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There can be little doubt that the above occurrences were
related to the dense fog which enveloped the whole of the
London area continuously from 5th to 9th December. During
this period, black suspended matter and sulphur dioxide in the
air rose to about 15 times their normal amounts for the time of
the year, due to absence of wind and of the convection currents
which normally carry these impurities away into the upper
atmosphere.
So devastating are the effects of these visitations—from loss
of life, sickness and dislocation of essential services and industries—that
one wonders whether it would not be more profitable
in the long run to introduce Statutory restrictions on industry
during the few days of the year when fog appears imminent.
Factories would close down, some fires would go out,
some heavy transport would be stopped or diverted by Order
under certain well-defined meteorological conditions; there
would be discomfort, and loss of time and money comparable
in duration with the fog periods; but there would be no aftermath
of sickness and death—and no fog!
In areas such as London the effect of the increasing use of
Diesel fuel is obvious to the most casual observer. The nauseating
dense black smoke emitted continuously, at ground level,
by many thousands of lorries and buses in built up areas cannot
be ignored as an important factor in the production of fog and of
irritation of the respiratory and digestive organs. Is this wholesale
pollution of the atmosphere of our most thickly populated
neighbourhoods really an economic necessity in these days of
unlimited petrol?
INFECTIOUS DISEASES (See also Section F).
Towards the end of the year, a fatal case of diphtheria occurred
in a child of 11. This was the first case in the District
since 1947. Long-standing debility from chronic ill-health was a
contributory cause of the death, and evidence which suggested
that the child had never been immunised is also relevant, and
is a salutory reminder of the need for constant vigilance.
Prompt measures were taken to protect and test all contacts,
and no further cases occurred.
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