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Dry-cleaners subject to neither the Factories Act nor the Offices. Shops and Railway Premises Act
The only form of control available would seem to be contained in Section 92(1) (e) Public Health Act,
1936, which makes any "work place" which is not provided with "sufficient" means of ventilation (or in
which sufficient ventilation is not maintained) or which is not kept clean, or not kept free from noxious
effluvia, etc. a statutory nuisance capable of being dealt with summarily.
Coin-operated establishments may come within this last category, since in the majority the customers
operate the machines without assistance. Except in very rare circumstances, no staff work in these premises
for a substantial part of the day and therefore they would not be subject to the requirements of the Offices,
Shops and Railway Premises Act, 1963, including the statutory obligation to register with the local
authority. They could, however, come to the notice of the City Council in one or more of the following
ways:-
(i) when an application is submitted for planning permission relative to the establishment of a new
business;
(ii) as a result of a notification to the Health Department of the intention to carry out drainage works
or alterations;
(iii) by the public health inspector discovering such a business being carried out, during the course of his
routine district visits;
(iv) as a result of a direct complaint from a member of the general public, concerning the conduct of
the business.
Further control is available over any external effect of the exhaustion of fumes from such premises
under Section 92(1) (d) Public Health Act, 1936, which makes any effluvia caused by any trade, business,
manufacture or process and being prejudicial to the health of, or a nuisance to, the inhabitants of the
neighbourhood, a statutory nuisance.
Neither the Public Control Department of the Westminster City Council nor the Petroleum Officer of
the Greater London Council has a statutory interest in such premises (apart from shops' hours) in view of
the fact that the flash point of the solvent is above 150°F.
Departmental Procedure
Whenever the installation of a dry-cleaning establishment comes to the notice of the Medical Officer of
Health every effort is made to ensure that the recommendations of the Department of Employment and
Productivity, relative to the installation of equipment and to the handling of the solvent are complied with
in all respects.
Avoidance of Accidents
It is difficult to see how human failures on the part of customers using the machines could be avoided
unless an attendant were always present, or some form of mechanical safety device could be incorporated in
each dry-cleaning machine so that the contents could not be removed until they were safe to handle.
At the end of the year, a Code of Practice was being prepared jointly by the Home Office and the
Department of Employment in collaboration with the Association of Public Health Inspectors and Trade
interests.
The intention of the Code is to offer advice on the installation and maintenance of the dry-cleaning
plant. It will also set out the precautions to be taken when handling and working with dry-cleaning solvent
on launderette premises covering such aspects as the procedure for dealing with bulk deliveries, storage of
the solvent and procedure for dealing with spillages. The importance of adequate ventilation of the premises
and methods of achieving this will also be dealt with.
The Code will stress the need for ensuring that members of the public using the dry-cleaning machines
are fully informed of the care which should be taken when operating the machines and that cleaned articles
are adequately aired before removal from the premises. As to this, the Code will recommend that suitable
instructions and warning notices should be prominently displayed near each machine, set out, preferably
with the aid of pictures, in such a way that the subject matter can be easily assimilated by the users of the
machine.