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139
One complaint was received from a Friendly Society of
exoessive sickness alleged to be caused by work at the,
Plumstead Destructor. On examination of the Electrical
Engineer's returns I was able to show that there was no
exoessive sickness, but on the contrary, the average sickness
of the employees of the Electricity Works is much below
the average. I reported as follows:—
"As regards the general question as to the healthiness
of the work at the Dust Destructor, I have received no
complaints as to the work being injurious or unhealthy,
nor has the Secretary of the Society who calls attention,
to the excessive sickness. There is no reason to think that
such work is directly injurious to health, though it may
possibly be so indirectly by exciting a thirst which is not
satisfied in a wise manner. The Registrar General gives
no statistics in his mortalities of occupations for mien
employed at destructors or similar work, but it does not
appear from the report on occupational mortality that
offensive occupations have a high mortality. Thus tallow,
soap, glue, and manure workers have a very low mortality,
viz., 689, compared with 1,000 for all males. It
is, too, generally stated that workers in sewers and at
sewer outfalls have a low mortality, though I am not
aware of any reliable statistics on the subject."
STAFF.
56. Owing to the great increase in the work of the
Department caused by the Insurance Act and the notification
of all forms of tuberculosis, the Public Health Committee!
decided to replace the deficiency in the staff which hadl
existed since the retirment of Mr. Ellis, and Herbert Prescott
was appointed Boy Clerk.