                                CLEAN AIR  g CAP. 200 .      1
CHAPTER 200
 CLEAN AIR ACT
To make provision for abating the pollution of the air.
(21st March, 1968) *
(15th April, 1969) †
Enacted by ACT XVIII of 1967 as amended by Legal Notice 148 of 1975;
and Acts: XI of 1977, XIII of 1983 and VIII of 1990.
Short title.
Interpretation. 
Amended by:
XI. 1977.2.
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -
"authorized officer" means any public officer authorized by the
Minister, whether generally or specially, to act in respect of any
matter referred to in this Act;
"the Board" means the Clean Air Board established by section 10
of this Act;
"chimney" includes any structure or opening of any kind from or
through which smoke or other matter foreign to normal air may be
emitted, and references to a chimney of a building include
references to a chimney which serves the whole or a part of a
building but is structurally separate therefrom;
"dark smoke" means smoke which, if compared in the
appropriate manner with a chart of the type known at the date of the
passing of this Act as the Ringelmann Chart, would appear to be as
dark as or darker than shade 2 on the chart, and includes smoke
which is to be deemed to be dark in accordance with any method
other than the Ringelmann Chart prescribed by regulations made
under section 13 of this Act for the purpose of ascertaining whether
smoke is dark smoke or not;
"day" means a period of twenty-four hours beginning at
midnight;
"industrial plant" includes any still, melting pot or other plant
used for any industrial or trade purposes, and also any incinerator
used for or in connection with any such purposes;
"Malta" has the same meaning as is assigned to it by section 124
of the Constitution of Malta;
"Minister" means the Minister responsible for public health and
includes, to the extent of the authority given, any person authorized
by the Minister in that behalf for any purpose of this Act;
"oven" includes any form of retort or container used to subject
solid fuel to any process involving the application of heat;
* See  section 1 of the Act as originally enacted, part of which has been omitted under
the Statute Law Revision Act, 1980, and Legal Notice 25 of 1968.
† See  Legal Notice 29 of 1969.
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"practicable" means reasonably practicable having regard,
amongst other things, to local conditions and circumstances, to the
financial implications and to the current state of technical
knowledge, and "practicable means" includes the provision and
maintenance of plant and the proper use thereof;
"smoke" includes soot, ash, grit and gritty particles emitted in
smoke.
Prohibition of dark 
smoke from 
chimneys.
3. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, dark smoke shall
not be emitted from a chimney of any building, and if, on any day,
dark smoke is so emitted, the occupier of the building shall be
guilty of an offence.
(2) Emissions of smoke from any chimney lasting for not
longer than such periods as may be specified by the Minister by
regulations made under section 13 of this Act shall, in such classes
of cases and subject to such limitations as may be so specified, be
left out of account for the purposes of this section.
(3) In any proceedings for an offence under this section it shall
be a defence to prove that -
( a ) the contravention complained of was solely due to
some failure of a furnace or of apparatus used in
connection with a furnace; and
( b ) such failure could not reasonably have been foreseen,
or, if foreseen, could not reasonably have been
provided against; and
( c ) the contravention could not reasonably have been
prevented or minimised by action taken after the
failure occurred.
(4) This section shall apply in relation to a chimney serving the
furnace of any boiler of industrial plant (being a boiler or plant
attached to a building or for the time being fixed to or installed on
any land) as it applies in relation to a chimney of a building:
  Provided that, in relation to any such chimney as aforesaid
which is not a chimney of a building, the reference in this section to
the occupier of the building shall be construed as a reference to the
person having possession of the boiler or plant.
New furnaces to be 
as far as 
practicable 
smokeless.
4. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, no furnace
shall be installed in a building or in any boiler or industrial plant
attached to a building or for the time being fixed to or installed on
any land unless it is so far as practicable capable of being operated
continuously without emitting smoke when burning fuel of a type
for which the furnace was designed, and any person who installs a
furnace in contravention of this subsection or on whose instructions
a furnace is so installed shall be guilty of an offence:
  Provided that this subsection shall not apply to a furnace the
installation of which has been begun, or an agreement for the
purchase or installation of which has been entered into, before the
date of commencement of this Act.
(2) Any furnace installed in accordance with plans and
                                CLEAN AIR  g CAP. 200 .      3
specifications submitted to, and approved for the purpose of this
section by, the Board, shall be deemed to comply with the
provisions of subsection (1) of this section.
(3) A furnace to which subsection (1) of this section applies
shall not be installed in a building or in any such boiler or plant as
is mentioned in the said subsection (1) unless notice in writing of
the proposal to install it has been given to the Board, and any
person who installs a furnace in contravention of this subsection or
on whose instructions a furnace is so installed shall be guilty of an
offence.
(4) This section shall not apply to furnaces designed solely for
use for domestic purposes, not being furnaces of boilers with a
maximum heating capacity of fifty-five thousand or more British
Thermal Units per hour.
(5) This section shall apply in relation to the attachment to a
building of a boiler or industrial plant which already contains a
furnace or the fixing to or installation on any land of any such
boiler or plant as it applies in relation to the installation of a
furnace in any boiler or industrial plant attached to a building or for
the time being fixed to or installed on any land.
Grit and dust from 
furnaces to be 
minimised.
5. (1) The occupier of any building in which a furnace is used
to burn solid fuel or solid waste, or of any building or land in or on
which an oven is used to subject solid fuel to any process involving
the application of heat, shall use any practicable means there may
be for minimising the emission of grit and dust from any chimney
which serves the furnace or oven and if he fails to do so he shall be
guilty of an offence.
(2) This section shall apply in relation to the furnace of any
boiler or industrial plant (being a boiler or plant attached to a
building or for the time being fixed to or installed on any land) as it
applies in relation to a furnace in a building:
  Provided that in relation to a furnace which is not in a building,
the reference in this section to the occupier of the building shall be
construed as a reference to the person having possession of the
boiler or plant.
(3) This section shall not apply to furnaces designed solely for
domestic purposes, not being furnaces of boilers with a maximum
heating capacity of fifty-five thousand or more British Thermal
Units per hour.
Height of 
chimneys.
6. (1) Where it is proposed to construct or extend a chimney
for carrying smoke, grit, dust or gases from a building, other than a
building used or to be used as a residence, shop or office, no such
chimney shall be constructed or extended except in accordance
with plans, elevations and sections submitted to and approved by
the Board and giving sufficient details and information in respect
of the chimney, the building to be served thereby and the relation of
the chimney to nearby buildings and to the levels of neighbouring
ground; and any person who constructs or extends a chimney in
contravention of this subsection or on whose instructions a
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chimney is so constructed or extended shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) The Board shall not approve the plans, elevations and
sections submitted under subsection (1) of this section unless it is
satisfied that the height of the chimney as shown therein will be
sufficient to prevent, so far as practicable, the smoke, grit, dust or
gases from becoming prejudicial to health or a nuisance having
regard to - 
( a ) the purpose of the chimney;
( b ) the position and description of the buildings near
thereto;
( c ) the levels of the neighbouring ground;
( d ) any other matters requiring consideration in the
circumstances.
Abatement of 
smoke nuisances. 
Amended by: 
XIII. 1983.5; 
VIII. 1990.3.
7.   (1) Smoke, other than - 
( a ) smoke emitted from a chimney of a private dwelling;
or 
( b ) dark smoke emitted from a chimney of a building or
from a chimney serving the furnace of a boiler or
industrial plant attached to a building or for the time
being fixed to or installed on any land, 
shall, if it is, whether by reason of its quantity or otherwise, a
nuisance to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, be deemed to be a
statutory nuisance for the purposes of this Act.
(2) If the Board is satisfied that a statutory nuisance has
occurred it shall serve a notice (hereinafter referred to as an
"abatement notice") on any person by whose act, default or
sufferance the nuisance arises or continues or, if any such person
cannot be found, on any owner or occupier of the premises or land
on which the nuisance arises, requiring him to abate the nuisance
and to execute such works and take such steps as may be necessary
for such purposes.
(3) If any person on whom an abatement notice has been served
makes default in complying with any of the requirements of the
notice, or if the nuisance, although abated or has ceased, is, in the
opinion of the Board, likely to recur on the same premises or land,
the Board may cause a summons to be issued by the Executive
Police requiring any person on whom the notice was served to
appear before the Court of Magistrates.
(4) If on the hearing of the case it is proved that the alleged
nuisance exists, or that although abated or has ceased it is likely to
recur on the same premises or land, the court shall make an order
for either or both of the following purposes:
( a ) requiring the defendant to comply with all or any of
the requirements of the abatement notice, or otherwise
to abate the nuisance, within a time specified in the
order, and to execute any works necessary for the
purpose;
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( b ) prohibiting a recurrence of the nuisance and requiring
the defendant, within a time specified in the order, to
execute works necessary to prevent a recurrence,
and may also impose on the defendant a fine ( multa ) not exceeding
ten liri.
(5) An order made by the court under subsection (4) of this
section shall also provide for the imposition of a fine ( ammenda )
not exceeding five liri for each day on which the defendant shall
fail to comply with, or shall contravene, the order after the
expiration of the time specified in the order.
(6) Where an order made by the court under subsection (4) of
this section prohibits the recurrence of a nuisance, the defendant in
the proceedings in which the order is made shall be liable to a fine
( multa ) not exceeding ten liri if the nuisance recurs by his act,
default or sufferance.
(7) Where a statutory nuisance appears to be wholly or partly
caused by the acts or defaults of two or more persons, proceedings
may be instituted under the foregoing provisions of this section
against any one of them, or all or any two or more of them; and,
subject to those provisions, any one or more of the persons
proceeded against may be ordered to abate the nuisance, so far as it
appears to the court to be caused by his or their acts or defaults, or
may be prohibited from continuing any acts or defaults which, in
the opinion of the court, contribute to the nuisance, or may be
fined, notwithstanding that the acts or defaults of any one of those
persons would not separately have caused a nuisance.
(8) In any proceedings under this section it shall be a defence
for the defendant to prove that the best practicable means had been
employed to prevent the nuisance.
(9) For the purposes of this section an abatement notice shall
be deemed to have been served if it has been delivered, or sent by
post, to the persons to be served with such notice and, if sent by
post, it shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to have been
received on the day next following that on which it is posted.
Vessels.
in waters to which this section applies as it applies in relation to
buildings, but as if for references to the occupier of the building
there were substituted references to the owner of, and to the master
or other officer or person in charge of, the vessel and as if
references to a furnace included references to an engine of a vessel.
(2) Save as provided in this section, in paragraph ( c ) of
subsection (1) and in subsection (2) of section 13, nothing in this
Act applies to smoke, grit or dust from any vessel.
(3) The waters to which this section applies are all navigable
waters contained within any harbour or bay in Malta.
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Government 
premises and 
vessels. 
Amended by: 
L.N. 148 of 1975.
9. (1) It shall be part of the duties of an authorized officer, in
cases where it appears to him proper so to do, to report to the Board
any cases of - 
( a ) emissions of dark smoke, or of grit or dust from any
premises which are under the control of any
Government department and are occupied for any of
the purposes of any Government department; or
( b ) emissions of smoke, whether dark smoke or not, from
any such premises as aforesaid which appear to him to
constitute a nuisance to the inhabitants of the
neighbourhood; or
( c ) emissions of dark smoke from any vessel owned by the
Government for the purposes of its armed forces or
from any vessel in the service of the Government
while employed for the purpose aforesaid, which
appear to him to constitute such a nuisance as
aforesaid;
and on receiving any such report the Board shall inquire into
circumstances and, if the inquiry reveals that there is cause for
complaint, shall bring the matter to the attention of the officer in
charge of the department with a request to employ all practicable
means for preventing or minimising the emission of the smoke, grit
or dust or for abating the nuisance and preventing the recurrence
thereof, as the case may be.
(2) The fact that there subsists in any premises an interest
belonging to the Government shall not affect the application of this
Act to those premises so long as that interest is not the interest of
the occupier of the premises, and this Act shall have effect
accordingly in relation to the premises and that and all other
interest therein.
(3) Section 8 of this Act shall, with the omission of the
reference in subsection (1) thereof to the owner, apply to vessels
owned by the Government, but shall not apply to vessels owned by
the Government for the purposes of its armed forces or to vessels in
the service of the Government while employed for the purpose
aforesaid.
Clean Air Board. 10. (1) There shall be a Board, to be known as the Clean Air
Board, which shall be appointed by the Minister and which shall
consist of not less than five and not more than nine members, of
whom one shall be appointed by the Minister to be the Chairman of
the Board.
(2) It shall be the function of the Board to perform any act
required to be performed by it under this Act and to - 
( a ) keep under review the progress made in abating the
pollution of the air in Malta;
( b ) obtain the advice of persons having special
knowledge, experience or responsibility in regard to
prevention of pollution of the air;
( c ) advise the Minister on any matter which he may deem
                                CLEAN AIR  g CAP. 200 .      7
proper to refer to it for advice.
(3) The Minister may by order make provision with respect to
the proceedings of the Board and any such order may be varied or
revoked by a subsequent order; but for so long as no such provision
is in force, the Board may regulate its own proceedings.
(4) The Minister shall also appoint a person to act as secretary
to the Board.
Powers of 
authorized officers.
11. (1) It shall be lawful for an authorized officer for the
purpose of ascertaining that the provisions of this Act, or of any
regulation, notice or order, made or given thereunder, are being
observed -
( a ) at all reasonable times to enter freely and without
previous notice any premises or other place, or to
board any vessel, to which he has reasonable cause to
believe that any of the provisions aforesaid apply:
        Provided that an authorized officer shall not enter any
premises used as residence unless twenty-four hours’
notice of the intended entry has been given to the
occupier of such premises or unless such occupier
consents to such entry;
( b ) to carry out in any such premises, place or vessel, any
examination or enquiry which he may consider
necessary for any of the purposes aforesaid;
( c ) to require from any person such information (other
than information which could incriminate the person
giving it) as he may deem necessary for any of the
purposes aforesaid;
and any person who wilfully obstructs, impedes or delays an
authorized officer in the execution of his powers under this section,
or who wilfully fails to give the information required by an
authorized officer under this section or gives to such officer any
information which he knows to be untrue, shall be guilty of an
offence.
(2) An authorized officer shall be furnished with a certificate
of his authority to act under this Act and, on applying for admission
to any premises, place or vessel for the purposes of this Act, shall,
if so required, produce the said certificate.
Unjustified 
disclosure of 
information.
12. If any person discloses any information relating to any
manufacturing process or trade secret used in carrying on any
particular undertaking which has been furnished to or obtained by
him under this Act or in connection with the execution thereof, he
shall be guilty of an offence unless the disclosure is made - 
( a ) with the consent of the person carrying on that
undertaking; or
( b ) in connection with the execution of this Act; or
( c ) for the purpose of any legal proceedings arising out of
this Act or of any report of such proceedings.
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Power to make 
regulations. 
Amended by:
XIII. 1983.5.
13. (1) The Minister may make regulations for the purpose of
carrying into effect any of the provisions of this Act and, without
prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, for - 
( a ) prescribing or specifying any matter which is to be, or
may be, prescribed or specified under this Act;
( b ) making provision for the taking and recording of
measurements from time to time of the smoke emitted
from any chimney;
( c ) controlling the emission from any chimney of such
smoke or other matter as may pollute the air or be
prejudicial to health or may constitute a nuisance.
(2) Any regulation made under this section may provide that
any person contravening or failing to comply with any of the
provisions thereof shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable,
on conviction, to punishments not exceeding a fine ( ammenda ) of
five liri or a fine ( multa ) of one hundred liri and in respect of a
continuing offence to a fine ( ammenda ) not exceeding five liri for
each day during which the offence continues.
Penalties.  
Amended by: 
XIII. 1983.5
14. (1) A person guilty of an offence under any of the
provisions of this Act, other than subsection (3) of section 4 and
section 7, shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine ( multa ) not
exceeding three hundred liri:
  Provided that a person guilty of an offence under section 12 of
this Act shall be liable to such fine as aforesaid or to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding three months or to both such fine and
imprisonment.
(2) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (3) of
section 4 of this Act shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine
( ammenda ) not exceeding five liri.
(3) Where a person is convicted of an offence under any of the
provisions of this Act or of any regulations made thereunder, the
court may, without prejudice to the foregoing provisions of this
section or to the provisions of any regulation made as aforesaid, but
subject to the provisions of section 7 of this Act, order the offender
to abate the nuisance or the inconvenience arising from the offence,
or, according to circumstances, to carry out the law, within a time,
sufficient for the purpose, to be fixed by the court, and if the
offender fails to comply with any such order within the time so
fixed, he shall be liable to a fine ( ammenda ) not exceeding five liri
for every day during which the default continues after the
expiration of the said time.
Offences by bodies 
of persons.
15. Where the person guilty of an offence under any of the
provisions of this Act is a body of persons, every person who, at the
time of the commission of the offence, was a director, manager,
secretary or other similar officer of such body of persons or was
purporting to act in any such capacity shall be deemed to be guilty
of that offence unless he proves that the offence was committed
without his knowledge and that he exercised all due diligence to
prevent the commission of the offence.
                                CLEAN AIR  g CAP. 200 .      9
Application of Act 
to bakehouses.
16. This Act shall not apply to bakehouses existing at the
commencement of this Act unless and until the Minister shall, by
notice in the Government Gazette, order that it shall apply to such
bakehouses.
