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Having first made enquiries of the Station Officer of the Bishopsgate Fire Brigade Station a
Senior Public Health Inspector went to Liverpool Street Station. The Civil Defence Training
Officer had just arrived with a Geiger counter and was satisfied there was no radiation hazard.
A Civil Defence Instructor had previously visited the Parcels Office and had found some radiation
from the tubes, from which all the packing had been burnt.
The Inspector enquired as to the contents of the various parcels involved. There was no
foodstuff but quite a large quantity of damaged and undamaged cigarettes and tobacco. In view of
this he arranged with the Officer in charge of the Parcels Office to hold all the goods until the
former was completely satisfied they could be released. After consultation with Physicists at the
Sir John Cass Technical Institute, who were of the opinion that more precise investigation should
be undertaken in view of a possible hazard from the smoking of the cigarettes and tobacco, the
Inspector telephoned the Radiological Protection Service at Clifton Avenue, Belmont, Surrey.
This service is called in by the Atomic Energy Commission and the Ministry of Health for incidents
of this character. An officer of the Service informed the Inspector that their information
was that the tubes had remained sealed and consequently there was no hazard. This information
was later found to be incorrect in that not only were the tubes not sealed but the Thorium X in
one bottle had evaporated and there was only a small quantity of the liquid in the other. In view
of this the area and all the parcels involved were reexamined and it was found that there was
still alpha radiation of 1 count per second and beta radiations of 5 to 8 counts per second in the
parcels office. Both are harmless radiations, although had they been found in open foodstuffs,
the latter would have been rendered suspect warranting laboratory examination before release.
The experience was of value since, although the Press may have caused some alarm to the
public, it demonstrated the need for a more precise system of notification for any similar incident.
Arrangements have, therefore, been made with the City Police that all such notifications shall be
made in the first instance to the Medical Officer of Health, during cr after office hours, as is the
case in any other matter involving public health.
On the 28th September a report was received from the City Police that a fire had occurred in
the laboratory of Sir John Cass College where radioactive materials were stored. A Senior Public
Health Inspector at once went to the College and learned that the fire which had been caused
by a defect in an electric motor had been extinguished. The radioactive materials in the laboratory
were stored away from where the fire occurred and were moreover protected by a lead-lined
shutter. Consequently there was no danger from radioactivity and this was confirmed by the use
of Geiger counters.
In the meantime however, the Inspector had informed the Radiological Protection Service of
the report, consequently that Service was prepared to take immediate action if this had been
necessary.
ANTI-POLIOMYELITIS CLINIC
In October 1958, the London County Council Divisional Medical Officer for Area 5, in which
is included the City of London, approached the Corporation s Medical Officer of Health for
assistance in connection with the Councils proposed anti-poliomyelitis campaign to offer inoculation
to all young persons born in the years 1933-1942, such assistance to include suggestions
for the establishment of a lunch hour clinic centrally situated in the City. The most convenient
and suitable site for a clinic appeared to be the Civil Defence Control accommodation in the
sub-basement of the Office Block at Guildhall and by courtesy of the Chairman of the Civil
Defence Committee and with the co-operation of the Civil Defence Department this was made
available for the purpose.
This Clinic continued to operate throughout 1959, and during the year approximately 20,000
volunteers received initial inoculations.
The death from Poliomyelitis of Jeff Hall, a wellknown professional footballer, was extensively
reported in the Daily Press on Monday, 6th April. By 1 p.m. on the 8th April, the first day
after circulation of these reports on which the Vaccination Centre in Guildhall was open, some
500 persons were waiting to be inoculated. Notices were then displayed stating that no further
people should join the queue on that day, but that additional sessions would be held the next day
and on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the following week. On 8th April, 942
applicants were inoculated by one L.C.C. doctor in a two hour session. This was a splendid
achievement, but at subsequent sessions even greater numbers were vaccinated, the maximum
number attending on any one day being 1,368, and it is considered that this doctor, and his small
team of nursing and clerical staff, merit congratulation for a good job very well done.
It is complimentary to the efforts of all concerned that nobody was heard to complain of comparatively
long waits and in some cases temporary disappointment. It seemed to be the general
opinion of the public that an unforeseen and unprecedented enthusiasm for inoculation was
being dealt with efficiently.
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