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The number of Finsbury outworkers employed by
firms outside the Borough was 82
The total number of Finsbury outworkers employed by
firms in or outside the Borough was 248
(of these 75 were firms and 173 homeworkers)
The registers of outworkers which firms are required to maintain
are inspected as part of the routine during the inspections of the
factories concerned.
Number of visits paid to homes 174
Clean Air:
There has undoubtedly been a decrease in the degree of Atmospheric
Pollution in London over the past 20 or 30 years, but it remains a
contributory cause of much ill health, structural damage and drabness
in our surroundings. The condition of the air in Finsbury and its
further pollution from sources within the Borough is probably little
different from that in other parts of the Metropolis.
Air pollution from Industrial establishments iscertainly lessened
as a result of improvements to boiler plants that have been carried out
by firms or from the result of pressure brought by officers of the
department. Atmospheric smoke however, has not decreased correspondingly,
and now probably represents a much greater proportion of the total
pollution than before. Much attention has been given to the problems
of the prevention of pollution especially since the end of 1956, when
the Clean Air Act came into force.
Measure of Atmospheric Pollution:
Since the middle of 1953 a station for measuring air pollution
has been operated in the Finsbury Health centre in conjunction with
the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and monthly
determinations of the soluble and insoluble deposits have been made,
together with the estimation of the sulphur dioxide content of the air
by the lead peroxide candle method. Since March 1955 daily measurements
of the smoke and sulphur dioxide by volumetric analysis have also been
made.
At the beginning of 1960 the monthly estimation of sulphur dioxide
by the first method were discontinued as it was found from experience
over three years that concordant results were arrived at by this, and
the volumetric methods. This is not necessarily the case in all areas
as each of the two methods also measures some other impurities. There
is considerable daily and seasonal variation due to the weather and no
doubt the amount of fuel consumed in the District, but there has been
little change in the general level of pollution.
Smoke Emission:
The number of timed observations made during the year, of the
49.