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Noise from industrial and commercial premises gave rise
to 162 complaints - 69% of the total - whilst the remaining
71 complaints were split almost equally between those
about noisy neighbours and the miscellaneous group which
includes road drills, road traffic, noisy animals, etc.
By the end of the year, 164 of the complaints had been
resolved without statutory action, one following statutory
action, 33 were not considered to be nuisances, although
in most cases some reduction of noise was achieved,
and 35 complaints were still being investigated. The
latter related to noise from nine different premises and
in each case work was being carried out to reduce the
noise emissions.
The case which required statutory action related to an
old established factory in the Greenford area which,
early in the year, changed from a one shift system to two
shifts in order to increase production. This action
immediately resulted in complaints from local residents
about noise and vibration. Numerous visits to the
district were made by the inspectors concerned, including
visits during the night and in the early morning. The
assistance of staff from the Greater London Council
Scientific Branch was obtained in order to evaluate the
effects of the vibrations noted during the visits. Following
the investigation, an Abatement Notice relating to the
vibrations was served on the occupiers of the factory.
As the nuisance continued, a case was taken in the
Magistrates Court where a Nuisance Order was made
restricting working time to the 12 hours between 6.30 a.m.
and 6.30 p.m. The company appealed against this Order
but the Middlesex Quarter Sessions dismissed the appeal.
At the hearings in both Courts, valuable technical
evidence was given by officers of the Greater London
Council, by the Divisional and District Public Health
Inspectors concerned and by a number of local residents.
Aircraft Noise
Although this subject is outside the local authority's
sphere of operations, because of complaints which
appeared in the local press and as the borough is overflown
by some of the flight paths serving London Airport,
monitoring of aircraft noise was carried out on a number
of occasions during the year.
The Wilson Report on Noise (Cmnd 2056) discussed the
effects of aircraft noise at considerable length and
defined the units used both to measure the noise and to
assess its degree of annoyance.
The unit used for measurement is the Perceived Noise
Decibel (PNdB). For all practical purposes, this is
obtained by adding 13dB to the reading obtained on the
ordinary noise level meter on the 'A' weighting scale
(dBA), this being the unit normally used for recording
noise levels.
To assess the nuisance caused by aircraft noise, a
composite measure, the Noise and Number Index (NNI),
is defined to take into account the average peak noise
level and also the number of aircraft heard in a specific
time. This index is then related to the results of a social
survey carried out in 1961 when it was found that a Noise
and Number Index of 30 was deemed to cause little
annoyance, 44 caused moderate annoyance and 55 and
above was very annoying.
In Ealing during August, aircraft noise was monitored for
29 hours spread over a period of five days in the
Recreation Ground, Southall. During the period a total of
1,067 movements were noted, the highest reading obtained
was 99PNdB and the average peak noise level was 83
PNdB, giving Noise and Number Indices for each of the
five days of 43, 32, 34, 38, and 30. A similar exercise
at the same site in October 1967, recording the noise
made by 376 planes, gave a higher result of 104 PNdB
and an average peak noise level of 89 PNdB, giving
N.N.I.'s on this occasion of 26, 44, 38, 26, and 19.
Later in the same month when flight path 060M was in
use, monitoring was carried out for short periods on two
days in Elthorne Park which is almost directly under this
occasionally used flight path. These observations
extended over a period of seven hours on the two days
and noted the movement of 75 aircraft, the highest peak
was 105 PNdB and the average peak level was 96 PNdB,
giving N.N.I.'s of 36 and 42 for the two days. Noise
levels at this site in May 1968, gave a highest peak of
113 PNdB with an average peak level of 108 PNdB giving
an N.N.I. of 42.
It would appear that the average peak noise levels have
decreased at both sites but the annoyance factor has
increased slighly in Southall. At both sites the moderate
annoyance level is almost reached at times but neither
site has reached the very annoying level which resulted
in the Heathrow Sound Insulation Grant Scheme.
Public Health Act, 1961 - Destruction of Pigeons
The contract with a firm specialising in pigeon control
work was continued, resulting in the destruction of 3,147
feral pigeons.
Disinfection and Disinfestation
The number of properties found infested with bed bugs was
not large but fleas caused an increase in the disinfestations
carried out during the year. Disinfestation measures
were taken in 215 houses involving 776 rooms.
The importation of clothing and other articles into certain
countries in Europe is only permitted on production of a
Certificate of disinfection. Before a certificate is issued
the articles are sprayed with formalin and 77 items were
so treated.
Eight houses and other premises were disinfected after
cases of illness and 14 articles were destroyed.
Offices, Shops and Railway Pemises Act 1963
The number of small shopkeepers in the borough is on the
decline as an increasing number of supermarkets are
opened. A large number of shops have been given over to
employment agencies, travel agents, banks, building
societies and betting shops. "Take-away" food shops and
"Cash and Carry" warehouses are also new and growing
activities.
The conversion of former factory buildings to wholesale
and "Cash and Carry" shops causes some difficulty
because such items as drinking water, wash hand basins
and proper ventilation are not provided before the premises
are opened. This state of affairs causes unnecessary
disturbance and additional expenditure to bring the
working conditions up to standard.
At the end of the year 3362 premises were registered
under the Act there having been 209 additions and 105
deletions. During the year 2114 general inspections and
4825 visits of all kinds were made to premises under the
Act.
The guarding of dangerous machinery still presented many
problems especially with imported items of equipment
which had inadequate safety devices. Some operators do
not seem aware of the dangers in using inadequately
guarded machines as they often put safety devices out of
action and remove guards for ease of working. Considerable
attention was given during the year to the use of food
slicing machinery in food premises and the leaflet "The
Safe Use of Food Slicing Machines" was supplied in
appropriate cases.
The total number of accidents reported was 116 and
following table gives an analysis of reported accidents
according to their primary cause.