[Report 1968] / Medical Officer of Health, Leeds City.

  • Leeds City Council
Date:
1968
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1968] / Medical Officer of Health, Leeds City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    152/184 (page 130)
    Of 20 sairples of swimming bath water only 5 were entirely satisfactory. The general fault (14 samples) was a low pH (below 7.5) combined with a high residual chlorine content. These conditions are liable to give rise (as indeed they did) to complaints of smarting eyes. One sample had the extremely high pH of 9.6; the recommended pH range is 7.5 to 8.0. 5 samples submitted under the Pharmacy and Poisons Act were all correctly labelled. SAMPLES SUBMITTED BY OTHER CORPORATION DEPARTMENTS CENTRAL PURCHASING DEPARTMENT Two water softening powders and one liquid detergent were evaluated. The latter was reported as not being a good buy. EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 6 samples of sausages delivered to the School Meals Service were analysed and proved to conform to contract specification. CITY ENGINEER'S DEPARTMENT The deposit from a sewer consisted of a mixture of mineral matter, water and oil. The composition of the mineral matter resembled the deposit isolated from sump oil, and supported the belief that a nearby garage had been disposing of such oil into the sewer. WATERWORKS DEPARTMENT The customary independant analysis of the City water was carried out each month. All samples proved satisfactory. FORENSIC ANALYSIS For the Leeds City Coroner 403 specimens were analysed in relation to 105 deaths, and for other Yorkshire Coroners 258 specimens relating to 60 deaths. Fatal overdoses of drugs were found in 73 cases, the drugs concerned being Amitriptyline, Anytal (13), Aspirin (4), Methaqualone (8), mixed Methaqualone and Soneryl, Nembutal (8), Phenobarbitone, Quinine (2), Seconal, Soneryl (5), Trifluoperazine (2), Tuinal (27). One death was due to carbon monoxide and one to Cyanide poisoning. 65 cases involved the determination of blood-alcohol levels following fatal accidents. A number of toxicological analyses of a non-routine nature were made at the request of Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds A, Leeds B and York A Hospital Management Committee s. 1968 was the first full year of the Breathalyser Test and mariy requests were received from drivers, or their professional advisors, to carry out the independent analysis of the driver's portion of blood samples. As was reported in last year's Annual Report the Health and Welfare Committee approved of this laboratory carrying out such analyses on payment of the recognised fee.