Environmental Protection UK - History and Early Work

History and Early Work

The organisation traces its roots back to the foundation of the Coal Smoke Abatement Society (CSAS) set up in 1898, making it one of the oldest environmental NGOs. CSAS was founded by London based artist Sir William Blake Richmond, who became frustrated by low light levels in the winter caused by coal smoke. In an 1898 letter to the Times calling for action Sir William said that, "the darkness was comparable to a total eclipse of the sun".

Over the following decades the organisation was instrumental in the introduction of the 1926 Public Health (Smoke Abatement Act) and the Clean Air Act 1956. The latter started life as a private members bill promoted by Sir Gerald Nabarro in the aftermath of the Great London Smog of 1952. This event saw the deaths of between 4,000 and 12,000 people as a direct result of air pollution. The original Act was updated by the 1968 and 1993 Clean Air Acts. These Acts require that considerable areas of the UK have been declared as Smoke Control Areas where the use of solid fuel is either prohibited or only allowed in special appliances.

As the menace of coal smoke receded the society changed its name to the National Society for Clean Air, focussing on air pollution on air pollution from other sources - including a successful campaign to outlaw stubble burning, crown immunity for incinerators, industry and, increasingly, transport (in particular, lead in petrol).

During this period membership was mainly (although far from exclusively) drawn from local authorities, with some industrial membership. Following the Clean Air Acts, another major achievement was the development of the concept of Local Air Quality Management and the incorporation of this in the Environment Act 1995. The original Environment Bill was intended to deal with issues such as the establishment of the Environment Agency, contaminated land, National Parks and waste topics.

Through the good offices of two of the Society’s Vice-Presidents (Lord Lewis of Newnham and Lord Nathan) an amendment to the Bill was introduced in the House of Lords (where the Bill began its life) to add what is now Part IV of the Act, Air Quality. The arguments in favour of the amendment persuaded the Government of the day to accept it as part of its own legislative programme by incorporating it in the substantive Bill. The Society assisted in the drafting of the legislation through its Air Quality Committee, a body set up in 1992 to draw together air quality experts - including employees of corporate members such as local authorities, consultancy and academia.