Challenge On Pollution

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32386, 27 August 1970, Page 17

Challenge On Pollution

“Public Enemy No. 1 in the Christchurch pollution region is smoke, and particularly the black smoke produced by the poor combustion of sub-bitu-minous and lignite coals," the president of the Clean Air Society (Mr P. V. Neary), says in reply to an article “Air Pollution and Coal,” by Mr P. A. Toynbee in “The Press” on Tuesday. Mr Toynbee, director of the Coal Research Association, wrote: “Although there is no doubt that domestic coal does offend in its tendency to emit smoke, the coal industry is steadily reducing the problem. “Of considerably greater importance than domestic smoke is the pollution of the air by sulphur oxides, which must be attributed to diesel oil and industrial fuels, rather than to domestic coal.” Mr Neary comments: “We challenge Mr Toynbee to quote ‘New Zealand Coal,’ vol. 14, No. 2, Spring, 1969, in which Dr W. Oldershaw totally condemned the inefficient coal fire.

“The Clean Air Society objects to a Government subsidised organisation like the Coal Research Association using the platform of technical competency to circumvent abolishing the open coal fire in Christchurch.

“In effect, the Government is intervening, through the Coal Research Association, to prevent the implementation of the recommendations of the Department of Industrial

and Scientific Research Report, No. 55, and the Health Department’s Air Pollution Report No. 15. “We would prefer that scientists be used to find proper uses for New Zealand’s most valuable mineral, coal, and also look into the problems of carbon dioxide accumulation .in the atmosphere.”