A DETAILED investigation is to be carried out into pollution in the atmosphere in Accrington.

Figures show that concentrations of sulphur dioxide monitored within the town were far in excess of those recorded in four other North West authorities.

Accrington also had one of the highest concentrations of smoke pollution when compared with Preston, Bolton, Blackpool and Burnley.

The main source of the two pollutants is from industrial and chemical processes and from the burning of diesel fuel.

Hyndburn environmental services committee agreed that the unusually high level of sulphur dioxide be investigated in detail as part of the council's air quality review. Environmental health chief Steve Todd said: "We are not saying it's a health risk and it's not breaching any standards but we would expect it to be lower."

The annual results of monitoring for the two pollutants cover the period April 1996 to March 1997.

The monitoring point is in Cannon Street, Accrington, at the environmental health department offices.

Councillors were told there had been no breaches of the EC Directive Limit Values, but one day's reading for smoke and one day's reading for sulphur dioxide in late January 1997 had exceeded advisory guide values.

Mr Todd said there had been massive reductions since monitoring started in 1962.

Further study is also to be carried out into kerbside levels of nitrogen dioxide, a lot of which comes from motor vehicles.

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