London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
City of London 1969
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London, City of ]
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| Nature of Work 1 | No. of outworkers in August Iist required by Section 133 (1) (c) 2 | No. of cases of defauIt in sending lists to the Council 3 | No. of prosecutions for failure to supply Iists 4 | No. of instances of work in unwholesome premises 5 | Notices served 6 | Prosecutions 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wearing apparel (Making, etc.) | 289 | - | - | - | - | - |
| TOTAL | 289 | — | — | — | — | - |
Outwork and the inspection of outworkers' premises etc.
Lists received from City Firms employing outworkers 25
Names and addresses of outworkers resident in the City received from other Authorities 10
Names and addresses of outworkers resident outside the City, employed by City firms,
transmitted to other Authorities. 289
No case of infectious disease was reported in connection with outworkers' premises in the
City.
SANITARY CIRCUMSTANCES
The general sanitary supervision has been maintained and in this connection 15,969 inspections
have been made. As a consequence of these inspections, it was necessary to serve 1,914
Intimation Notices.
Tenement Houses were inspected and the only common lodging house in the City was kept
under regular supervision.
ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION
CITY OF LONDON (VARIOUS POWERS) ACT, 1954
CLEAN AIR ACT, 1956
CLEAN AIR ACT. 1968
The above-mentioned Acts provide the legal basis for controlling atmospheric pollution in
the City and this legislation is enforced by the City's Public Health Inspectors, who carried out
1,504 inspections during the year. The following statistics indicate the extent of the work carried
out:—
(1) Initial Inspections — 346 visits
(2) Re-Inspections — 283 visits
(3) Observations Made — 758
(4) Contraventions Noted — 69
(5) Verbal Intimations — 60
(6) Notices Served — 9
Special note has been taken of the sulphur dioxide ground-level concentration in the City and
concern is felt that this form of pollution is at a level which ought to be substantially reduced.
There has, however, been some reduction in this form of pollution over the last five years.
Users of oil-fired boilers are encouraged to use the lower sulphur content group of oils, i.e.
those with less than one per cent sulphur content. This measure, though not enforceable, has no
doubt been instrumental in bringing about the reduction of sulphur dioxide mentioned above.
The number of bonfires on the City's redevelopment sites was again a source of serious concern
and the situation has been worsened by the passing of the 1968 Clean Air Act and the Dark
Smoke Exemption Regulations, 1969, which allow bonfires to be burnt subject to certain conditions.
This has tended to make the prohibition of such bonfires impossible.
A new development has now been noticed as a result of the Chimney Height Regulations,
1968. Various conversions of plant have been carried out in which gas has become the chosen
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