I mentioned The Big Smoke in a review of Killer Smog, but I had given my copy away and didn’t want to review it from memory. However, I’ve since acquired another one and thus feel more comfortable about commenting on it.


Author Peter Brimblecombe is an academic atmospheric chemist but is also an accomplished historian; his review of the history of London air pollution goes all the way back to the Bronze Age. His first chapter notes that while “air pollution” is usually considered a modern problem, indoor air pollution at least has been with humanity ever since we started spending a significant amount of time indoors. In that context he notes about 7% of Anglo-Saxon skulls examined show pitting of the palate attributed to long term smoke inhalation (interestingly enough, the feature is present, but rarer – about 3% - in Roman and Medieval skulls from England; he speculates perhaps more cooking was done outdoors.


Brimblecombe notes some writers have claimed there was a death penalty for air pollution in medieval times (this is mentioned as applied by Edward I in Killer Smog) but none can cite a primary source. However, there were medieval concerns over air quality, usually focusing on odor but sometimes on smoke. Brimblecombe notes that while records show considerable coal use in medieval London it was associated with industry (blacksmithing and lime burning) rather than home heating; he provides a bar chart showing apparently strong correlation between lime production and complaints about air quality in the 13th century. Other industries requiring heating – Brimblecombe cites brewing – used more and more coal as forests near London were depleted; by Tudor times observers noted that London air was much cleaner on Sunday, when industries shut down, than during the work week. This situation gradually reversed as more and more homes began heating with coal; by the 19th century the air quality was worse on Sunday (at least anecdotally) when everybody was home all day and cooking Sunday dinner. Still, the blame was placed on “point sources” – smoke emitting factory chimneys – rather than distributed sources. The first air pollution laws in England directed at a particular industry – sodium sulfate manufacture for glass making – were passed in 1862. The process reacted sulfuric acid and salt to produce sodium sulfate – with HCl as a byproduct. The Alkali Law required HCl removal and the government appointed an Alkali Inspector to see that this was done. The first Inspector, Angus Smith, was interested in atmospheric chemistry in general and went well beyond the purview of his job to measure various atmospheric gases and rainfall composition all over England; his 1872 book, Air and Rain, contains some of the first reliable measurements of carbon dioxide (335ppm in “remote areas”, 380ppm in “London streets, summer”).


Although it was recognized relatively early that there was more to air pollution than just smoke – a collapsed girder in the Charing Cross railroad station was found to be significantly converted to iron sulfate from reaction with sulfur dioxide – industrial smoke remained the target of abatement efforts, because it was easy to see. There was extremely strong resistance to giving up home coal fires, including a reversal of expected political alignments; George Orwell thought the drive to eliminate home coal use was sort of a capitalist plot to deprive the proletariat of their cheerful fires; and of course coal miners unions were opposed (not the least because they received an allowance of coal as a job benefit).


Eventually, however, the “killer smog” of 1952 changed people’s minds and emissions laws went into effect. Parts of the country were allowed to declare “smoke free” zones where industry had to leave or cease smoke emissions. By the time this book was published in 1987 more potential air pollutants had been identified and there were more sophisticated test methods.


Now rather out of date – Brimblecombe is still mentioning wet chemistry methods for air analysis – but quite valuable as a history. Extensively illustrated, including many relevant graphs and tables; endnotes and a good bibliography. Recommended to disabuse those who think air pollution is only a recent problem and solely attributable to “the corporations”. ( )