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145
caused enquiries to be made, with the result that, as already reported
to the Council, no such disease as typhoid fever was found to have
occurred, and that no connection with the sewer ventilator and the
illness could be discovered.
It may be well to point out at this place that while, as indicated by
Drs. Andrewes and Hurtley (p. 26 of their report), the sense of smell
in man is most acute, it is at the same time capable of undoubted errors.
Thus, both in Hampstead and in many other localities assertions have
been repeatedly made that a smell has persisted when the closure of a
ventilator at the sewer level and out of sight has made such continuance
impossible.
In connection with the effect of sewer air on health, it is useful to
instance the health of the men employed in the sewers. Upon enquirv
your Committee find that these employes certainly lose no more days
from sickness than do the other workmen of the Council, and they have
been unable to find that any septic or zymotic disease has occurred
among them. It may be objected that this freedom from illness is due
to an immunity acquired by long continued work in the sewers, but if
this were so it would follow that when first commencing this class of
work, men would be liable to sickness. This, however, does not appear
to be the case.
We would on this point also refer to the observations made by
Drs. Andrewes and Hurtley (p. 22 of their report) as to the absence of
any ill-effects consequent on their remaining for some hours in the most
foul of the Hampstead sewers.
As the investigations of the Committee had thus far arrived at
only negative results, it appeared to us that it was desirable to attack
the problem in a different way, and to endeavour to ascertain whether
the sewer air contained any gases or organisms which would be likely
to cause disease, and also whether a scientific investigation of sewer air
would suggest any remedy for the alleged nuisance.
The Committee accordingly obtained the sanction of the Council on
20th July, 1905, to their proposal to employ experts to make analyses
of sewer air and on the bacteria suspended therein.
The Committee's choice of Dr. Andrewes to conduct these investigations,
in conjunction with Dr. Hurtley, was made after independent