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With improved standards of living it might be assumed that environmental health would
become of less significance. It is clearly evident, however, that this is not so. As some difficulties
are overcome new hazards arise. Technological developments are themselves creating potential
dangers and threatening the quality of daily life. Air and water pollution, noise and pesticide
residues are some of the products of technological advance which are very prominent in this
country and abroad. Hillingdon itself is an example of an area where technological advance,
i.e. air transportation gives rise to several problems—noise, air pollution, food hazards, infectious
disease both in humans and animals, to name but a few.
The year 1970 has been particularly difficult as for five months there was a 25% staff deficiency
and an increased work-load, created by the Housing Act, 1969. Notwithstanding the pressure on
the section due to increased work the staff have co-operated in every way to ensure that the
services provided by the section have been maintained and, in some fields, improved.
During the year three senior officers of the section left the service of the Council—Mr. J. S.
Hodgins, formerly Chief Public Health Inspector of Hayes and Harlington U.D.C.—on retirement
after 40 years Local Government service, Mr. E. H. Jenkins, formerly Chief Public Health Inspector
of Ruislip-Northwood U.D.C., retired after 38 years Local Government Service and Mr. S. A. Cash,
formerly Chief Public Health Inspector, Borough of Uxbridge, on appointment as Chief Public
Health Inspector to the Urban District of Havant and Waterloo. Each of these officers played an
important part in the organisation of the Environmental Health Section from the inception of
the Borough.
I would also like to take this opportunity of thanking all my colleagues in this department
and in other departments for help and co-operation whenever requested. In addition, I am indebted
to several individuals and agencies for specialised help in various fields, in particular the Food
Hygiene Laboratory of the Central Public Health Laboratory Service and the Scientific Department
of the Greater London Council.

In fact all matters which are conducive to a healthy environment and the report which follows
will give in greater detail the responsibilities of the section under each heading.
AIR
The Committee on Air Pollution (Beaver Committee) reporting in 1954 said, amongst other
things, "that air pollution on the scale with which we are familiar in this country today is a social
and economic evil which should no longer be tolerated"—and continued "we are satisfied that
the most serious immediate problem to be tackled is visible pollution by smoke, grit and dust".
Progress towards this objective in Hillingdon has been impeded by financial restrictions and
it has not been possible to maintain the original programme of making the whole borough smoke
controlled by 1975. The programme suffered a further setback in 1970 because of the shortage
of smokeless fuels. The results of this shortage were the postponement of one area and the
suspension of Hayes and Harlington Smoke Control Orders, Nos. 1 to 21, from the 1st December,
1970 to the 1 st April, 1971.
Although this fuel shortage was only expected to be a problem during the winter of 1970/71
the Solid Smokeless Fuel Federation have asked that further Smoke Control Orders for 1971
should be delayed with the result that two Orders already confirmed for 1971 will probably have
the operational date put back and the remaining two Orders not made until 1972. This will obviously
have an effect on the programme which has been adjusted to be completed in 1978.
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