Chimneys & Stacks
In the 19th and early 20th century air pollution in cities used to be a terrible problem. High levels of smoke and sulphur dioxide pollution from coal burning in homes, industries and power stations caused a lot of illness and many deaths. After the loss of 4,000 lives in December 1952 due to the Great London Smog, the Government demanded that any pollution released into the air should pass through tall chimneys or stacks, so that the air near ground level would be cleaner to breathe.
Since the 1950s the use of chimneys and stacks to disperse air pollution has improved air quality in towns and cities. Unfortunately, people soon realised that the air pollution was being blown far away from its source, sometimes to other countries downwind, where it fell as acid rain. Since the 1980s, international laws and cleaner technology have reduced somewhat the amount of air pollution that comes from chimneys and stacks that is causing acid rain.
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