The New Directive on Ambient Air Quality and Cleaner Air for Europe

The Alkali Act 1863 was a groundbreaking piece of legislation which tackled, head-on, highly damaging acidic atmospheric emissions from an early chemicals industry. It established a professional inspectorate and imposed an ambitious emission limit on atmospheric emissions of hydrochloric acid from such plants. Indeed, provided one has the political will1 and the technical capability,2 stemming the fl ow of noxious emissions from exhausts and tailpipes is the obvious place to start when seeking to reduce pollution. Initially, the Act achieved spectacular results; as industry increased, however, the reductions were soon cancelled out by the proliferation of new plants.3