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

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Kingston upon Thames 1949

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kingston-upon-Thames]

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PART VIII OP THE ACT.

Outwork.

Nature of WorkNo. of Out-workers.
Wearing apparel -Making etc.5
Brass and brass articles33
Total 38

The above details are an extract from Form 572 (Revised).
9. CAMPING SITES,
Apart from the limited use of Stevens Ait, a small
island opposite the Northern end of Canbury Gardens, there are
no camping sites in the Borough.
10. ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION AND SMOKE ABATEMENT.
During 1949 Complaints received in the Department regarding
alleged nuisances from smoke and grit, numbered just under one
half of those received during the previous year. Attention
continued to be paid to steam raising plants in local factories
and advice and assistance was given in an endeavour to improve
the condition of the atmosphere.
Since the early part of the war years the quality of
fuel available for industrial undertakings has been below the
pre-war standard,. It was still below that standard at the end
of 1949, and constant care and attention remained necessary
on the part of managements as well as staffs in order to maintain
the gradual improvement which was discernible during the
year.
One common cause of smoke emission from steam raising
plant is that of the overloaded boiler. The plant has to be
forced in order to reach and maintain the required amount of
steam, and smokeless combustion of fuel under such circumstances
is extremely difficult, if not actually impossible,
to achieve. In one such case during 1949 much trouble was
encountered; additional steam raising plant had been on order
for a long time but delivery was not effected by the end of
the year.
General Observations.
The types of atmospheric pollution which occur in densely
populated districts can conveniently be classified as follows:-
1. Smoke: Pine particles of carbon and liquid tarry
matter which remain suspended in the air for a
long time.
2. Ash: Particles of mineral matter, mostly large
enough to be deposited fairly quickly, near to their
place of origin.
3. Sulphur Dioxide: A gas, which in the presence of
water and air, is slowly converted to sulphuric acid.