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
Kensington and Chelsea 1970
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington & Chelsea Borough]
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- 70 -
New Furnaces
Section 3 requires that new furnaces, not used mainly for domestic
purposes and exceeding a specified capacity, shall be, so far as is
practicable, smokeless„ Any person installing such a furnace must give
prior notice to the Council and may submit detailed plans and
specifications for approval before the work of installation takes place.
During the year,, 18 notifications were received without
objection to the proposals submitted.
Smoke Nuisances
During the year, 69 complaints of smoke nuisance were received
and 195 formal smoke observations were carried out. Each case was
dealt with informally.
Routine Measurement of Atmospheric Pollution
There are four premises in the borough where apparatus has been
installed for measuring atmospheric pollution. The readings obtained by
the Council are forwarded to the Warren Spring Laboratory, where they
are converted by computer into the figures shown in the following table.
The table covers the twelve-month period up to and including the latest figures obtained from the laboratory when this report was prepared:-
| *Sites | Smoke (Microgrammes per Cubic Metre) | Sulphur Dioxide (Microgrammes per Cubic Metre) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Average | Highest Daily Reading | Monthly Average | Highest Daily Reading | |||||||||
| A | B | C | D | A | B | C | D | A | B | A | B | |
| 1969 | ||||||||||||
| July | 33 | 27 | 63* | 32 | 67 | 66 | 117 | 56 | 134 | 110 | 417 | 464 |
| August | 36 | 32 | 89* | 40 | 69 | 79 | 213* | 67 | 165 | 150 | 421 | 516 |
| Sept. | 46 | 38 | 101* | 45 | 83 | 67 | 173* | 60 | 180 | 141 | 427 | 301 |
| Oct. | 72 | 52 | 133 | 75 | 259 | 182 | 241 | 166 | 259 | 260 | 581 | 536 |
| Nov. | 73 | 64 | 114 | 70 | 236 | 174 | 289 | 150 | 236 | 225 | 641 | 429 |
| Dec. | 83 | 79 | 146 | N | 423 | 379 | 340 | 253 | 393 | 372 | 1230 | 1020 |
| 1970 | ||||||||||||
| Jan. | 58 | 56 | 124 | 82 | 191 | 148 | 224 | 160 | 325 | 321 | 788 | 738 |
| Feb. | 43 | 37 | 82 | 48 | 109 | 87 | 133 | 79 | 281 | 249 | 467 | 538 |
| March | 42 | 42 | N | N | 85 | 124 | 141 | 94 | 295 | 289 | 498 | 591 |
| April | 34 | 33 | 65 | 45 | 70 | 98 | 115 | 93 | N | N | N | N |
| May | N | 37 | 85 | 45 | 97 | 81 | 152 | 73 | N | N | N | N |
| June | 33 | 22 | 84* | 33 | 73 | 47 | 184* | 67 | 212 | 186 | 600 | 452 |
"N" - level of readings insufficient to obtain accurate measurements:
An asterisk* appearing against any average smoke concentration or
highest daily figure, indicates that at least one daily figure covered by
the average, or the highest daily figure itself, has been estimated from
a reflectometer reading of less than 40.
Site address:
A - Chenil Galleries, King's Road, S.W.3.
B - The Red House, Hornton Street, W.8.
C - Public Library, Lancaster Road, W.10.
D - Child Health Centre, Redcliffe Street, S.W.10.
(Sites C and D have smoke measuring apparatus only)