London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Marylebone 1954
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Marylebone, Metropolitan Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
17
Poisons.—The names of seventy-five traders were on the Council's list of persons entitled to sell poisons
included in Part II of the Poisons List (Pharmacy and Poisons Acts, 1852 to 1941), the premises
concerned numbering eighty-seven.
Factories.—As required by section 128 of the Factories Act, 1937, a report on the administration by
the Borough Council of the matters under Parts I and VIII of the Act is given in Tables 4 and 5.
TABLE 4.—Factories: Inspections for Purposes of Provisions as to Health.
| Premises | Registered | Inspections | Written notices | Occupiers prosecuted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factories without mechanical power | 277 | 287 | 41 | - |
| Factories with mechanical power | 1,283 | 1,534 | 139 | — |
| Other premises* (excluding out-workers' premises) | 145 | 409 | — | - |
| Total | 1,705 | 2,230 | 180 | — |
| *Electrical stations, institutions, sites of building operations and works of engineering construction. | ||||
TABLE 5.—Factories: Defects Found.
| Particulars | Defects | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| †Found | † Remedied | Referred | In respect of which prosecutions were instituted | ||
| To H.M. Inspector of Factories | By H.M. Inspector of Factories | ||||
| Want of cleanliness | 198 | 208 | 9 | 3 | - |
| Overcrowding | 2 | 2 | 8 | 1 | — |
| Unreasonable temperature | 1 | 1 | — | — | — |
| Inadequate ventilation | 12 | 15 | 2 | — | — |
| Ineffective drainage of floors | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sanitary conveniences:— | |||||
| 8 | 5 | — | 1 | — | |
| 132 | 133 | — | 6 | — | |
| (c) not separate for sexes | 4 | 6 | — | — | — |
| Other offences (excluding offences relating to outwork) | 83 | 80 | 228 | — | — |
| Total | 440 | 450 | 247 | 11 | — |
† It will be noted that in some cases the numbers of defects remedied exceed the numbers found.
This is due to the fact that many of the defects found towards the end of 1953 were not remedied
until 1954.
The defects and unsatisfactory conditions found (440) showed a further decrease on the numbers
discovered in previous years, and the greater proportion again related to want of cleanliness not only
of workrooms but, to a marked degree, of sanitary accommodation.
Complaints by residents of noise nuisance from industrial premises again increased during the year.
To some extent this may have been due to the wide publicity given by the national press to the problem,
with the result that more people have become aware of industrial noise about them. Machinery is
being more extensively employed and too often it is sited in totally unsuitable premises. Power factories
are being established in otherwise residential premises and the machines fixed directly on to wooden
floors without any means of insulation, and no regard is paid to possible noise and vibration that will
be caused. Factory occupiers tend to think that insulation is a costly business and do not always
appreciate that production often increases when people are able to work in comparatively quiet
surroundings. Several manufacturers whom the sanitary inspector has advised on this problem have
been impressed by the low cost and resulting benefits.
When taking official action on noise nuisance it is sometimes most difficult to determine whether,
having regard to the nature of work performed, the amount of noise caused is unreasonable. It seems
that legally the volume of noise that can be permitted is decided by the type of work and not by amount
of noise actually created. Likewise, noise is often "unreasonable" in its effect upon complainants but