1848. J 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



345 



COUNCIL OF HEALTH OF PARIS. 



The most perfectly organised Municipal Board of Health 

 hitherto established is that of the city of Paris. The compre- 

 hensive system of the Conseil de Salubrite of Paris, the scientific 

 ability and energy of its members, and their fearlessness and devo- 

 tion in invading- the most dangerous and offensive hiding-places of 

 disease, render invaluable the copious stores of sanitary knowledge 

 contained in the long series of Reports of their researclies. 



Before the revolution, the administrative and judicial police of 

 French towns was under the control of several authorities, and had 

 not that unity of action so necessary in large cities. The Minister of 

 the Interior, the Prefet of Police, and the Pre'vot des Marchands 

 had, each according to his jurisdiction, part of the surveillance re- 

 quired for the public health of the metropolis. Hence, tlie impos- 

 sibility of instituting a complete system of regular jurisprudence, 

 such as that which the Conseil de Salubrite established some years 

 later. AVith the growth of the population, the multiplication of 

 manufactures, and the general increase of commerce, the duties of 

 sanitary surveillance became more and more important, at the 

 same time that they became more and more difficult. 



At the close of tlie last century, tliese duties were delegated by 

 the Lieutenant of Police to two able physicians, M. Pia and M. 

 Cadet a Vaiix, to tlie latter of wliom is due the merit of suppress- 

 ing the Petit Chatelet, the amelioration of prison discipline, tlie 

 suppression of cemeteries in the interior of Paris, and of sepul- 

 ture in churches, in addition to many otlier salutary reforms. 



The year 1802 was the epoch of the creation of the t'onseil de 

 Salubrite. Before that time, the Prefect, whenever he had to give 

 a decision on a subject connected with the public health, took the 

 advice of a physician, surgeon, agriculturist, chemist, or veterinary 

 surgeon, according to the nature of the object which engaged his 

 attention. The inconveniences of this method were such, that in 

 -July of the year above-mentioned, the Prefect Duboix instituted 

 the Conseil, which he composed of four members, who were to 

 examine the adulteration of liquids, diseases of animals, and 

 noxious manufactures. In 1807, the powers of the Conseil were 

 extended, and the number of members was increased to seven, 

 ■who were required to meet regularly twice a month. To them 

 was assigned the investigations respecting epidemics, the regulation 

 of markets, rivers, cemeteries, slaughter-houses, sewerage, public 

 baths, &c., medical statistics, and the tables of moi'tality, the cleans- 

 ing of public places, the prevention and reparation of tlie effects of 

 inundations,therepressionof charlatanism, and thelightingof streets. 

 The necessity of particlar attention to epidemics, induced the Pre- 

 fect to add two physicians to the number of the members of the 

 Council; other additions have been made from time to time. In 

 order to add to the authority and importance of this body, it has from 

 its origin had the nomination of its own president and secretary, 

 and the privilege of recommending to tlie Prefect persons qualified 

 to supply any vacancies which may occur in the Council. 



Some idea of the importance and number of the investigations 

 undertaken by the Conseil de Salubrite during the first quarter of 

 a century after its establishment, may be obtained from the fact 

 that the number of reports made from 1815 to 1829, was upwards 

 oi four thousand three hundred and thirty. The number of these 

 reports averaged, annually, two hundred and twenty-five ; and in 

 the years 1818, 1819, and 1829, respectively, exceeded 340, 350, 

 and 420. The beneficial effects which have resulted from the es- 

 tablishment of this institution, have led to the establishment of 

 similar boards, under different names, in foreign countries ; and in 

 France, the Prefects of several departments have created provin- 

 cial Councils of Health, which, but for the distraction of political 

 events, would now probably exist in every important town in that 

 countiy. 



The functions of the Council are consultative, not administra- 

 tive ; but it assumes the responsibility of measures of government 

 founded on its reports. It was re-organised in 1833, by an 

 ordonnance of the Prefect, which directs the reduction of its 

 number to 19 titulary members i-eceiving stipends, and 6 additional 

 non-stipendiary members. The Prefect of Police is president of 

 the Council, and to him the Council addresses annual reports, 

 which are printed. 



The number of reports addressed to the government, from the 

 year 1829 to 1839, was four thousand four hundred and thirty- 

 one. During the succeeding six years, the number rose to 

 three thousand and eighty-seven. The augmentation of the annual 

 average is accounted for by the growth of the population, 

 which in 1846 was 1,034,206, showing an increase of 100,000 

 on the return of the census five years previously. Another con- 

 sideration, which indicates the importance and difficulty of the 



duties of the Council of Health of Paris, is, that the metropolis 

 affords facilities for commencing many new manufactures long be- 

 fore they can be successfully introduc^-d into the provinces. Paris 

 isthecentie of scientific associations and enterprise; and in di- 

 recting the development of meclianical and chemical arts in the 

 capital, the Council of Health does, in fact, solve problems which 

 affect the health of the whole country. 



In the present rapid survey of the recent reports of the associa- 

 tion, their number and diversity render it necessary to confine the 

 selection to a few of the more important subjects. The principal 

 reports relate to the adulteration of food, the analysis of bread, 

 the filtrage of water, the escape of waste liquids of liianufactories, 

 baths, and wash-houses, the refuse of slaughter-houses, tallow- 

 melting, glue-making, &c., the smoke of kilns and cement-works, 

 tanneries, and foundries, the cleansing of cesspools, methods of 

 heating and ventilation, the regulation of baths, the purification 

 of street gas, precautions in the manufacture and conveyance ot 

 chemical matches, fusees, and fulminating jiowders, steam-engines, 

 the sale of arsenic, metal-gilding, distilleries, remedies against 

 drowning and suffocation, epidemics, and a large number of ques- 

 tions respecting the medical police. 



Salt.— In a single year the Council analysed nearly 5,000 samples 

 of salt, which had been taken from different dealers by the ])olice, 

 and found 2,561 samples to be adulterated, the principal ingre- 

 dients for the purpose being jdaster and potash. After examining 

 other samples taken directly from the salt-pits, the Council re- 

 ported, that when white salt contains potash, calcareous matter, or 

 sand, it is artificially adultei-ated; that grey salt appears to con- 

 tain naturally a little potash or calcareous suliihate ; but that the 

 foreign substances always exist naturally in very minute quantities. 

 Water. — In 1841, the Council reported on the different systems 

 of purifying the waters of the Seine; a matter of vast importance 

 in Paris, v\here a large part of the population use water obtained 

 from public conduits and fountains supplied from that river. Two 

 public companies employed Smith's process, with filters of sand 

 and charcoal in open vessels, and under a small pressure. The 

 layer of charcoal is between two layers of sand, which again are 

 between two beds of flints. A third company used the filters 

 bearing the name of P'onvielle, which consist of several alternate 

 layers of sponge, sand, and charcoal, contained in a closed vessel, 

 subject to a pressure of one atmosphere, for the purpose of in- 

 creasing the rapidity of filtration. Another process, most exten- 

 sively used, is that of Souchon's, which consists in filtering the 

 water through a number of layers of a woollen tissue, formed of 

 wool clippings placed on the frames forming the bottom of the 

 filter, and spread, by the action of the water itself, in a compact 

 uniform laj'er. The water passes through five such layers, ot 

 which the two lowest are the thickest and remain unchanged for 

 five or six daj's ; the others are changed two or three times a-day. 

 The public conduit of Notre Dame is supplied by five of the above 

 described filtei's. 



On a microscopic examination of water filtered by the three dif- 

 ferent processes, the Council of Health found the water containing 

 the least impurity to be that filtered by the FonvieUe process; 

 next to which came that of the Souchon filters. The purity of 

 water depends, however, not entirely on the absence of matters 

 held in suspension, but also of dissolved organic substances' 

 w hich after a time gi^e a disagreeable taste to the best filtered 

 water. In this respect, the water filtered by the process first de- 

 scribed was found to be by far the best, as it remained a much 

 longer time without alterations. This result is attributed to the 

 use of charcoal, which is frequently renewed, washed, and dried. 

 The quantity of water filtered daily by Souchon's process is stated 

 at about 162,800 gallons; by Fonvielle's process at 88,000 to 110,500 

 gallons. The relative rapidity of the other methods is far slower. 

 Steam-Enyiues. — Numerous memorials have been addressed to 

 the Council respecting the smoke, discharge of waste water, noise, 

 and danger of explosions of steam-engines. With respect to the 

 smoke, the Council have principally confined themselves to pre- 

 scribing the use of fael giving comparatively little smoke, such as 

 semi-bituminous coal; the improved construction and regulation of 

 furnaces, so as to insure as complete combustion as possible ; and, 

 lastly, increased elevation of the furnace chimneys. 



Gilding on Metal. — In 1816, the munificent prize of 3,000f. 

 (d£l20) was offered by a private individual, and awarded by the 

 Academy of Sciences to M. D'Arcet, for a most successful method 

 of removing the injuries to health produced by the operation of 

 gilding with mercury. The principal sources of these injuries are 

 the volatilisation of the mercury, the disengagement of hyponitric 

 acid, and the contact of nitric, sulphuric, and hydrochloric acids, 

 mercury, and nitrate of mercury, with the hands of the workmen 



45 



