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have since been disappointed owing to the protection afforded to those
responsible for pollution by trade and industrial effluents, including sewage
effluents. Unfortunately few of the effluents discharging into rivers and
streams, even above drinking water intakes, comply strictly with the
"standards " prescribed in the Act.
Synthetic Detergents.
During recent years there has been an enormous increase in the use of
synthetic detergents for trade and domestic uses, and unfortunately the
purification plants at sewage works do not remove all types of detergents.
In the upper reaches of the River Lea, well above the intake of the Metropolitan
Water Board, the amount of "foaming" of the water has given rise
to grave concern; and even if there be found some reliable method of
overcoming the foaming, public health officers will naturally wish for some
evidence that the presence of detergent in our drinking water is not deleterious
to health.
The Committee on Synthetic Detergents.
In May, 1953, the Minister of Housing and Local Government
appointed a Committee
"to examine and report on the effects of the increasing use of synthetic
detergents and to make any recommendations that seem desirable with particular
reference to the public health services."
As there is such a keen and widespread public interest in the subject, an
Interim Report was published early in 1954, although there still remains
much work to be done by the Committee.
The reasons for the widespread public interest regarding detergents are
because:—
(a) they may be the cause of trade dermatitis and other dangers to health;
(b) they are believed to cause corrosion of domestic equipment and
plumbing;
(c) there are reports of excessive foaming at sewage works; and
(d) they have given rise to public anxiety for the purity of drinking water
drawn from rivers subject to thick layers of foam.
The Committee's Interim Report.
The Report states that there has been no significant increase in dermatitis
since synthetic detergents came into use; and the Committee's advice to
housewives is:—
(i) Choose the detergent that suits you best.
(ii) Do not use more than you need.
(iii) Always rinse and dry the hands thoroughly after using detergent.
The Committee recognise the possibility that traces of detergent may
get into food and drink after washing-up of crockery and in other ways, and
they are examining the implications of that possibility; but they have no
definite evidence so far of ill-effects to health caused thereby. Nor do they
think that corrosion will lead to widespread difficulty if sinks are well rinsed
after each washing with detergent.