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187
Supply Corporation, Ltd., with the result that a nuisance
was discovered.
A cautionary letter was sent to the proprietors, with the
result that an apology was received and arrangements were
made for more careful stoking, and' the provision of a jet of
steam in the chimney stack. The furnaces are provided
with smoke prevention appliances. (Vide also Smoke
Abatement pp. 153-155.)
REMOVAL OF SNOW.
During 1909, the question was raised as to the danger
to health from the practice of removing snow by the usage
of salt, and the Town Clerk made a systematic enquiry, on
the instruction of the Council, into the various systems that
prevailed in different English Corporations and in certain
Continental cities for the removal of snow by methods other
than the usage of salt. The replies received varied' considerably, and the practice was condemned, from the point
of view of public health, by but few Medical Officers of
Corporations and other Sanitary Authorities. The clearing
away of snow by means of the formation of a mixture of
salt and snow, which may reach several degrees below zero
in the public roads may be, undoubtedly, a decided' danger
to health, remembering the ill-shod condition of the workpeople (men, women and' children) who are compelled to
walk through such mixture, and, afterwards, to stand' in
their boots all day. If the resultant slush can be removed
forthwith, by means of hosing or squeegeeing the mixture
into the sewers, the danger and inconvenience to passengers
(human and animal) will be considerably lessened. Everything depends upon the quickness with which the whole
process is effected—the thawing of the snow by means of
salt, and its subsequent removal from the road.
The Council took no action in the matter as the result of
the Town Clerk's enquiries.