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36
In 1953, the Public Health Laboratory Service set up a research
committee to investigate the medical and bacteriological aspects of
sewage contamination of bathing beaches in England and Wales. A
summary of their findings has been published as Medical Research
Council Memorandum No. 37.
The authors of the report early concluded they could not carry out
the purpose of their investigation. There are no known bacteriological
methods to estimate the amount of faecal contamination in sea water.
Their arguments therefore are based not on bacteriological or virological
examinations, but on field epidemiology.
The Committee's study suggests that "with the possible exception of
a few aesthetically revolting beaches round the coasts of England and
Wales, the risk to health of bathing in sewage contaminated sea water
can for all practical purposes be ignored."
This report has been criticised as being too complacent and being
too great an encouragement to many authorities to take no steps to
improve the arrangements for sewage disposal in their districts. Where
there is sufficient dilution there is no risk in this method of disposal of
sewage. In many places the sewage on being discharged on the ebb tide is
carried out and is mixed with the sea in general. There are places though
where sandbanks or islands tend to confine the tides or where the currents
might cause the flow to return or even where the winds affect the flow.
In such circumstances the concentration of sewage might be quite high.
There is no doubt about typhoid fever having been contracted by those
who have eaten oysters or cockles infected by contaminated sea water. It
is most probable that some bathers in infective waters have contracted this
infection and that even in waters not obviously polluted. It is probably
not sufficient then to rely on the standard of the report of "aesthetically
revolting beaches" as the criterion of safety.
PUBLIC CLEANSING
Much the same arrangements for the collection of refuse, its disposal
and for street cleansing were continued last year as were described in
the Annual Report for 1954.
Collection of Refuse
The number of bins collected is now over 81,000. The contents are
deposited in vehicles which travel an average distance of twelve miles to
the tip at Harefield.
The refuse from business and shop premises is collected on the
normal weekly refuse collection round. A charge is made for the emptying
of any bins more than the one for each property. In addition special
collections are made at a charge from those premises where there is more
to be removed than can be dealt with by the normal services.