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screened. This policy was a natural outcome of the investigation of the
causes of the serious explosion which occurred in the underground conduits
in Holborn at the end of 1928. As a result of many representations the
County Council closed a number of these ventilators and this, with the
setting in of a particularly wet season, removed the cause of complaints
which while it lasted may not have been actually injurious to health,
but was certainly nauseating and not conducive to good health.
House Drainage.—This is the concern of the Public Health Department
to the extent that the drainage on the house side of the intercepting
traps of all buildings, except those owned by the Government, Royal
Palaces, and Embassies is subject to its supervision.
Where new buildings are being constructed, or alterations are being
made which involve additions to or modification of existing sanitary
arrangements, plans must be submitted to the Medical Officer of Health
in order that he may report to the Council as to whether the work to be
done complies with requirements laid down in the By-laws made under the
Metropolis Management Acts, and those under the Public Health (London)
Act, 1891.
Examination of these plans involves in many cases, lengthy consultations
with architects and builders at the City Hall and also on the site
of new works. The sanitary inspectors concerned pay repeated visits
to watch the progress of construction and finally to test the apparatus
and drainage when completed. The work of the department connected
with drainage is increasing steadily as the table given
below shows. The importance of this supervision as a public health
measure is becoming realised more and more as public attention is
turning not only to the conditions in which people dwell but also to those
in which they are employed. Visits to premises concerning schemes of
proposed works open up opportunities for inspecting other conditions and
much improvement has resulted from consultations between the officers of
this department and those responsible for the construction and maintenance
of premises. Perhaps an example may make this clear. It is a
common custom in Westminster to take advantage of the space afforded by
excavation, often necessary in order to obtain sound foundations, to
construct rooms below ground level. Questions as to the intended use of
such rooms and as to whether they comply with existing sanitary
ordinances may entail considerable alterations. Such alterations, as
the law now stands, can be insisted upon only after the rooms have come
into occupation. This may entail considerable subsequent expense and
it will therefore be apparent that a frank exchange of ideas when discussing