No Black Smoke
Page 17
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WHAT. causes lung cancer? The old controversy, in which one faction insisted that diesel fumes were the cause, seems fortunately to have died down. It must certainly have been pushed a foot or two deeper into its grave by the annual report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health. This eminent person referred to a study made in Jersey, where there is no air pollution problem. "Though the number of cases is small, the only conclusion which can be reached . . . is that heavy smoking and the high incidence of lung cancer are closely related," stated the report.
The purpose of drawing attention to these words is not in any sense to record satisfaction but, once again, to remind users of diesel engines that black smoke is a public nuisance. There is no excuse for its continual emission by a vehicle. It is no less unpleasant because it does not cause a terrible disease.
From next Monday, it will be an offence to use an excess fuel device while a vehicle is in motion, and to keep such a device in a badly maintained condition. New vehicles will have to have excess fuel devices where they are not readily operable from the cab; existing vehicles must comply by July 1, 1962. An article on page 725 details the new regulations, which were published last summer, as a last-minute reminder.
The depth of feeling does not end there, though. Mr, Rupert Speir, M.P., has a Bill currently before the House of Commons, the object of which is to control black smoke. The Minister is known to favour increased enforcement. The small minority of people who break the law deserve all they get—their actions undeservedly tar everyone with the same brush.