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should be the subject of a detailed report. 5 of these special cases have been dealt
with. Including these, 56 males and 20 females were found to be capable of benefiting
by training, and advice was given as to the trades in which the persons should
severally be trained, having regard to the prospects of future employment.
11 males and 9 females were considered to be unfit for training.
Work of the Chemical Branch, 1926.
The work of this branch is carried out at four laboratories, viz.: the Central
Laboratory at County Hall and the Laboratories at the Northern and Southern
Outfalls and the Greenwich Power Station.
Central
laboratory.
Samples of various kinds examined during the year totalled 4,723 and a considerable
amount of work of an advisory character, involving much consideration,
was carried out. The samples were submitted by other departments of the Council
for examination as to their compliance with specific requirements or their suitability
for various purposes. The following table shows the number and description of
samples examined at the Central Laboratory:—
Building Materials 387 Paints and Colours 364
Coals 12 Varnishes and Dryers 28
Disinfectants 23 Petroleum and Paraffin 157
Drugs 33 Soaps, Shampoo Preparations, etc 42
Feeding Stuffs 14 Rainwaters 96
Foods 653 River waters 519
Meals 11 Water and deposit from bathing lakes 45
Metals and Assays 17 Ordinary waters 25
Milks1,371 Water-softening samples 533
Oils 230 Miscellaneous 136
As an example of the investigations carried out and of their practical bearing
and consequential economic effect on the Council's services the following inquiries
are of interest.
The examination, by special physical tests simulating conditions of user of
the paints and varnishes, afforded data which resulted in an improvement in the
specification and thereby effected a considerable financial saving. A cable of simple
construction, intended for wiring dwellings erected by the Council, was sent for
examination, with a view to ascertaining whether such a cable could safely be
embedded in the plastering of the walls without protective sheathing. Tests showed
that the rubber-like coating was physically and chemically of a durable nature, and
was entirely suitable for the purpose indicated. Special examinations were also
made under the provisions of the Building Acts, in connection with which tests
were made, under standardised conditions, of the fire-resisting properties of such
materials as wire-armoured glass and a variety of woods, of which the properties had
not previously been investigated.
Greenwich
Power
Station
laboratory.
The work of the laboratory at the Greenwich power station comprises:-(i.)
The daily examination of samples of water and materials with a view to the control
of the water-softening plant, the blowing-down of boilers, the detection of condenser
leakage, and advice on Such matters as the purity of condensed water supplied to
the station batteries; (ii.) the sampling, preparation and examination of samples
of coal used both at the power station and at other works of the Council, such
as the main drainage outfalls and pumping stations, the preparation and examination
of samples of fuel, ashes, etc.; and (iii.) investigations on matters affecting the
operation of the station plant. Additional work was involved owing to the difficulty
of obtaining coal from normal sources.
River
Thames.
The systematic examination of the river Thames was continued in 1926, at
points from Waterloo bridge to the Edinburgh lightship, which is in the vicinity
of the discharge area for sludge from the Council's outfalls and for waste matters
discharged by other bodies.