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68
equipment for the remaining three boilers was awaited, and the Committee also
had under consideration a proposal for fitting Photo Electric Cell equipment to
each boiler so that an audible alarm would be given when smoke was emitted.
During 1955 eight individual written complaints and one petition signed by
45 residents of a street in the vicinity of the hospital were received, and the
matter was discussed by the Public Health Committee at several of its meetings.
The Committee decided in July to give notice of the existence of the
nuisance to the Ministry of Health pursuant to Section 154 of the Public Health
(London) Act. A reply from the Ministry dated the 16th August, 1955 stated
that the Hospital Board were taking steps to deal with the nuisance. In
September the Minister was informed that in the opinion of the Committee his
reply was unsatisfactory and was requested to direct that a full investigation
be made; the fact that no provision had been made for the installation of grit
arrestor equipment was brought to his notice. In reply the Minister stated
that he had been informed by the Regional Hospital Board that this matter was
under active consideration and the Board were considering the possibility of
converting equipment at the hospital to burn fuel oil.
A letter received from the Regional Hospital Board, dated 25th October,
1955, stated that it was now thought that it should be possible to eliminate
the smoke and grit nuisance without converting the hospital boilers to oil
fuel. Immediate steps were being taken to improve the existing boilers and
the National Industrial Fuel Efficiency Service were to arrange for tests to be
carried out on the boilers, after which it was hoped that the Board would be
able to take such measures as would result in the complete elimination of the
nuisance.
On the 31st October, 1955 a sample of grit from this chimney was sent to
the Council's Analyst, who expressed the view that the grit contained some 21
per cent, of combustible material, the other main ingredients being silica and
oxide of iron; therefore, assuming the constituents of the grit remained
fairly constant, even with perfect combustion in the premises, the grit
nuisance would only be reduced by one fifth
Observations continued to be made by officers of the Public Health
Department, but at the end of the year this serious nuisance was, unfortunately,
still unabated.
ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION RECORDING
(a) Grit, soot and other particles and sulphur dioxide (by the lead
peroxide method). Measurements of these constituents of the atmosphere are
made at the following three stations-
Station Instruments installed Maintained by:
Town Hall Deposit Gauge and ) Hackney Borough Council
Lead Peroxide Instrument )
Buccleuch House do. Hackney Borough Council
Victoria Park do. London County Council
The British Standards Deposit Gauge collects the liquid (usually entirely
rainwater) and solids falling in an accurately measured area of little less
than one square foot. A monthly analysis of the contents of the gauge
determines the amount of soluble and insoluble deposit and the total solids
deposited. The results are expressed in terms of grammes of deposit per 100
square metres or in tons per square mile. This method of measurement does in
general give a useful indication of the extent of pollution by deposited matter.
The Lead Peroxide Instrument is a small cylinder coated with lead peroxide and
exposed to the air, although protected from rain The sulphur dioxide in the
air reacts with the coating to form lead sulphate (Pb + SO2 - Pb SO4) which is
determined by analysis after a suitable period of exposure The analyst s
findings are expressed as "milligrammes of sulphur trioxide fixed per day per
100 square centimetres of Batch "A" standard lead peroxide." By the use of