ILAM SMOKE STACK

Press, Volume C, Issue 29513, 13 May 1961, Page 9

ILAM SMOKE STACK

Residents’ Protest

“The fumes which local residents will notice coming from the smoke stack at the university buildings at Ham may appear to many to be perfectly harmless, but the true position regarding these fumes and the air pollution they cause should give concern to all who value clear air,” said a statement from the Ham Action Committee last evening. The statement was prompted by a report in “The Press" of the testing of the smoke stack at Ilam on Thursday. “The fumes which will be emitted will contain sulphur dioxide in a concentration of 4700 parts a million at the top of the chimney, 50ft above ground level, in spite of the use of a low-sulphur-content coal, the statement said. “This sulphur dioxide is classified as ‘dangerous to life’ at 400 to 500 parts a million, about one-tenth of the gas at the chimney exit. “The Ministry of Works claimed previously that the fumes from the chimney would be dispersed into the upper air under normal meteorological conditions. But an expert consultant from outside Christchurch. Mr C. J. McDonald, of Dunedin, has given as his opinion that pollution from the smoke stack will occur and cause damage. “His figures, based on the latest information from Britain, indicate that the pollution from this sulphur dioxide at ground level will be several times more than the figure considered as satisfactory in Britain and America.

“Damage to building materials in the area appears to be certain. Damage to the health of residents is a distinct possibility. Members of the Ilam Action Committee deplore the steam roller policy of the Ministry of Works in the face of the residents’ protests that such an installation should never have been erected in the middle of a large residential area,” said the statement.