decret of July 28,1960, to coordinate the existing
measures for the combat of air pollutions.
On August 2, 1961, a law against pollutions of the atmos-
phere was enacted which contained general directives for
future regulations and control and modified the law of 1917.
This law was followed by a certain number of decrets and
arr^tes:
(a) Arrete of the "Prefect de la Seine" dated October 13,
1961, enumerating the directions regarding central heatings in
dwelling houses.
(b) Arrete dated July 25, 1962, regarding domestic heat-
ings.
(c) Percent dated September 17, 1963, providing the
creation of special protective zones.
(d) Arrete dated November 12, 1963, regarding effluents
from motor vehicles.
(e) Decret dated August 19, 1964, regarding installations
requiring a permit.
These decrets and arretes have been followed by a certain
number of circulars with implementory provisions regarding
especially domestic heatings, special protection zones, and
supervision of motor vehicles.
Other Countries
Special air pollution control legislation has been enacted or
is in preparation in other countries. In the absence of reliable
detailed information, details cannot be given. However, the
survey shows that the various European legislations have
been enacted in the endeavour to adapt the regulations for
industrial installations to the latest requirements, to establish
instructions for the functioning and control of domestic
heatings, and many to create the basis for the control of
atmospheric pollutions by motor vehicles which are an ever-
growing source of pollution in all countries of Western Europe.
MEMBERS OF IUAPPA
The International Clean Air Congress held in London was sponsored by
the International Union of Air Pollution Prevention Associations. Countries
presently represented by association membership in IUAPPA are:
Argentina*
Australasia
France*
Germany*
indicates charter members.
Great Britain*
Israel
Japan*
United States of America'
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NORTH AMERICA
There has been much industrial progress and rapid population
growth in North America in recent years. This report attempts to
define the resulting types of air pollution and their effects. A
look at multilevel legislation is followed by a summary of ap-
parent trends in awareness, abatement, and education.
I hero can be no complete, up-to-date, brief report on
air quality control and air conservation in North America.
No less than a dozen books and comprehensive reports have
been written on the subject in the last several years and
countless technical papers, magazine, and newspaper articles
are being published continuously. Each day some new
development or trend is brought forth. There will undoubt-
edly be significant developments between the preparation of
this report and its presentation. Fortunately, such a situ-
ation reflects progress.
Although the complex problem of air conservation cannot
be fully assessed, at least one truth is apparent: the large
majority of us North Americans can tolerate and are as a
whole fluorishing in our present environment, but our future
welfare will not permit us to continue some of the practices
which have been followed in the past. In fact, as we expand,
even utilizing all our abilities to reduce emissions from new
sources there will be some increase. Therefore, we will have to
reduce the contribution from existing sources just to break
even. We should do better than that.
Status and Trends
Although there are now varying degrees of air pollution in
North America, tomorrow's problems will be almost universal
if present trends are projected. Population growth is the
basic statistic. In 1900, the 2.9 million square miles in the
United States were populated by less than 80 million people.
Today the same area accommodates about 190 million. If
this is projected to the year 2000, a population of close to 320
million results.
Concentration of population is another trend. In 1960
over 50% of United States citizens were living on less than
1% of the total land area. There is no indication that this
trend will change.
The number of automobiles was nil in 1900. Today the
number is 70 million and is projected to approach 115 million
in 1980.
The growth of industrial activities can be expected to in-
crease several fold by 2000.
In general, rising demands for energy, to move automobiles,
and provide heat and power, are a prime characteristic of our
modern society. We must find ways of meeting them without
adding to the contamination of the air.
The atmospheric concentration of oxides of sulfur is being
given serious consideration. These oxides reach the atmos-
phere mainly through combustion of fossil fuelsprincipally
coal and fuel oil. Several approaches are available for re-
ducing sulfur oxide emissions from combustion sources: the
use of fuels whose sulfur content is naturally low; removal of
sulfur from fuels before they are burned; and removal of sul-
fur oxides from combustion effluents. A process for con-
version of sulfur dioxide to recoverable sulfuric acid is to be
tested commercially.
Additional problems arising from our mounting production
of energy are oxides of nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Con-
siderable study is being given to the significance and control of
oxides of nitrogen, but more answers are needed. A report
issued in 1963 by the Conservation Foundation indicates that
the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere is rising at a
rate which may cause the temperature of the earth's surface
to increase. There is much speculation as to the effects that
this temperature increase will have on the world. The use of
atomic power, solar energy, increased use of hydraulic power,
and new concepts show some promise for reducing the com-
bustion requirements and problems associated with products
of combustion.
Occurrence of Air Pollution
Although there have certainly been localized areas where
air pollution existed for many years, the unpleasant levels of
smog in Los Angeles, Calif., manifested in the forties un-
doubtedly served as the first warning to the United States and
world that air conservation was a necessity. The acuteness
of the condition in Los Angeles resulted from a somewhat
unique topography and climate and a large urban population
with a high usage of motor vehicles. Although manifes-
tations of photochemical smog have been noted in a number of
locations, North America, in general, does not have a smog
problem which approaches the severity of the Los Angeles
condition. Increasing automobile usage and concentration
make this a major source of future concern.
In general, the severity and extent of air pollution is re-
lated to population density. In small communities, only
certain neighborhoods may be affected by'effluents from a
single source. In larger communities, there are more sources
and more people living in source range. A 1961 study in the
United States indicated major air pollution problems in 308
urban areas, an increase of 84 in a single decade. About 7300
communities in the United States, including all cities of
50,000 population or more, face air pollution problems of
varying degrees of severity. Since this accounts for almost
two-thirds of all United States residents, the over-all neces-
sity for air conservation is evident.
Canada has had several major isolated cases related pri-
marily to smelting operations. There are extensive and
expanding industrial operations concentrated in several areas.
November 1 966 / Volume 1 6, No. 11 587
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No significant problems with automotive emissions have been
noted. Although population density in Canada is less than
that of the United States, there has been rapid growth in the
major cities and a trend toward urbanization. In general, the
long-range need for air conservation in Canada is similar to
that in the United Stales, although perhaps not quite as
urgent.
Sources of Air Pollution
In the United States in 1966 motor vehicles will consume
some 600,000 tons of gasoline per day and discharge close to 9
million tons of exhaust gases of which 270,000 tons are carbon
monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons, nitrogen dioxide, and
other combustion products.
Emissions from diesel engines in trucks and buses, although
considerably less than from gasoline powered vehicles, are
regarded by the public as the most objectionable type because
of the unpleasant odor.
Emissions from industry and power generation contribute
approximately the same tonnage of gaseous pollutants as
automobiles plus 64,000 tons of sulfur dioxide per daj^.
Disposal of some 400,000 tons per day of solid waste in the
form of garbage, paper, bottles, cans, and other refuse of in-
creasingly varied composition is probably the most general
source of air pollution. All communities, both large and
small, have the problem of solid waste disposal. In the larger
communities the high volume of waste and extensive popu-
lation require highly efficient incineration or other well
developed procedures. In small communities, the availabil-
ity of capital to provide for such systems has been a problem.
Effects of Air Pollution
Annual economic losses resulting from air pollution in the
United States are at least several billion dollars, according to
estimates by government sources. This loss comes in the form
of wasted fuel, agricultural damage, deterioration, corrosion,
and soiling of physical structures. Reduction in visibility,
particularly on highways and in areas adjacent to airports,
has definite economic and safety effects.
The most important effect, that on human health, has not
as yet been defined, although much research has been and is
being devoted to the subject. A recent report by the Ameri-
can Association for the Advancement of Science sums this
matter by referring to " . . . the extreme difficulty of clearly
demonstrating that air pollution can be a hazard to health.
There is obviously, an effect in most acute cases. However,
unequivocal proof of chronic effects is still lacking and may
not be available for many years. While it is true that police
power does not demand total knowledge, action based
entirely upon a health hazard is extremely vulnerable if a legal
protest is organized. Although concern for effects on health
can certainly be a strong motivating force for air conservation,
it is difficult to uphold them as the sole basis for action."
For a number of years there has been a concentrated effort
to develop a means of classifying the effects of air pollution.
This has taken the form of ambient air standards. The
state of New York has been most active in this approach and
has developed a "classificationsambient air quality objec-
tives system" which proposes standards for land areas with
specific use in mind.
U. S. Federal Legislation
The Clean Air Act of 1963 (Public Law 88-206) strengthened
the previous federal authorities for the conduct and support of
research, for the extension of technical assistance to public,
and private organizations, and the provision of technical
training. It directed the federal government to develop
criteria of air quality for the guidance of State and local govern-
ment agencies. The Act authorized for the first time direct
federal financial assistance to local and regional State air
pollution control agencies. In addition, the Act authorized
direct federal abatement action on interstate problems, as
well as on intrastate problems when requested by the gover-
nor of the State involved. In the past year, several interstate
abatement actions have been initiated. The control of
emissions from federal facilities was also a provision of this
act. An outline of such requirements was issued in the
Federal Register of June 3, 1966.
Additional amendments to the Clean Air Act were signed
into law by the President in October 1965. These amend-
ments, among other things, require the Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare to issue semiannual reports on air
pollution caused by motor vehicles. Federal authority to
regulate emissions from motor vehicles was also provided.
Federal standards, limiting pollutant emissions from motor
vehicles, applicable to new 1968 model cars and light trucks
fueled by gasoline, will require significant reduction in emis-
sions of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide.
The "Solid Waste Disposal Act" was approved into law in
October 1965, along with the amendments to the Clean Air
Act. This act provides for financial assistance in conducting
surveys and constructing incinerators in certain localities.
In carrying out its responsibilities as defined by various
federal acts, the United States Public Health Service, Division
of Air Pollution Control, has a $14.3 million research program
for 1966 distributed to: direct operation, $5.6 million; grants,
$5.3 million; federal contracts, $1.5 million; and non-federal
contracts, $1.9 million. The proposed budget for 1967 totals
$18.3 million.
In a recent message to the Congress on natural resources,
President Johnson recommended legislation that would further
strengthen the Clean Air Act. This legislation would auth-
orize additional and continuing federal financial assistance to
State and local governments for the support of their air pol-
lution control programs. Bills to implement the President's
recommendation have been introduced in both the Senate and
the House of Representatives.
State and Local Legislation
The rapidly developing federal authorities in air pollution
have been designed to assist State and local governments
through research, technical aid, training, and financial aid.
In 1961, only 15 States were spending $5000 a year or more
on air pollution programs, and only three of these programs
were regulatory in nature. The total expenditure by States
in 1961 was $2,001,000. In the same year, 72 local agencies
were spending $5000 a year or more in air pollution programs,
for a total expenditure of $8,177,000. All the local programs
had regulatory features.
In 1963, when the Clean Air Act became law, it is estimated
that the total annual expenditures by State and local agencies
for air pollution programs was $12.7 million. California
agencies accounted for roughly half this amount. In 1963,
only about 35 local programs were budgeting more than $25,-
000 per year for control. Possibly another 50 local programs
were budgeting between $5000 and $25,000 per year. The
median per capita expenditure for local programs of approxi-
mately 10 cents were considerably less than the 40 cents per
capita for urban communities which the U. S. Senate Com-
mittee on Public Works recommended in 1963.
Five of our largest 24 metropolitan areas were served in
1965 by a regional air pollution control agency. Budgeted
expenditures for air pollution control in 1965 totaled $6.1
million by State governments and $24.9 million by local
government agencies.
Within the last several years, financial aid from the Clean
Air Act has resulted in the passage of State air conservation
laws and the setting up of air control agencies. Approxi-
mately 30 States have such laws and many others are develop-
ing legislation. Many of these laws have been in the form of
establishing a commission or board composed of a cross
section of interests, including State officials, representatives of
industry, the medical and engineering professions. The
Manufacturing Chemists Association has recently issued a
588 Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association
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publication which gives several recently enacted State laws
and sets forth a comparison of the individual features. The
Council of State Governments is also currently drafting a
"Model State Air Pollution Control Act."
Canadian Legislation
In Canada, the control of atmospheric pollution is pri-
marily exercised at the provincial and municipal levels of
government. Air pollution problems between Canada and
the United States are referred to the International Joint
Commission under the terms of the Boundary Waters Treaty
of 1909. The emission of smoke from vessels within one
mile of land is controlled by the Department of Transport
under an amendment to the Canada Shipping Act, dated
February 1964. Federal regulations have also been issued
under the Railway Act to govern the emission of smoke from
locomotives and other railway installations, in accordance
with General Order 838 issued in February 1959.
Regulations in the provinces vary. Ontario, Nova Scotia,
Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan have legislation,
recently amended, which provides for air control programs.
There is no specific responsibility at the provincial level to
control air pollution in Quebec, British Columbia, and the
other provinces. Municipalities do have power to regulate
air pollution and to control emission of smoke and fly ash and
operate in a manner similar to that practiced in the United
States.
In this report, it will be noted that much of the information
relates to a summation of the problem in the United States.
This is because the United States has had a larger problem
than Canada and more data have been accumulated. Well
established programs administered by competent personnel are
in effect in many areas in Canada and one of the most highly
developed industrial self-policing activities is practiced near
Montreal.
Mexico
Since 1960, when liaison was established between the APCA
and members of the staff of the University of Mexico, studies
of air pollution levels have been made in Mexico City jointly
by the Industrial Hygiene Department of the Health Ministry
and the Institute of Geophysics at the University of Mexico.
Considerable interest and support has been obtained for this
research from the pulp and paper and petroleum industries in
Mexico.
An air pollution control association has been formed in
Mexico with the name, "Asociacion Mexicana contra la Con-
taminacion del Aire y del Agua." Its purpose is to promote
interest in air pollution and create in its government "the
urgency to face facts." The group includes scientists from the
University of Mexico, industrial and government people.
The first election was held, and the president of the new
association is Humberto Bravo A., of the National University
of Mexico.
Planning
The real key to air conservation is planning. We must
develop plans as to how to finance and put into practice what
we know and plan research programs to supply new infor-
mation.
If we assume that we now have all the answers on how to
control present emissions, the design, equipment procurement,
and construction could not be accomplished immediately
without disruption and delay of other public and industrial
projects. The immediate financial load might be impossible
to bear.
Perhaps the first essential step in embarking on an air
resource management plan is the setting of ambient air quality
standards. These are the goals of the plan, and they should
be established relatively independently of the existing con-
ditions in an area. In second and succeeding steps in the
development of an air resource management plan, data on
existing pollution is gathered and emission standards are
calculated that, when implemented by appropriate control
measures, will reduce the pollution to the levels required by
the ambient air quality standards.
Advanced planning for urban public transportation sys-
tems has been neglected in most American cities. Further
neglect can only result in increased complexity and higher
over-all costs of future systems.
The principles of zoning have not been applied extensively,
although some definite advantages appear likely. Prohibition
of certain operations in metropolitan areas and remote loca-
tion of power plants from urban centers, although not reduc-
ing the over-all levels, could avoid extreme local conditions.
One problem with zoning is the prediction of land use patterns
in future years.
Attitudes
What is the attitude of the American citizen regarding air
conservation? A poll, reported in September 1965 by
Opinion Research Corp., indicated among other things the
following:
Only 14% of those surveyed selected air pollution as a
serious problem. In large cities this was 31% and in Los
Angeles it led all other problems with a 59% rating. When
asked if they would be willing to pay an extra $100/year in
taxes for reducing air pollution only 21% agreed and 70%
replied that they would be willing to pay nothing.
Since the public must ultimately bear the expense of con-
trol, it is obviously the responsibility of all groups interested
in air conservation to support and participate in educational
programs that are aimed at creating better public under-
standing of air pollution problems and air conservation needs.
One such program nearing its twentieth year of activity is the
Cleaner Air Week Program sponsored by the Air Pollution
Control Association. This program sets aside a week, usually
in October, to utilize press, radio, TV, and all other available
means to publicize to America and the world the importance
of air conservation and individual rights and responsibilities.
This worthy program is directed primarily at local levels but
has achieved national and international recognition.
The Outlook
Industrial Programs
Responsible American industry has realized for many years
that future sources must be minimized and that present.
sources must be reduced. It has had much experience and
success in conducting and applying research, in raising money
for necessary construction, and in getting the public to pay for
its products. The larger industries must set an example and
lead the way for other industry.
There are ten technical industry committees which coordi-
nate their activities through APCA. These include marine,
chemical, petroleum, coal, public utilities, steel, ferrous,
and nonferrous foundries, nonferrous smelting and refining,
pulp and paper, and cement. Various manufacturers of equip-
ment also coordinate through APCA.
Although many individual industrial companies are quite
active in air conservation, much of the major contributions
come through trade associations.
The American Petroleum Institute is supported by ap-
proximately 75 of the major petroleum refiners in the United
States and Canada. Its committee on Disposal of Refinery
Wastes, formed in 1929, has been active in air conservation
and has published several manuals and other informative
literature which is updated periodically. In 1965 the API
formed a committee for Air and Water Conservation in order
that the industry's conservation program could be better
November 1966 / Volume 16, No. 11 589
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coordinated and expanded. The U. S. refiners estimate that
almost $200 million has already been invested in air pollution
control equipment. The individual refiners have spent a
total of $27.7 million on research and plan to spend $9.1 million
in 1966. The institute budget for research in 1966 is $1.6
million and includes projects on sulfur, lead antiknocks, and
gasoline volatility.
The Manufacturing Chemists Association, supported by
about 210 chemical industries of which 16 are headquartered
in Canada, has been most active through its Air Quality
Committee and its Environmental Health Advisory Com-
mittee. In past years it issued an Air Pollution Abatement
Manual and has sponsored technical papers and discussions.
A series of air pollution workshops have been held throughout
the country to advise industry members of the need for in-
creased activity in air conservation. A joint PHS-industry
study program of emissions from industrial operations has
been functioning through MCA for several years. A report
on emissions from sulfuric acid plants was issued in 1965, and
a similar report on nitric acid manufacture is in preparation.
A $4.5 million, five-year research program for reduction of
sulfur in coal and removal of sulfur dioxide from stack gases is
being jointly sponsored by the National Coal Association and
the Electric Research Council, which is supported by the
Edison Electric Institute.
Automotive Emissions
The automobile manufacturers put blow-by devices on all
American cars in 1963 and installed exhaust control devices
on most 1966 cars sold in California. Federal standards will
require exhaust control devices on most of the 1968 models.
Engine and carburetor modifications are being studied and
prospects for further development appear good. Some
progress has been made on diesel exhaust. Considerable
research is in progress. Although automobiles powered by
other than internal combustion engines and more extensive
mass transportation systems have been proposed as means of
reducing the automotive exhaust problem, significant relief
from these appears to be a long way off.
Power Production
Increased use of nuclear power plants and zoning appear to
offer the most immediate relief. Availability of low sulfur
fuels either by development of alternate sources or the
economic desulfurization of present fuels would be an answer.
Removal of SO2 fumes and other impurities from stack gases
is actually being tested.
Waste Disposal
The "Solid Waste Disposal Act" referred to earlier is a
demonstration act and will probably be extended. It has
also been suggested that the re-use of certain wastes be con-
sidered as a means of disposal of municipal and combustible
industrial wastes. A versatile and inexpensive trench-type
burner utilizing low-pressure forced air has been effective in
several applications and will be tested by a number of in-
dustries.
Training
In order to staff the many new governmental agencies at
the local and State level which are being formed with the
assistance of funds from the United States Public Health
Service under the Clean Air Acts of 1963 and 1965, many
universities in the United States are receiving training grants
to expand their activities. These provide both graduate and
undergraduate programs. Several excellent one-week courses
are also given at the Taft Center by the Public Health Service
staff.
General Comments
The importance of air conservation has long been realized
by the scientific community. Nowhere is this better demon-
strated than by the Air Pollution Control Association, now
entering its sixtieth year of activity. This is the only
association in North America solely and completely dedi-
cated to air pollution control and conservation. Now
sponsored by more than 3000 members and having 13 local
sections, APCA indeed represents all disciplines and provides
an open forum for all interests. Many other organizations
have organized and developed air conservation committees.
APCA appreciates and encourages such committees. There
are now 25 other associations and societies with which APCA
maintains close liaison, including the American Chemical
Society, American Petroleum Institute, American Society of
Mechanical Engineers, American Society for Testing Mate-
rials, Automobile Manufacturers Association, the Council of
State Governments, Manufacturing Chemists Association,
National Coal Association, and many others. APCA has
recently become a member of the Engineers Joint Council.
Many of these organizations are quite active in particular
fields. Papers on air pollution control and air conservation
have been included in the technical programs of the ACS,
AIChE, ASTM, AMA, and others. As previously men-
tioned, the MCA and Council of State Governments have
programs for development of model State legislation.
I have attempted to summarize some of the more important
factors and trends which have been reported in various forms
from many sources. For those interested in further review, I
recommend: "Air Conservation," a 324-page report by the
Air Conservation Commission of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science; "Restoring the Quality of
Our Environment," a 291-page report of the Environment
Pollution Panel of the President's Science Advisory Commit-
tee, November 1964; and "Waste Management and Control,"
a 257-page report issued in 1966, by the National Academy of
SciencesNational Research Council.
By far the largest number of technical articles combined
with the best overall reports of current status and trends in
North America are to be found in the Journal of the Air
Pollution Control Association. The annual meetings of APCA
are focal points of all air conservation interests. The APCA
Abstracts published monthly by the Air Pollution Control
Association in cooperation with the United States Public
Health Service and the Library of Congress contain complete
listings in the field. About 60 abstracts each month are
classified as to subject and cover all major American and
foreign sources.
You will certainly be interested in the National Conference
on Air Pollution to be held in Washington, D. C, December
11-14 of this year. Every phase of air conservation will be
reviewed by outstanding authorities. Preprints of all papers
will be available at the meeting and a complete set of all
presentations and discussions will be included in the "Trans-
actions." The transactions of previous meetings held in 1958
and 1962 contain excellent references.
Conclusions
There has been much progress and rapid growth in North
America in recent years. Large industrial and metropolitan
complexes have been created. We have worked harder
building sources of emissions than we have in controlling
them. It is now time to clean up. I am confident that the
people, the government, and the industries can and will work
for air quality control.
We in APCA will be active in supplying the information and
coordination which will be needed to achieve clean air in our
country. We further hope that through participation in the
International Union of Air Pollution Prevention Associations,
as exemplified by this International Clean Air Congress, we
can make a worthy contribution to world-wide air conser-
vation.
590 Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association
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SOUTH AMERICA
This report brings together information received from Argen-
tina, Brazil, Chile, Guyana, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
I ho South American nations have in general a com-
mon phenomenon: the growth of their urban, suburban,
and industrial zones. The migratory trend of the rural
populations toward the urban centers is maintained and in-
creased day by day, and in the great majority of cases the
urban centers are not prepared to receive such extra inhabi-
tants and this trend militates against the health and welfare
of the population.
A great majority of this migration is lodged in shanty towns
and slums, with bad hygiene and safety conditions, and where
social damage keeps pace with physical.
The increase of building, vehicles, traffic, and industrial
activities, all a direct result of the increase of population, is a
common cause of the increase of pollution in the atmosphere.
Two other facts make the situation worse: one, the climatic
and meteorological causes, which are not naturally similar in
the different cities; the other the absence or lack of adequate
preventive measures to avoid the pollution of the air, especially
on planning and legislation.
The situation in the countries that have provided infor-
mation for this report is described, in alphabetical order, as
follows.
Argentina
The sources of pollution inside the cities and factory centers
and the surroundings of Buenos Aires are fixed or movable.
These are, in the first instance, chimney stacks, either domestic
or industrial, plus garbage incineration in open spaces at places
such as the one at the Flores quarter (of more than 150 hec-
tares) and other smaller spaces. [1 hectare = 2.47 acres]
The second source is the internal combustion engines, which
in the last five years have doubled in number. The increase
in cars covers not only brand new cars in circulation but also
the continued use of very old vehicles in very poor condition.
The other cases that add to the problem are the rapid increase
in the erection of buildings (direct result of the increase of
population) climatic and meteorological phenomena.
Buenos Aires is a big city located close to a very large river,
River Plate, with mild winds and high relative humidity.
In Buenos Aires there is a Department of Sanitary Research
which has three divisions: Chemistry, Physics, and Medicine.
It studies and investigates all the causes that affect the safety
and welfare and public health of the city. One of the impor-
tant subjects under study is air pollution.
At present they are carrying research on cancer-producing
hydrocarbons, particles, carbon monoxide, lead, and sulfur
dioxide. They determine microclimates and environmental
comfort conditions in places open to the public, and in co-
operation with the Department of Labour Medicine of the
Ministry of Social Assistance and Public Health. These in-
vestigations cover the medical and sanitary aspects to deter-
mine the real effects of air pollutants on the citizen of Buenos
Aires.
The University of Buenos Aires, one of the biggest in the
world with 80,000 students, has a School of Sanitary Engine-
ering which also studies the problem. Finally, the Chair of
Toxicology at the Faculty of Bio-chemistry at the same uni-
versity is carrying out environmental research jointly with the
Department of Sanitary Research, of the Technical Direc-
torate for Hygiene.
Mefeoro/og/ca/ Conditions in the Buenos Aires Area
The City of Buenos Aires is under the influence of the semi-
permanent high-pressure area of the Atlantic with prevailing
winds from the NE. This is only a statistical average; the
wind variability is considerable. Temperature inversions are
very common. In winter with good weather conditions, in-
versions are produced every night at 5 P.M. and destroyed
between 11 and 12 noon. When insulation is not enough the
inversion lasts for some days. In summer, inversions dis-
appear at 9 or 10 A.M. In winter or summer, inversions are of
great intensity, low and without wind.
Administration
The Technical Director of Hygiene in the city of Buenos
Aires, through his Division of Control of toxic gases, fumes,
and noise, has the responsibility of preserving the city from
pollution by dangerous or annoying substances.
The city is divided into various zones, each with an agent or
inspector who has under his vigilance the maintenance of the
laws and ordinances. He can act immediately both to apply
fines and to demand improvement.
A citizen's complaint is dealt with immediately by means of
inspection in situ. The agent makes a report about the cause
of the trouble, the damage, and the remedy. With respect to
road vehicles the inspectors act on the street. Observations
are made at the starting places of transport. If the agent
verifies that a vehicle emits black fume its use is forbidden.
The same proceedings are taken for both trucks and buses.
November 1 966 / Volume 1 6, No. 11 591
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Moreover, under Ordinance 20582, a periodic control (semi-
annual) of motor vehicles is required.
The cases dealt with in 1965 are indicated in Table I.
Industries
Commerce
Dwellings
Totals
Complaints
Inspected
501
333
27
861
Table 1
Office
Inspections
1525
2762
4076
8363
Totals
2026
3095
4104
9224
The fines imposed were:
Bus
Transport
Trucks
Private vehicles
Chimneys
1,082
9,028
789
427
570
Totals 11,896
In the motor vehicles control the Division acts with the
Transport Direction. For greater effectiveness these in-
spectors act as uniformed agents.
On chimney emissions the Division's experience is that these
are increasing from factories and public and private buildings.
The factories' chimneys pollute the atmosphere by structural
deterioration, bad quality of fuel, or operational errors. New
buildings are now heated by natural gas, with considerable
elimination of fumes and soot. There is as yet no national
law. A proposed new law (Bom's law) has not yet been
ratified. On the other hand, the Province of Buenos Aires
has the law 5965, named "Protection law of the sources of
water and atmosphere." The Municipality of Buenos Aires
has Ordinances 9022 and 20582 and the control arrangement
contained in the Code of the Division of Control of Toxic Gases,
Fumes, and Noise previously mentioned. Two extracts
from the ordinances read: Ordinance No. 9022-21-12-37
(B.M. 4986-1938):
Art. No. 1. Every automotive vehicle that, due to bad
combustion or engine deficiencies, produces toxic emanations,
will be put off circulation till its deficiencies be repaired, for
the hygiene and safety of passengers and walkers.
Art. No. 2. The circulation inside the city limits of those
vehicles which produce excessive quantities of smoke through
their exhaust pipes, is forbidden.
Brazil
With a population of over 70 million, Brazil is also the most
extensive country of Latin America. Rio de Janeiro, the
capital until 1961, has more than four million inhabitants, but
industrial development has principally been in Sao Paulo,
where there are over 40,000 industrial establishments of every
kind. It is the most heavily industrialized area of Latin
America, with perhaps the most polluted atmosphere.
As forms of air pollution it is common to find smoke, gases,
fumes, and dust in industrial areas.
Manufacturing industries, including metallurgical, machin-
ery, transportation equipment, chemicals and allied products,
minerals, and textiles, are the main sources of these air pol-
lutants. Sulfur dioxide and deposited dusts are the only ones
for which are known the level in the air in at least two of the
polluted areas in the country.
In a few cities, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, heavy traffic
is responsible for the pollution of the air by products of fuel
combustion: smoke and gases from the exhaust pipes.
There is no federal law for air pollution. However, chapter
IV in the National Code of Health (Law no. 2312 Sept. 3,1964
Decree no. 49.974-A Jan. 21, 1961) provides the health
authorities with the responsibility of controlling air pollution.
There is also state legislation in S. Paulo State, as well as some
municipal legislation.
The growth of air pollution is a recognized fact because of
the industrial development. To prevent or minimize it the
necessity of legislation at federal, state, and municipal levels
is recognized, with the main purpose of preventing the in-
crease of pollution in already polluted areas and the creation
of the same situation in areas to which industries are moving.
Some municipalities are drafting planning regulations for this
purpose.
In two industrialized areas in Sao Paulo State and Guana-
bara State the CICPAA and the Instituto de Engenharia
Sanitaria of SURSAN are respectively doing research trjdng
to get data on the pollutant levels in the air, under the
sponsorship of the World Health Organization.
It is known that haze in the air is common in some areas and
especially during some months of the year. Industries are
located in places where the meteorological conditions are
favorable to atmospheric pollution.
There is a published study about an area in Sao Paulo,
around the capital.
Guyana, Formerly British Guiana
The nature and sources of air pollution, and the concern
caused, are tabulated as follows in a report from the Minister
of Health, Mr. Deoroop Mahraj, made in response to our
inquiry.
The existing legislation is The Public Health Ordinance,
Chapter 145, Laws of Guyana. The Central Board of Health
is constituted under this ordinance, which also provides for
the setting up of Local Sanitary Authorities and empowers
Urban Sanitary Authorities (municipalities) to make regu-
lations under the ordinance. The Central Board of Health
is the parent body and has power to revoke the powers of all
sanitary authorities in event of neglect of duty. Neither the
Central Board of Health nor any of the urban sanitary au-
thorities has made regulations on the matter of air pollution,
although Section 145 (Trade and Industries) and Section 147
(Mining Operations) gives them power to do so. In the
unfortunate absence of specific regulations on air pollution,
this subject is, at present, dealt with under:
Section 77 of Chapter 145Nuisances
Section 96 of Chapter 145Offensive Trades
The Town and Country Planning Ordinance, Chapter 181.
The application is, however, limited in scope since there are
many loopholes.
The growth of air pollution is considered both possible and
likely. Such possible and likely growth stems from the indus-
trial drive now in progress. The Central Board of Health has
had a relatively large spate of applications for the establish-
ment of several plants involving processes which are potential
sources of air pollution (hollow clay tile and brick manu-
facture, battery manufacturing plant, rice mills, are some
examples). At the moment the Board is using the building
regulations and the legislation mentioned to contain the
situation but is hampered by the inadequacy of the legislative
provision.
Table II
Form Source Concern
Alumina dust
Particulate matter
dust and grit
residue of calcined
bauxite
Stone dust and grit
Smoke and fly ash
Alumina plant, Demerara
Bauxite Co. (Demba)
at Mackenzie: Mainly
from loading operations
Demba
Stone crushing plant,
South Georgetown
Ilice mills. Rice husk
are, in many instances,
disposed of by burning
Public Health
nuisance
Material Cost
Public Health
nuisance
Public Health
nuisance
Material Cost
Public Health
nuisance
Material Cost
592
Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association
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The following steps are being taken to prevent or minimize
the possible and likely growth:
(1) The Public Health Ordinance is being revised.
(2) A committee has been appointed to go into the matter
of trade waste disposal and air pollution. The terms of
reference of the committee include an assessment of the
present and future positions, the setting up of standards,
a program to persuade companies and individuals to set up
systems of self-inspection to see that air pollution standards
are observed, and the drafting of regulations.
Chile
The principal sources of air pollution in Santiago are heat-
ing systems, warm water supply, incinerators, and industrial
establishments. Transport is not a problem because of the
small number of vehicles.
The principal inconveniences are the dust and soot on build-
ings fagades, furniture, curtains, clothes, etc., and also the
lack of good visibility. Damage to health has not been
established, but this does not imply that it would not exist.
In May 1961 the Ministry of Public Health, according to
the Sanitary Code, published Ordinance 144 on air pollution,
which is the basis of our work. In this ordinance it is for-
bidden to produce smoke or toxic gases over the limits estab-
lished by the National Health Service. Penalties are stipu-
lated, including fines and closures. Further, regulations have
been drawn up on the installation of boilers, incinerators,
heating systems, etc.
Air pollution has diminished notably, due to the Health
Service activities, with a diminution of deposits of 27% and
of the dust in suspension of 36% less than in 1960. Therefore,
we consider this problem controlled, and even though Chile's
industrial development is increasing, and in the same pro-
portion, its population, air pollution will not increase. On
the contrary we hope the quantities will continue to diminish.
The Hygiene and Air Pollution Institute, besides its work
on air pollution, lends assistance and advice on how industry
should face the problem, and also gives short courses to post-
graduates, from six months to one year each.
Peru
A report received from the Instituto de Salud Ocupacional,
Peru, through the Ministry of Public Health and Social
Assistance, states that the sources of air pollution are: motor
vehicles, the fish meal industry, general industry, the munici-
pal burning of refuse and leaves, and domestic.
An air pollution law (No. 14084) was enacted by the Peru-
vian Government in 1962. Under this was established a
country-wide Air Pollution Commission, with representatives
of government and municipal departments and of industry.
The purpose of the Commission is to study the nature and the
extent of the problem and propose actions to abate air
pollution.
Peru is the first fish meal producer of the world. The de-
velopment of this industry had started in 1958. About 40
plants were located in the Great Lima area, and the effluents
of these factories became the main source of air pollution in the
form of bad odors. Public complaints were tremendous
against this nuisance. The Peruvian Government, in order to
solve the problem, nominated a special committee; later in
1962 this committee became the "Country-Wide Air Pollution
Commission" (Comision Tecnica para el Control de Eman-
aciones y Residuos Nocivos) according to the Law No. 14084.
After intensive work the committee gave the following
measures to abate the fish meal odor:
To prohibit the establishment of new fish meal factories in
the area of Great Lima.
To control the emission of solids and gases by means of wet
scrubbers and incinerators.
These measures have reduced considerably the fish meal
odor in Lima. However, from time to time under adverse
meteorological conditions Lima still suffers from fish meal
odors.
Taking into account the previous experience, the Institute
of Occupational Health (Instituto de Salud Ocupacional)
carried out an air pollution study of Lima in the winter of
1962 and summer of 1963. Unit stations for sampling were
settled at different spots, such as industrial sections as well as
commercial and residential sections.
At the present time the Institute of Occupational Health
has put on a research project to the Public Health Ministry.
This project considers studies in Lima on monitoring, source
inventory, effects, and methods of abatement of air pollution
in the area, with the cooperation of the country-wide Air
Pollution Commission.
Uruguay
A reply from Uruguay shows that there is little industrial
pollution in that country, the problem appearing to give most
concern being that from road vehicles in Montevideo. The
principal law for the control of pollution is called the "Butler
Law," and came into force in 1942.
Venezuela
This country has no air pollution control program, but the
following information had been supplied by the Occupational
Health Section of the Ministry of Health.
The possible sources of air pollution from public activities
are the exhaust fumes from motor vehicles and the incinera-
tion and burning of garbage. Due to the geographic situation
of Venezuela, no fuel is used for domestic heating purposes.
The burning and incineration of garbage may be a problem
in Caracas since the capital is very heavily populated in rela-
tion with the rest of the country and due to the fact that the
final garbage disposal is not adequate; this latter part of the
problem is on the way to being solved.
Industrial air pollution sources may be divided into two
categories; those from heavy industry and those from medium
and light industry. In the first group are the refineries, the
petrochemical group, and the steel plant. These industries
are generally located far away from our bigger cities and
towns and we feel that they may present some problems in the
future, but no study has been undertaken to evaluate the real
situation.
The medium industry comprises metal foundries, cement
plant, and sugar mills. These industries produce dust and
smoke that have caused nuisance and originated complaints.
Evaluation of the total magnitude of the problem has not been
undertaken, even where the particular conditions that caused
trouble were solved.
The light industries are, as is to be expected, located in the
cities and have caused minor difficulties that have been taken
care of through the regional sanitary services. No general
evaluation has been done.
Venezuela has no specific legislation on air pollution control.
Municipal regulations have provisions that do not allow dis-
comfort or nuisance to the neighbors, and as such, the nuisance
and damage to property and health caused by air pollution
can be considered. The country also has adopted definite
criteria for the use of the land and city planning that are
enforced with special care in populated areas.
It is to be expected that due to the industrial development
of Venezuela, the air pollution problems may increase, at least
in densely populated cities. At the moment, the Ministry of
Health has no funds to start a study in this field.
The Pan American Health Organization has asked for
collaboration for a program to evaluate air pollution con-
ditions in some important Latin American cities. This
program includes sampling and analyzing some contaminants
in Caracas. The collaboration was postponed until 1967, as
no funds have been allocated.
November 1 966 / Volume 1 6, No. 1 1 593
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