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25
The most exceptionally and well known healthy condition of
men who pass from four to six hours daily in the sewers, though not
conclusive evidence against, goes some way to discount the idea of
the harmfulness and deadly poisonous character of sewer gas.
Moreover, a series of highly interesting experiments recently made,
go far to correct some of the ideas prevalent in this question.
Resume: —
I beg to submit, therefore, as a result of much inquiry and
experience, that: —
1. The advantages claimed for the Intercepting system have
not generally been made good in practice, and are not
apparent.
2. At best the disconnection is theoretic, not actual or effective,
and in certain respects fallacious.
3. In many instances serious nuisances have been directly
caused by this system.
4. The present standard of flushing is totally inadequate to
clear house drains on the Interceptor system.
5. "Trapping" provides no remedy for foul smells in either
"drain" or "sewer." It removes nothing, and at best
can "bottle up stink" to a certain point only.
6. The system is inconsistent with the effectual ventilation of
the drainage system as a whole.
7. The idea of affecting to consider the house "drain" and
"sewer" as separate and distinct is as erroneous in
principle as it is contrary to fact. The house drains of
any district cannot in reality be in a healthier condition
than the sewerage system to which they are connected,
Trap or no Trap.