Evening star., 1953-10-18
BY John v. Horner
S,or Stoff corresnondent

are being endangered by a Snoe
pail which a relatively small
outlay could help correct.
Smog, a combination of fog
and smoke, is partly responsible
for the injury of Sd persons ir
automobile accidents within the
last 40 days on two-nile
stretch of the turnpike near
Newark and Elizabeth.
All Of these victims were hurt
In only eight accidents. They
were riding in 81 vehicles that
plowed into one another after
suddenly being enveloped in
dense Smog banks.
Construction of an incinerator
to eliminate smoke that now
rises from some private dumps
would go far toward solving this
problem. But such a project is
not as simple as it appears.
Ownership Poses Problem.
One complication is that the
turnpike is owned privately. Pri-
vate capital built the pike. The
State will become its owner in
IL or Is years when tolls now
collected retire the bonds. But
for the present the State lacks
direct Jurisdiction over the oper-
alton.
Garbage dumped within a
mile of the pike catches fire
from time to time. It is the
refuse of several municipalities
in the area, including the city of
Elizabeth.
The Turnpike Authority has
no right to tell such cities what
to do about their garbage. Eliz-
abeth elects to sign contracts
with private scavengerS, who
cart the garbage out to the low
lands and drop it.
SmOg Worst in the FaII.
Smog is a seasonal problem in
northern New Jersey. 1t is worst
during the fall. At this time of
year night fogs roll across the
marshy flats around Newark and
Elizabeth. They mix with smoke
rising from smouldering dumps
in the lowlandS and the smoke
of industrial plants concentrated
nearby.
Most of this smoke lies to the
east of the turnpike. And so,
normally it does not affect traf-
fic on the high-Speed toll road.
But if the wind shifts and blows
from the east. it carries smog
across the pike.
Sometimes the wind changes
suddenly. 1t has been known to
shift so fast that visibility along
the highway was cut from excel
lent to zero within five minutes.
That's when Smog is most
dangerous. 1t comes as COM
plete surprise to the motorist
travelling steadily at the legal
speed limit of so miles an hour.
Ironically, the most careful
driver can cause some of the
worst accidents under these con-
ditions.
Chain Reaction Pileup.
Terrified to find himself sud-
denly in a smog bank, he slams
on the brakes and halts
abruptly. But the fellow behind
reacts less quickly. He stops
slowly. In a matter of moments,
he crashes into the careful driver
ahead.
Vehicles that follow are
trapped in a chain-reaction
pileup that cost lives, causes in
jury and inflicts heavy property
damage.
Who is to blame for these
accidents? What can be done
to improve or eliminate the bad
situations?
These are among many queS-
tionS constantly being studied
by the Turnpike Authority, State
and local officials. They also are
the concern of safety experts
elsewhere because so per cent
of all the traffic on the New
Jersey Turnpike comes from out
of-State.
Thought has been given even
to an attack on fog itself. The
Turnpike Authority once looked
into the feasibility of a fog fight
ing method developed in England
during World War II and used
successfully at IA military air.
ports there. This was known as
FIDO Cog Intensive Dispersal
Operation).
Engineers concluded that
FIDO is not practical for install
lation along the turnpike. Even
if it were, they said, its cost
would be prohibitive.
The FIDO method was to lift
fog with intense heat generated
by igniting gasoline that had
been pumped into pipes sur
rounding the airports.
How SmOg is Produced.
Currently much attention is
devoted to the smoke problem.
The Turnpike Authority is ne
gotiating with the private scav-
engers who dump garbage near
the expressway.
Spontaneous com bus on
causes the dumps to ignite and
smolder for days unless there is
sufficient rain. In some cases.
Scavengers set fire to sections of
a dump for the purpose of sal
vaging metal.
Ward j. Herbert. attorney for
the New Jersey Turnpike Au-
thority, said today progress is
being made in a smoke e-abate-
ment campaign.
I'VE have been in contact with
some of the scavengers," Mr..
Herbert said, land I am sure we