Petroleum Act 1879[1]
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to continue and amend the Petroleum Act, 1871.
Citation42 & 43 Vict. c. 47
Territorial extent United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent11 August 1879
Commencement31 December 1879[2]
Repealed4 August 1928
Other legislation
AmendsPetroleum Act 1871
Repealed byPetroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928
Status: Repealed

The Petroleum Act 1879 (42 & 43 Vict. c. 47)[3] is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which continued and amended the Petroleum Act 1871.

Background

The storage and transport of petroleum and petroleum products had been controlled by the Petroleum Acts 1862 to 1871. By 1879 the provisions of the 1871 Act needed to be updated.

The Petroleum Act 1871 was time-limited, it expired on 1 October 1872 (1871 Act Section 18).[4] The 1871 Act was continued by annual statutes until 1879. Section 4 of the Petroleum Act 1879 enacted that the 1871 Act shall continue in force until otherwise directed by Parliament.

The Petroleum Act 1871 had defined petroleum as a substance that gives off an inflammable vapour at less than 100 °F (37.8 °C).[4] It was expedient to apply a more stringent standard and to redefine petroleum as that which gives off an inflammable vapour at less than 73 °F (22.8 °C). The test equipment and test methods required to determine the flammable vapour temperature were modified as defined in schedule 1 of the 1879 Act.[3] The Act mandated use of the Abel test developed by the chemist Frederick Abel at the government's request.[5]

Petroleum Act 1879

The Petroleum Act 1879 received royal assent on 11 August 1879. Its long title is 'An Act to continue and amend the Petroleum Act 1871'.

Provisions

The Act comprises six sections and two schedules:[3]

  • Section 1. Short title and construction
  • Section 2. Alteration of test
  • Section 3. Verification of test apparatus
  • Section 4. Continuance of the Petroleum Act 1871
  • Section 5. Commencement (31 December 1879)
  • Section 6. Repeal of Part of the Petroleum Act 1871
  • Schedule 1. Mode of testing petroleum so as to ascertain the temperature at which it will give off inflammable vapour
  • Schedule 2. Act repealed: 1871 Act from Section 3 to the end of section 18.

Aftermath

The Conservators of the River Thames made bye-laws under the 1879 Act prohibiting any ship carrying petroleum from approaching London west of Thames Haven.[6][7]

The 1879 Act remained in force until repealed (in the UK) by the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928.

The Petroleum Act 1879 applied to Ireland and remained a statute of the Republic of Ireland until 1972 when it was repealed by the Dangerous Substances Act 1972.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ This short title was given to this Act by section 1 of this Act.
  2. ↑ The Petroleum Act 1879, section 5
  3. 1 2 3 "The Metropolis Local Management Acts". google books. pp. 621–5. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  4. 1 2 "The Metropolis Local Management Acts". google books. pp. 612–20. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  5. ↑ Hazardous Chemicals: Agents of Risk and Change, 1800-2000, edited by Ernst Homburg and Elisabeth Vaupel (Berghahn Books, 2019), p. 30.
  6. ↑ Cracknell, B. E. (1952). "The petroleum industry of the lower Thames and Medway". Geography. 37:2: 79–88.
  7. ↑ "Miscellaneous". The Times. 26 October 1895. p. 1.
  8. ↑ "Dangerous Substances Act 1972". irishstatutebook. 1972. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
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