Clean Air Act 1993

Part I — Dark Smoke

Prohibition of dark smoke from chimneys.

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• (1) Dark smoke shall not be emitted from a chimney of any building, and if, on any day, dark smoke is so emitted, the occupier of the building shall be guilty of an offence.

• (2) Dark smoke shall not be emitted from a chimney (not being a chimney of a building) which serves the furnace of any fixed boiler or industrial plant, and if, on any day, dark smoke is so emitted, the person having possession of the boiler or plant shall be guilty of an offence.

• (3) This section does not apply to emissions of smoke from any chimney, in such classes of case and subject to such limitations as may be prescribed in regulations made by the Secretary of State, lasting for not longer than such periods as may be so prescribed.

• (4) In any proceedings for an offence under this section, it shall be a defence to prove—

• (a) that the alleged emission was solely due to the lighting up of a furnace which was cold and that all practicable steps had been taken to prevent or minimise the emission of dark smoke;

• (b) that the alleged emission was solely due to some failure of a furnace, or of apparatus used in connection with a furnace, and that—

• (i) the failure could not reasonably have been foreseen, or, if foreseen, could not reasonably have been provided against; and

• (ii) the alleged emission could not reasonably have been prevented by action taken after the failure occurred; or

• (c) that the alleged emission was solely due to the use of unsuitable fuel and that—

• (i) suitable fuel was unobtainable and the least unsuitable fuel which was available was used; and

• (ii) all practicable steps had been taken to prevent or minimise the emission of dark smoke as the result of the use of that fuel;

or that the alleged emission was due to the combination of two or more of the causes specified in paragraphs (a) to (c) and that the other conditions specified in those paragraphs are satisfied in relation to those causes respectively.

• (5) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction—

• (a) in the case of a contravention of subsection (1) as respects a chimney of a private dwelling, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale; and

• (b) in any other case, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

• (6) This section has effect subject to section 51 (duty to notify offences to occupier or other person liable).

Prohibition of dark smoke from industrial or trade premises.

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• (1) Dark smoke shall not be emitted from any industrial or trade premises and if, on any day, dark smoke is so emitted the occupier of the premises and any person who causes or permits the emission shall be guilty of an offence.

• (2) This section does not apply—

• (a) to the emission of dark smoke from any chimney to which section 1 above applies; or

• (b) to the emission of dark smoke caused by the burning of any matter prescribed in regulations made by the Secretary of State, subject to compliance with such conditions (if any) as may be so prescribed.

• (3) In proceedings for an offence under this section, there shall be taken to have been an emission of dark smoke from industrial or trade premises in any case where—

• (a) material is burned on those premises; and

• (b) the circumstances are such that the burning would be likely to give rise to the emission of dark smoke,

unless the occupier or any person who caused or permitted the burning shows that no dark smoke was emitted.

• (4) In proceedings for an offence under this section, it shall be a defence to prove—

• (a) that the alleged emission was inadvertent; and

• (b) that all practicable steps had been taken to prevent or minimise the emission of dark smoke.

• (5) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £20,000 a fine .

• (6) In this section “industrial or trade premises” means—

• (a) premises used for any industrial or trade purposes; or

• (b) premises not so used on which matter is burnt in connection with any industrial or trade process.

• (7) This section has effect subject to section 51 (duty to notify offences to occupier or other person liable).

Meaning of “dark smoke”.

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• (1) In this Act “dark smoke” means smoke which, if compared in the appropriate manner with a chart of the type known on 5th July 1956 (the date of the passing of the Clean Air Act 1956) as the Ringelmann Chart, would appear to be as dark as or darker than shade 2 on the chart.

• (2) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that in proceedings—

• (a) for an offence under section 1 or 2 (prohibition of emissions of dark smoke); . . .

• (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

the court may be satisfied that smoke is or is not dark smoke as defined in subsection (1) notwithstanding that there has been no actual comparison of the smoke with a chart of the type mentioned in that subsection.

• (3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsections (1) and (2), if the Secretary of State by regulations prescribes any method of ascertaining whether smoke is dark smoke as defined in subsection (1), proof in any such proceedings as are mentioned in subsection (2)—

• (a) that that method was properly applied, and

• (b) that the smoke was thereby ascertained to be or not to be dark smoke as so defined,

shall be accepted as sufficient.

Part II — Smoke, grit, dust and fumes

Installation of furnaces

Requirement that new furnaces shall be so far as practicable smokeless.

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• (1) No furnace shall be installed in a building or in any fixed boiler or industrial plant unless notice of the proposal to install it has been given to the local authority.

• (2) No furnace shall be installed in a building or in any fixed boiler or industrial plant unless the furnace is so far as practicable capable of being operated continuously without emitting smoke when burning fuel of a type for which the furnace was designed.

• (3) Any furnace installed in accordance with plans and specifications submitted to, and approved for the purposes of this section by, the local authority shall be treated as complying with the provisions of subsection (2).

• (4) Any person who installs a furnace in contravention of subsection (1) or (2) or on whose instructions a furnace is so installed shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction—

• (a) in the case of a contravention of subsection (1), to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale; and

• (b) in the case of a contravention of subsection (2), to a fine not exceeding level 5 on that scale.

• (5) This section does not apply to the installation of domestic furnaces.

• (6) This section applies in relation to—

• (a) the attachment to a building of a boiler or industrial plant which already contains a furnace; or

• (b) the fixing to or installation on any land of any such boiler or plant,

as it applies in relation to the installation of a furnace in any fixed boiler or industrial plant.

Limits on rate of emission of grit and dust

Emission of grit and dust from furnaces.

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• (1) This section applies to any furnace other than a domestic furnace.

• (2) The Secretary of State may by regulations prescribe limits on the rates of emission of grit and dust from the chimneys of furnaces to which this section applies.

• (3) If on any day grit or dust is emitted from a chimney serving a furnace to which this section applies at a rate exceeding the relevant limit prescribed under subsection (2), the occupier of any building in which the furnace is situated shall be guilty of an offence.

• (4) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (3) it shall be a defence to prove that the best practicable means had been used for minimising the alleged emission.

• (5) If, in the case of a building containing a furnace to which this section applies and which is served by a chimney to which there is no limit applicable under subsection (2), the occupier fails to use any practicable means there may be for minimising the emission of grit or dust from the chimney, he shall be guilty of an offence.

• (6) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Arrestment plant for furnaces

Arrestment plant for new non-domestic furnaces.

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• (1) A furnace other than a domestic furnace shall not be used in a building—

• (a) to burn pulverised fuel; or

• (b) to burn, at a rate of 45.4 kilograms or more an hour, any other solid matter; or

• (c) to burn, at a rate equivalent to 366.4 kilowatts or more, any liquid or gaseous matter,

unless the furnace is provided with plant for arresting grit and dust which has been approved by the local authority or which has been installed in accordance with plans and specifications submitted to and approved by the local authority, and that plant is properly maintained and used.

• (2) Subsection (1) has effect subject to any exemptions prescribed or granted under section 7.

• (3) The Secretary of State may by regulations substitute for any rate mentioned in subsection (1)(b) or (c) such other rate as he thinks fit: but no regulations shall be made so as to reduce any rate unless a draft of the regulations has been laid before and approved by each House of Parliament.

• (4) Regulations under subsection (3) reducing any rate shall not apply to a furnace which has been installed, the installation of which has been begun, or an agreement for the purchase or installation of which has been entered into, before the date on which the regulations come into force.

• (5) If on any day a furnace is used in contravention of subsection (1), the occupier of the building shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Exemptions from section 6.

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• (1) The Secretary of State may by regulations provide that furnaces of any class prescribed in the regulations shall, while used for a purpose so prescribed, be exempted from the operation of section 6(1).

• (2) If on the application of the occupier of a building a local authority are satisfied that the emission of grit and dust from any chimney serving a furnace in the building will not be prejudicial to health or a nuisance if the furnace is used for a particular purpose without compliance with section 6(1), they may exempt the furnace from the operation of that subsection while used for that purpose.

• (3) If a local authority to whom an application is duly made for an exemption under subsection (2) fail to determine the application and to give a written notice of their decision to the applicant within—

• (a) eight weeks of receiving the application; or

• (b) such longer period as may be agreed in writing between the applicant and the authority,

the furnace shall be treated as having been granted an exemption from the operation of section 6(1) while used for the purpose specified in the application.

• (4) If a local authority decide not to grant an exemption under subsection (2), they shall give the applicant a written notification of their decision stating their reasons, and the applicant may within twenty-eight days of receiving the notification appeal against the decision to the Secretary of State.

• (5) On an appeal under this section the Secretary of State—

• (a) may confirm the decision appealed against; or

• (b) may grant the exemption applied for or vary the purpose for which the furnace to which the application relates may be used without compliance with section 6(1);

and shall give the appellant a written notification of his decision, stating his reasons for it.

• (6) If on any day a furnace which is exempt from the operation of section 6(1) is used for a purpose other than a prescribed purpose or, as the case may be, a purpose for which the furnace may be used by virtue of subsection (2), (3) or (5), the occupier of the building shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Requirement to fit arrestment plant for burning solid fuel in other cases.

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• (1) A domestic furnace shall not be used in a building—

• (a) to burn pulverised fuel; or

• (b) to burn, at a rate of 1.02 tonnes an hour or more, solid fuel in any other form or solid waste,

unless the furnace is provided with plant for arresting grit and dust which has been approved by the local authority or which has been installed in accordance with plans and specifications submitted to and approved by the local authority, and that plant is properly maintained and used.

• (2) If a furnace is used in a building in contravention of subsection (1), the occupier of the building shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Appeal to Secretary of State against refusal of approval.

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• (1) Where a local authority determine an application for approval under section 6 or 8, they shall give the applicant a written notification of their decision and, in the case of a decision not to grant approval, shall state their reasons for not doing so.

• (2) A person who—

• (a) has made such an application to a local authority; or

• (b) is interested in a building with respect to which such an application has been made,

may, if he is dissatisfied with the decision of the authority on the application, appeal within twenty-eight days after he is notified of the decision to the Secretary of State; and the Secretary of State may give any approval which the local authority might have given.

• (3) An approval given by the Secretary of State under this section shall have the like effect as an approval of the local authority.

Measurement of grit, dust and fumes

Measurement of grit, dust and fumes by occupiers.

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• (1) If a furnace in a building is used—

• (a) to burn pulverised fuel;

• (b) to burn, at a rate of 45.4 kilograms or more an hour, any other solid matter; or

• (c) to burn, at a rate equivalent to 366.4 kilowatts or more, any liquid or gaseous matter,

the local authority may, by notice in writing served on the occupier of the building, direct that the provisions of subsection (2) below shall apply to the furnace, and those provisions shall apply accordingly.

• (2) In the case of a furnace to which this subsection for the time being applies, the occupier of the building shall comply with such requirements as may be prescribed as to—

• (a) making and recording measurements from time to time of the grit, dust and fumes emitted from the furnace;

• (b) making adaptations for that purpose to the chimney serving the furnace;

• (c) providing and maintaining apparatus for making and recording the measurements; and

• (d) informing the local authority of the results obtained from the measurements or otherwise making those results available to them;

and in this subsection “prescribed” means prescribed (whether generally or for any class of furnace) by regulations made by the Secretary of State.

• (3) If the occupier of the building fails to comply with those requirements, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction—

• (a) to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale; or

• (b) to cumulative penalties on continuance in accordance with section 50.

• (4) The occupier of a building who by virtue of subsection (2) is under a duty to make and record measurements of grit, dust and fumes emitted from a furnace in the building shall permit the local authority to be represented during the making and recording of those measurements.

• (5) The Secretary of State may by regulations substitute for any rate mentioned in subsection (1)(b) or (c) such other rate as he thinks fit; but regulations shall not be made under this subsection so as to reduce any rate unless a draft of the regulations has been laid before and approved by each House of Parliament.

• (6) Any direction given by a local authority under subsection (1) with respect to a furnace in a building may be revoked by the local authority by a subsequent notice in writing served on the occupier of the building, without prejudice, however, to their power to give another direction under that subsection.

Measurement of grit, dust and fumes by local authorities.

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• (1) This section applies to any furnace to which section 10(2) (duty to comply with prescribed requirements) for the time being applies and which is used—

• (a) to burn, at a rate less than 1.02 tonnes an hour, solid matter other than pulverised fuel; or

• (b) to burn, at a rate of less than 8.21 Megawatts, any liquid or gaseous matter.

• (2) The occupier of the building in which the furnace is situated may, by notice in writing given to the local authority, request that authority to make and record measurements of the grit, dust and fumes emitted from the furnace.

• (3) While a notice is in force under subsection (2)—

• (a) the local authority shall from time to time make and record measurements of the grit, dust and fumes emitted from the furnace; and

• (b) the occupier shall not be under a duty to comply with any requirements of regulations under subsection (2) of section 10 in relation to the furnace, except those imposed by virtue of paragraph (b) of that subsection;

and any such notice given by the occupier of a building may be withdrawn by a subsequent notice in writing given to the local authority by him or any subsequent occupier of that building.

• (4) A direction under section 10(1) applying section 10(2) to a furnace which is used as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) or (b) of this section shall contain a statement of the effect of subsections (1) to (3) of this section.

Information about furnaces and fuel consumed.

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