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pointing mortar. In Bath for 5s. per ton. In Sheffield it is mixed with one gallon of carbolic
acid to 901bs. of flue dust, and sold at £2 5s. per ton delivered (resembling the usual 15 per cent,
disinfecting powder), costing 33s. to 34s. per ton to produce.
Flue Dust is also sold for filling in the double walls of fireproof safes.
Of the destructors I have seen, those by Horsfall Company, Messrs. Beaman and Deas, and the
Warner Perfectus, are equally capable of doing Kingston's work thoroughly, and I believe any of
these makers would be willing to guarantee against any action for damages arising from nuisances
caused by smoke, smell or dust.
I suggest that these three be requested to tender for supplying a plant capable of dealing with
25 tons of refuse per day, fitted with forced draught by fan, a combustion chamber, dust catcher
chamber, water tube boiler, chimney and usual accessories, and that the question of erecting a
disinfecting chamber for clothing be also considered.
A crematorium for the dead has not yet, I believe, been worked in connection with a
destructor.
A properly constructed destructor if properly managed is not injurious to health, and may be
placed quite close to dwelling houses without causing a nuisance. At Leyton, the infectious
diseases hospital is placed alongside the destructor, and the authorities report that not only is there
no nuisance from smells and dust, but that the nuisance which formerly existed has been done away
with since the erection of the destructor.
The question of nuisance in the working of a destructor must be carefully considered. It is
now the opinion of disinterested experts that "at the present time there is no reason whatever why
a destructor, properly designed and managed, should be a source of the slightest nuisance." [Mr.
W. H. Maxwell.] There is, however, considerable prejudice against dust destructors, as formerly,
before the principles of their construction were thoroughly mastered, they gained for themselves a
bad name.
A nuisance may arise in wrorking :
1. From the refuse in the tipping shed.
2. From fumes and dust from cooling clinkers.
3. From offensive vapours from the chimney.
4. From dust from the chimney.
(1). Is met with by roofing in the the tipping shed completely, by arranging the furnace
so as to draw off the offensive air and dust, and by preventing any accumulation
of refuse ; everything combustible being burnt within a few hours of its collection.
(2). When the clinkers are cooled by hoseing them with water, dense clouds of steam,
sulphurretted hydrogen and dust are given off. These are offensive and no doubt
injurious to plant life—to avoid nuisance a cooling chamber has been adopted; others
open the furnace doors and the draught draws up all the offensive vapour.
(3). Offensive vapours from the chimney top arise when the temperature in the furnace or
combustion chambers has not been sufficiently high to oxidise the empyreumatic
vapours. The forced draught has done away with this nuisance. The main flue
must have a large sectional area so that the heat and fumes may travel slowly.
(4.) Dust from the chimney top may cause a serious nuisance; it is of a peculiar sharp
light character, and has a specific gravity of 1.98, road dust being s.g. 2.43, water
being 1.00. Flue dust being about 20 per cent. lighter than road dust, is carried by
the wind to greater distances, and when deposited adheres firmly to clothing and
plants owing to its fine sharp nature. The introduction of a "dust catcher" between
the boiler and the flue (that is, a peculiarly constructed chamber in which the dust
deposits) arrests the dust, which is drawn off at intervals and sold.
From information obtained it is estimated that it would cost Kingston-upon-Thames
about £4,000 to erect a destructor capable of dealing with its refuse, and that it could be worked
at an annual cost of £300 to £400, employing 5 workmen and a foreman.
Considerable saving could be effected by the manufacture of paving slabs from the clinker, and
if the destructor were placed on the Oil Mill Lane land advantage could be taken of it to light and
heat the Isolation hospital when it is built.
In conclusion we have to contrast the above system of dealing with refuse and its cost, with
the other methods of refuse disposal and their cost. They are :
1. Giving or selling it to brickmakers.
2. Tipping upon waste land.
3. Sorting and selling the ingredients.