London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Romford 1962

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Romford]

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Surveys of Nos. 1 and 2 areas, covering the North-west part
of the Borough have been completed and the Orders were submitted
to the Minister for confirmation at the end of the year.
(b) Atmospheric Pollution
Romford is one of 120 towns that have agreed to co-operate
with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in a
National Survey. Five volumetric meter stations have been set up
within the Borough and daily recordings are assessed and the
results forwarded to the Ministry Department. A monthly bulletin
is to be published showing a comparison between the towns participating.
The sites were chosen under direct Ministry guidance and
designed to standardise throughout the country the positioning of the
meters so that National figures when obtained were from basically
similar stations. These stations are set in the following positions:--
1. Residential district with high population density.
2. Residential district with low population density.
3. Industrial District.
4. Business and commercial district.
5. Proposed smoke control area.
A volumetric meter consists of apparatus capable of extracting
from the atmosphere approximately 70 cubic feet of air per day.
This air passes through a filter pad to remove the smoke and into
a hydrogen peroxide solution to arrest the sulphur dioxide. By
reading the stain density on an electrometer, concentrations of smoke
in microgrammes per cubic meter of air are obtained and by titration
the concentration of SO, is obtained.
Daily weather records are required and the Royal Liberty
School Meteorological Society are kindly co-operating by applying
these records monthly.
5. RAINFALL
During the year the amount of rainfall recorded at Raphael
Park was 17.99 inches, this being 4.26 inches below the average for
the past 15 years.
6. PUBLIC BATHS
There is one Public Bath situated in Romford, which was
opened in 1900. The swimming bath is 70 feet long by 0 feet wide.
The water for the swimming bath is obtained from a well
situated in the curtilage of the baths. This water is filtered and
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