Anti-diesel Fume Regulations Soon
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KTEW regulations designed to cut down fumes from diesel engines will be introduced soon. The Minister of Transport said last week that these would require the excess fuel device to be so placed that it could not be used while the vehicle was in motion, and would make it an offence to have the device in operation while the vehicle was moving.
He expected to lay these regulations before the Commons shortly, added Mr. Marples. Welcoming this announcement, which was made in the Commons, Mr. Francis Noel-Baker (Labour, Swindon) urged the Minister to make a speedy decision about smoke meters suitable for measuring fumes from motor vehicles. He recalled a statement by the Minister of Housing and Local Government that smoke and dirt in the air killed 50,000 people last year, and that 20 million working days were lost through dirty air. Is it not time the Minister took steps to do something about this problem of air pollution from motor vehicles?" asked Mr. Noel-Baker, He asked how Mr. Marples was getting on with his investigation of the Hartridge and Dunedin smoke meters, and questioned whether meters were really necessary in order to enable police officers or any other intelligent witnesses to determine whether or not a motor vehicle was polluting the air. Replying, Mr. Marples pointed out that the difficulty was to get a meter which would register the amount of smoke in the air in order to make for effective enforcement. No country in the world had yet succeeded in doing that, but the Warren Springs Laboratory of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research was helping him in developing a meter that would meet certain criteria