Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 1 History of air pollution in the UK (based on [
10
])
Year and legislation
Focus/purpose
1273
Use of coal prohibited in London as being “prejudicial
to health”
1306 - Royal Proclamation
Prohibiting craftsmen from using sea-coal in their
furnaces
1845 - Railway Clauses Consolidated
Act
Required railway engines to consume their own smoke
1847 - The Improvement Clauses Act Contained a section dealing with factory smoke
1863 - Alkali, etc. Works Regulation Act Required that 95% of the offensive emissions should
be arrested
1866 - The Sanitary Act
Empowered sanitary authorities to take action in cases
of smoke nuisances
1875 - The Public Health Act
Contained a section on smoke abatement from which
legislation to the present day has been based
1946
First smokeless zone and prior approval legislation
1956 - Clean Air Act
Introduced smoke control areas, controlled chimney
heights
1970 - EC Directive 70/220/EEC
Air pollution measures against gases from positive
ignition engines of motor vehicles (emissions of
CO and hydrocarbons)
1972 - EC Directive 72/306/EEC
Measures against diesel engine emissions limiting
black smoke emissions from heavy duty vehicles
1974 - Control of Pollution Act
Regulation of motor fuels. Limits amount of sulphur in
fuel oil
1975 - EC Directive 75/716/EEC
Sulphur content of certain liquid fuels. Amended in
1987 EC Directive 87/219/EEC: (1) The motor and
oil fuel
Lead content of petrol limited to 0.4 gl
1
1978 - EC Directive 78/611/EEC
1979 - International Convention on
Long Range Transboundary Pollution
Introduced to control the transboundary effects of acid
rain and to limit emission of acidifying pollutants
1980 - EC Directive 80/779/EEC
Air quality limit values and guide values for sulphur
dioxide and suspended particles
1982 - EC Directive 82/884/EEC
Limit value for lead in the air
1984 - Directive 84/360/EEC
Common framework directive on combating pollution
from industrial plants
1989 - EC Directive 89/427/EEC
Limit values and guide values of air quality for sulphur
dioxide and suspended particulates. Harmonised
measurement methods
1990 - Environmental Protection Act
Smaller emission sources under air pollution control
by local authorities for the first time
1991 - The Road Vehicles Regulations
Set standards for in service emissions of CO and
hydrocarbons to be included in the MOT test
1992 - EC Directive 92/72/EEC
Harmonised procedure for monitoring, exchange of
information and public warnings for ozone
1995 - The Environment Act
New statutory framework for local air quality
management with obligation to publish a National
Strategy
1996 - EC Directive 96/62/EC
Framework for controlling levels of SO
2
,NO
2
,
particulate matter, Pb, O
3
, benzene, CO and other
(continued)
