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by the department continue to improve the lot of many of these unfortunate people who,
although they cannot do much for themselves, are unwilling to leave their home in what
are inevitably their last days. It was not necessary compulsorily to remove any person
during the year.
Following representations from this department, the Mental Welfare Officers of the
County Council arranged for the removal of an elderly spinster who was living in very
insanitary conditions.
Section 50
No one was buried under the provisions of this section during the year.
LAUNDRY SERVICE FOR THE INCONTINENT AGED
This service continues to meet a real need in the home at a time when help is usually
most urgent. The days of collection and delivery of laundered articles remain Mondays
and Thursdays.
The helpful co-operative attitude of the department's driver and the laundry staff
at the Barking Hospital ensures a very satisfactory service.
An average of about 18 cases use the service at any one time. From the commencement
of the service in December 1953 to the end of this year 341 cases have received
assistance. During the year 26 new cases have been helped, 11 cases have died, nine
were removed to hospital and two no longer needed the service. At the end of the
year 21 cases were still participating; the number of articles laundered during the year
was 12,378 compared with 11,843 articles for the previous year.
ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION
The Dark Smoke (Permitted Periods) Regulations, 1958 provide the maximum
period for the emission of dark smoke from industrial plants; black smoke is limited to
not more than two minutes in the aggregate in any period of 30 minutes. Action was
not called for in respect of any industrial plant in the Borough.
The Council continue to operate at the Civic Centre instruments for the daily
measurement of air pollution. In connection with the National Survey of Air Pollution
regular observations commenced in 1962 at four additional sites. The types of district
in which the sites are situated are (i) residential with high population density (Bennett
Road, Chadwell Heath), (ii) residential with low population density (Thompson Road),
(iii) industrial (Ford Motor Company) and (iv) smoke control area (Marks Gate). Later
it will be possible to compare our figures with those in other parts of the country.
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