Alkali Act 1863

The Alkali Act 1863[2] (26 & 27 Vict c 124) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Alkali Act 1863
Long titleAn Act for the more effectual condensation of Muriatic Acid Gas in Alkali Works.
Citation26 & 27 Vict c 124
Dates
Royal assent28 July 1863
Commencement1 January 1864[1]
Status: Repealed

Under the Alkali Act 1963, an alkali inspector and four subinspectors were appointed to curb discharge into the air of muriatic acid gas (gaseous hydrochloric acid) from Leblanc alkali works.

This Act was amended by the Alkali Act 1874 (37 & 38 Vict c 43) sometimes called the Alkali Act (1863) Amendment Act.[3]

In 1874, under the Alkali Act 1874, the Inspector became the Chief Inspector. The first Chief Inspector was Dr Robert Angus Smith, he was statutorily responsible for the standards set and maintained by the Inspectorate, and reported directly to the Permanent Secretary of his department. For the first sixty years of its existence, the Inspectorate was solely concerned with the heavy chemicals industry, but from the 1920s onwards, its responsibilities were expanded, culminating in the Alkali Order 1958. This placed all major heavy industries which emitted smoke, grit, dust and fumes under the supervision of the Inspectorate.

The Alkali Act 1863 was repealed by section 30 of Alkali, &c. Works Regulation Act 1881 (44 & 45 Vict c 37). The "substance" of the Alkali Act 1863 was consolidated in the Alkali, &c. Works Regulation Act 1881.[4]

The 1863 Act was extended and expanded at least three times: first by the Alkali, &c. Works Regulation Act 1881, thence by the Alkali, &c. Works Regulation Act 1892, and subsequently by the Alkali, &c. Works Regulation Act 1906.

Section 19

This section provided that the Alkali Act 1863 was to continue in force until 1 July 1868, and no longer. This section was repealed by section 1 of 31 & 32 Vict c 36,[5] which enacted that the Alkali Act 1863 was "continued without any such limitation".

Timeline

The Inspectorate has worked under the purview of many different departments:

The Chief Inspector's independence disappeared when the Inspectorate was transferred to the Health and Safety Executive in 1975.

The Inspectorate was known as Industrial Air Pollution Inspectorate from 1983 to 1987 and became Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution (HMIP) when it was transferred back to the Department of the Environment in 1987.

HMIP became part of the Environment Agency and Scottish Environment Protection Agency on 1 April 1996.

Together with amendments, the Alkali Act became the main legislative control of industrial pollution in the UK. It was finally repealed and replaced by the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

References
  • A Collection of the Public General Statutes passed in the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Years of the Reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. Printed by George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswoode. London. 1863. 635 to 639.
  • George Pitt Lewis, assisted by H A de Colyar, "Jurisdiction and Proceedings under the Alkali Act, 1863". A Complete Practice of the County Courts. Stevens and Sons. London. 1880. Part 2. Book 5. Division 1. Chapter 2. Pages 909 to 914.
  • Baker, Thomas. "Alkali Works Act". The Laws Relating to Public Health, Sanitary-Medical-Protective. 1865. Page 62. See also page 591 to 595.
  • Pollock and Nicol. "The Alkali Act, 1863". Pollock's Practice of the County Courts. Sixth Edition. H Sweet. London. 1868. Page 4. See also pages 763 to 766.
  • "The Alkali Act, 1863". Report of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government 1959. HMSO. Page 35. Google Books.
  • http://www.glossary.com/reference.php?q=Alkali%20Act%201863%5B%5D
  1. Alkali Act 1863, section 2
  2. This short title was conferred on this Act by section 1 of this Act.
  3. Paterson (ed). The Practical Statutes of the Session 1874. Law Times Office. London. 1874. Page 73.
  4. Paterson (ed). The Practical Statutes of the Session 1881. Law Times Office. London. 1881. Page 76.
  5. Title: An Act to make perpetual the Alkali Act 1863. Royal assent: 25 June 1868. Repealed by section 30 of Alkali, &c. Works Regulation Act 1881.


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