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
Port of London 1960
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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TABLE B
| Ships from | Number | Net Tonnage | Number Inspected | Number of ships reported as having, or having had during the voyage infectious disease on board. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By the Port Medical Officer | By the Port Health Inspector | ||||
| Foreign Ports | 16,540 | 34,165,447 | 1,689 | 11,165 | 173 |
| Coastwise | 11,023 | 10,022,023 | 3 | 1,123 | 1 |
| Total | 27,563 | 44,187,470 | 1,692 | 12,288 | 174 |
TABLE C
| Passenger Traffic | Number of Passengers—Inwards | 40,163 | |
| Number of Passengers—Outwards | 38,546 | ||
| Cargo Traffic | Principal Imports 1 | All types of produce and merchandise. | |
| Principal Exports I | |||
| Principal Ports from which ships arrive. The Port of London trades with all parts of the world. | |||
SECTION IV-INLAND BARGE TRAFFIC
Numbers and tonnage using the district and places served by the traffic.
These barges are of all types and are registered annually with the Port of London Authority.
They number approximately 7,000 and their tonnage is some 500,000 tons.
The traffic of these crafts extends throughout the length of the Port while a number of them
are employed carrying goods and merchandise via the canals to all parts of the country.
SECTION V - WATER SUPPLY
1. Source of supply for-
(a) The district-
All the docks in the London area obtain their water supplies from the Metropolitan Water
Board. Tilbury Dock is supplied by the South Essex Water Company.
The majority of the wharves are supplied by Public Water Authorities within whose area
of jurisdiction they are situated though several wharves have their own deep wells. A few
wharves have no water supplies available for shipping, in which case any water required
can be obtained from water barges.
(b) Shipping-
Ships not able to obtain water from the shore supplies indicated above, or ships lying at
buoys in the river, can obtain supplies from water barges.
2. Report of tests for contamination
Periodic sampling of drinking water from the quayside hydrants, from ships, and from water
barges is carried out, the samples being submitted to the Central Public Health Laboratory,
Colindale, for examination.
The systematic sampling practice in this Port is to sterilise the hydrant coupling and bathe
it in the cascade of the supply before taking the sample at this stage. Subsequently, the supply
hose is connected to the hydrant coupling and led to the filling point aboard ship where the hose
terminal may be fitted with a screwed metal coupling for a closed filling system or a nozzle to
insert into an open gravity-fed system. It is only after having allowed a quantity of the water
to flush the hose and run to waste that a second sample is drawn to test the potability of the
water actually delivered to the ship's tanks and this affords a means of checking the cleanliness
of the hose and fittings. Thereafter, a third sample may be drawn from a drinking water supply
point or a suitable part of the distribution circuit to check and eliminate any point of contamination
within the ship.
3. Precautions taken against contamination of hydrants and hosepipes
Hydrants within the dock area are of the standard pattern as used by the Metropolitan Water
Board. They are contained in brick-lined pits constructed at intervals along the berthing quays
and consist of an upright standpipe with nozzle coupling to which the supply hose can be
coupled.
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