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41
With regard to No. 91, Wilmer Gardens, the roof was defective and the premises
generally dilapidated.
SMOKE NUISANCES.
During the year some 9 complaints were received from the London County
Council relating to the emission of black smoke from shafts belonging to factories
and workplaces at 11 premises. In all cases the necessary steps were taken for
obtaining the abatement of the nuisances. Sixteen intimation notices were served,
but it was not necessary to bring any of the cases under the notice of the Health
Committee.
VERMINOUS HOUSES.
The houses in which it was necessary to take measures on account of the
presence of vermin numbered 452 as compared with 275 in 1911, 197 in 1910, 99
in 1909, 127 in 1908, 111 in 1907 and 103 in 1906. The rooms dealt with numbered
910 as compared with 518 in 1911, 386 in 1910 and 187 in 1909. The usual steps
were taken with the rooms, the walls being stripped, stopped, and cleansed where
necessary, sprayed with lysol or fumigated with sulphur fumes as required. Bedding
and textile articles were removed and disinfected by the officers of the Borough
Council. The number of articles disinfected are stated on page 35. In a large
proportion of the cases, the steps taken were the result of information received
from the school authorities.
During the year the homes of 1,249 children, namely 613 boys and 636 girls
were notified by the School Medical Officer, the children being verminous, with
a view to the Sanitary Authority taking steps under the London County Council
(General Powers) Act, 1904, Part IV., to deal with the homes, bedding and clothing
if necessary, the children themselves having been cleansed at the County Council
Cleansing Stations in the neighbourhood of the Borough. It may be mentioned
that in a number of the cases the same children were notified more than once; in
some instances several times. In a number of cases also, intimations were received
to the effect that statutory notices under section 122 of the Children Act, 1908,
had been served by the school authorities upon the parents, requiring that steps
should be taken to cleanse the persons of the children within 24 hours. There
were also several intimations that police court proceedings were being instituted
against parents who had failed to keep the children in a proper state of cleanliness.
In all cases the houses were visited by the sanitary officers, and the following
summarises the results of the inspections made:—
In 649 the rooms were clean, or fairly so; in 72 they were dirty; in 80 they
were buggy, and in 131 they were both dirty and infested with bugs. In 598 the
bedding was clean, or fairly so ; in 210 it was dirty ; in 42 bugs were present;