The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-07-15
,!I||l! 3i:,1,,
hue Allen, Health Off,
ceF of Cincinnati, Gives
His Opinion.
BENEFIT PUBLIC HEALTH
DUST FROM A SANITARY POINT
OF VIEW is HARMFUL AND 9TH
ERWIsE is GREAT NUISANCE.
BENEFIT PUBLIC HEALTH

Relative to the investigation being
to the merits of oiled streets, there
has been much discussion pro and con
by Richmond people in general. To
morrow the Board members and rep,
resentatives of local newspapers will
so to Cincinnati to inspect streets in
that city which have been treated
with oil. Inquiries made to Cincin,
natl officials as to the success of the
experiment there have brought ia
vOrable responses.
DR.. Aliens Opinion.
DR.. Samuel Allen, Health Officer
of Cincinnati, gives the following opin
ion:
Dear Sirs:-In answer to your re-
quest for my views on oil sprinkling
will say that subject of oiled streets
and roads is very proper one for the
consideration of boards of health
The complete absence of dust from
roads so treated constitutes a santa
ry advance which may we'll smerit the
attention of those interested in pro
noting public health and comfort.
Street dust stirred up by passing We
hicles, and swept by the wind into the
nostrils and lungs of pedestrians, is
nasal and pulmonary irritant which
must be productive of harm. Such
dust may contain disease productive
bacteria, which thus gain entrance in
to the system. While a direct con
nection between street dust and any
specific disease can not be definitely
made out, yet the possibility, even the
probability of such a connection may
be considered to exist
Health Boards have under their
charge the abatement of nusances as
we'll as the prevention of disease, and
dust is certainly nuisance on a par
with, if not exceeding, the nuisance,
and even the health aspect, of stag
nant water, bad Odors, etc. For this
reason | can not too strongly advocate
any measure which will do away with
the dust evil. The present method OF
wetting down the dust with water we
know to be not only inadequate, but
from a sanitary point of view, more or
| less harmful. Disease-prOducing or
ganisms are kept alive by moisture;
drying kills most of them. TheOret
ically, therefore, we help to keep the
with water
Is there any method of properly al
laying dust? This question has, il
seems to me- been definitely answer
ed by the advocates of Oil sprinkllng
There is no dust from such roads, mel
Their is there mud. The surface OF
the road becomes covered with a lay
er of bituminOus matter, a sort OF thin
coating of soft asphalt, which renders
driving a pleasure, and keeps the oc
cupants in the last carriage OF cara
vansary in as pleasant frame OF mine
as those in the first.
Economic Standpoint.
From an economic standpoint, the
abatement of the dust nuisance ranks
only second to the abatement of the
smoke nuisance. If smoke Injuries
and defaces our property in the win
ter, dust aids and abets the destruct
After recovering from the pleasure
able sensations of my dust free drive
on the oiled streets about Lexington
XIV. my first thought was what a pro
longer of life of the road this Oil TOT
must be. The road bed receives ne
wear, no water gets through the sur
face, no ruts form, the road, wher
once made STAYS: simply the bitumin
Gus top wears away and must be re
placed.
AS freeing us from dust as a nui
sance, from dust as a source OF 1nfec
ton, and from dust as an irritant, anc
doing it economically, the oiling pro
cess seems to mean unequaled sue
cess.
SAMUEL ALLEN, NJ. d.
Health Officer City of Cincinnati.