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68
No less than 164 van-loads of verminous or dirty material was
dealt with in this manner by the Public Health Department during
the year.
Destruction of Vermin by the use of Cyanide Gas.
As intimated in my Report for 1933, the Council had agreed to
the erection of a chamber at the Disinfecting Station in which to
carry out the disinfestation of furniture and household goods of
persons who were to be transferred from verminous premises
in clearance areas to the Council's flats.
This chamber has now been erected at a cost of £780, and is
of a capacity to hold the largest type of furniture removal van.
The walls are constructed of Fletton brickwork, 1ft. 2ins. thick,
with a flat concrete roof 6ins. thick, strengthened by steel joists and
covered with fin. asphalt, the whole of the internal surfaces being
rendered in sand and cement and finished with "Sirapite." The
entrance to the chamber is closed with a sliding door hung on special
hangers to allow lateral movement, so that, when closed, the door
is clamped against a rubber seating fixed to a timber frame.
The chamber is perfectly gas-tight when closed. The gas is
introduced by an apparatus operated from the outside of the
building, without danger to the operator or the need for a gas mask.
An exhaust fan and extract pipe are used to clear the gas from
vans after disinfestation and another fan draws hot air into the
chamber to aid in dispersing the gas as quickly as possible. The
chamber is heated by steam to a high temperature, which greatly
adds to the effectiveness of the process and the after clearance of
the gas. The chamber also has intersecting doors for use when small
vans are being treated, observation windows, thermometer, etc.
Adjoining the chamber is provided a lean-to airing shelter of
steel framework and asbestos roof.
The chamber is now in use and proves in every way to be a
success.
Some of the advantages of this chamber, as compared with
the alternative method of applying cyanide gas directly into
furniture vans, are:—
(a) Any type of furniture van can be disinfested.
(b) There is no necessity for the van to be gas-tight.
(c) A high temperature can be obtained.
(d) Rapid and efficient removal of the gas is secured.
(e) Danger to the operators is eliminated.