[Report 1896] / Medical Officer of Health, Penzance U.D.C. / Borough.

  • Penzance (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1896
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1896] / Medical Officer of Health, Penzance U.D.C. / Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/12 (page 2)
    [2] Water-Supply. The question of an increased water-supply to the Town is rightly engaging your attention, and a promising scheme is at present well in hand. The new well at Boscathnoe has already more than justified the anticipations of its pioneer supporters by its great usefulness in recent times of drought; and you may justly look to works of a like character to give you the additional pure water-supply you need. In your consideration of this question I trust you may never be led to give your consent to the introduction into our supply of water from a tainted stream. Our present supply is ample for the greater part of the year, and may be, without doubt, supplemented from a pure source to cope with the exigencies of prolonged drought. An annual cleansing of the reservoirs suffices to keep it of constantly good quality, For the rest, the pumping of good water, while not necessarily more costly than the filtration of an indifferent stream, frees us from the dangers that periodically attend the latter method in use. 55 new dwelling-houses were supplied with water during the year. Public Urinals, Closets, &c. I gather that no complaint has arisen during the year as to the condition of our public urinals, or of the School or Railway Station closet arrangements. The urinal below the Davy statue is certainly not well placed, being rather dark, and not admitting of free upward ventilation. I defer comments on these structures generally until I have become better acquainted by further visitations. Scavenging. The scavenging of the Town is in the main efficiently managed by your Authority, and the excellent dust-carts employed allow of the regular removal of house-refuse without pollution of the air of the streets or of the throats of the passers-by. Bake-houses, Slaughter-houses, Dairies, Cowsheds, and IVlilk-shops. There are in the Borough 19 bake-houses, 18 slaughter-houses, 34 milk-shops, and six cowsheds. All are registered, and have been visited from time to time throughout the year by the Sanitary Inspector, who reports no defects. Vaccination. In the Union district Vaccination does not appear to be strictly enforced. In my opinion calf lymph of ascertained purity should be regularly supplied to Public Vaccinators, and in times of epidemic to Medical Officers of Health on application ; while the modern needle method of its use should be countenanced. The old hit-or- miss four-scar method is distinctly unscientific and barbarous. Seizure of Food and “Sale of Food and Drugs’’ Act. The carcase of a pig was seized and condemned when exposed for sale in the market. A Public Analyst to the Borough has just been appointed, and I would recommend an occasional analysis of milk.