London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Willesden 1955
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Willesden]
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TABLE 1
Monthly Deposits in Tons per square mile—1955
| Power Station | Acton Lane | Taylors Lane | Neasden | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Site | Barrett's Green Road | Minet Gardens | Ascot Park | Neasden Lane | Press Road | Wembley Trading Estate | Town Hall | |
| January | *33.95 | 85.53 | 38.10 | 41.59 | 43.01 | 39.05 | 37.17 | |
| February | 33.93 | 41.49 | 17.42 | 25.18 | 25.95 | 20.55 | 20.12 | |
| March | 36.68 | 57.79 | 21.07 | 26.28 | 19.22 | 23.21 | 24.43 | |
| April | 38.44 | †57.63 | 22.39 | 23.00 | 30.52 | 23.15 | 22.16 | |
| May | 43.08 | 94.12 | 28.58 | 43.51 | 34.13 | 42.64 | 39.71 | |
| J une | 36.38 | 51.03 | 24.03 | 26.44 | 30.58 | 24.99 | 27.43 | |
| July | 29.76 | 16.50 | 18.01 | 19.81 | 18.03 | 29.21 | 9.02 | |
| August | †3.87 | 26.84 | 20.5 | 19.22 | †109.23 | 27.17 | 9.71 | |
| September | 29.36 | 41.75 | 15.0 | 55.34 | 23.20 | 14.49 | 15.47 | |
| October | 49.71 | 69.26 | 40.50 | ‡ | ‡ | 36.52 | 23.18 | |
| November | 24.52 | 40.82 | ¶ | 17.13 | 18.22 | 15.47 | 13.17 | |
| December | 25.09 | 70.59 | 16.46 | 29.49 | 19.55 | 15.80 | 17.28 | |
| Total | 413.77 | 653.35 | 262.91 | 326.99 | 371.64 | 312.25 | 258.85 | |
| *Collecting bowl broken—figures unreliable. †("Contaminated with extraneous matter—figures unreliable. ‡Contaminated with extraneous matter—no analysis made. ¶Deposit bowl broken. | ||||||||
TABLE 2
Examination of Sulphur by Lead Peroxide Method, 1955 Expressed in Milligrams of SG3per Day per 100 Square Centimetres
| Site | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.23 | 4.85 | 3.03 | 2.18 | 2.65 | 2.03 | 1.36 | 1.44 | 2.47 | 2.87 | 3.50 | ||
| 4.15 | 4.68 | 2.25 | 2.03 | 2.30 | 1.97 | 1.12 | 1.61 | 0.95 | 3.60 | Nil* | ||
24
Smoke Nuisance
The problems of atmospheric pollution continue to be of major importance for preventing chest
disorders. Measurements of the grit and sulphur in the air have been carried out during the year, and the
results in the areas surrounding the three power stations, especially Neasden Power Station, show a sligh
improvement (Tables 1 and 2). The last two pulverised fuel furnaces at Neasden have now been converted
to oil burning with a reduction in the amount of grit emitted.
A public meeting was called in March for the purpose of discussing the problems of air pollution
and the Council's methods of dealing with them. A new Act to control smoke arising from fuel burning is
now being passed in Parliament, but it appears there will be no measures adopted to deal adequately with
the emission of sulphur gases which are at least as harmful to health as smoke and grit.