[Stoves] Between PM 2.5 and PM 10

[ajheggie at gmail.com]

[Default] On Mon, 10 Jun 2013 10:49:12 -0400,Julien Winter
<winter.julien at gmail.com> wrote:

>The particle emissions produced nuclei for water vapor to
>condense resulting in the infamous London fog. 

It was called smog, a coupling of smoke and fog, it looked yellow
green known as "peasoupers"and I do just about remember it though I
doubt I went to London before about 55. The clean air acts came in
shortly after and that banned the burning of anything other than
smokeless fuels. Simultaneously the national grid was finished by 1947
IIRC which meant power stations away from London could provide
electricity, allowing London power stations ( famously Battersea power
station) to close.


> It was at times so
>dense that bus conductors had to get off the bus and walk in front to
>show drivers the way.  The people of London simply assumed that it was
>normal that your window curtains and the white marble of buildings
>turned back.  When Londoners switched to using more gas and
>electricity, the famous fog went away.

I think it was sulphurous acid condensed from the smoke that blackened
and spalled limestone buildings as well as soot.

Gas was from town gas plants till 1967 and it was about this time that
wet central heating systems became ubiquitous.

AJH