Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-07
ICE PLANTS SCORED
HygieniC Commissions Report
on Factory Methods.
RESULT OF INVESTIGATION
1nsanitary Conditions Were Found in
Many Places.
SPRING IN BASEMENT ROOM
Cans and Tanks Said to Be Seldom
Cleaned-More Bacteria After
Water Is Frozen.
SPRING IN BASEMENT ROOM

Ice used in the District OF Columbia 10
the subject of a carefully prepared report
recently made under the auspices OF the
public health and marine hospital service.
This forms a part OF the report OF NJ. ].
Rosenau. L. L. Lumsden and Joseph II.
kastle, Mr.. Rosenau being the director of
the hygienic laboratory
While ice used in the District OF Columbia
was not found TO play an important part
In typhoid fever epidemics this report
goes into minute details in Its DESCRIPTIONS
of the places in which ice for general use
Is manufactured. In some respects the
conditions appear to equal those found in
the Chicago packing houses. In view Of
the assertions made in the report the state
ment of the investigators that their studies
indicated that ice played little IL any part
in spreading the infection of typhoid fever
seems strange to those uninitiated in the
science of hygiene.
The report, which is signed by NJ. J.
Rosenau, L. l.. Lumsden and Joseph II.
kastle, says. in part:
In no cases were the sanitary conditions
as good could be desired. and in some
they were positively bad. In one place the
can ice room had opening into 1t a WIN
dow from very filthy and ill-smelling
wash room, which al once attracted atten-
ton. On closer examination II was found
that this room had opening on to il from
the four sides the window from the can
ice-making room, through which the wash
room is usually ventilated. a meat and sau-
sage cold-storage room, the mems dressing
room and the meat and sausage sorting and
distributing room.
Filthy Dressing Rooms.
The floor of this room is made up of
concrete graded down to a hole at one side
of the center. Water trickles down the
nearest wall continuously and flows through
corner, having running water. was very
dirty and looked though 1t had never
been cleaned. The mems dressing room,
which communicates with this room by
very large doorway, was indescribably
filthy. Badly soiled clothes Uttered the
floor while small pieces of meat attracted
large numbers of flies, which were simply
swarmng. The entire place was very foul
smelling.
I'm another factory the water used for
ice making is taken from a spring which
opens into a large unused basement room,
and the water for condensing is obtained
from seven driven wells in the narrow yard
between the stable and the factory. This
yard was grown up with weeds. The board
cover of the deep well nearest the stable
was covered with filth.
THE floor of the spring room is the low
est place in the neighborhood and IL COW
cred with trash, rotting wood, mud and
the washings (by rain) from the surround
ing inhabited hillsides. The spring is COW
cred by rusty. ill-fitting iron door, one Of
the hinges of which was broken. On my
second visit. just after a heavy rain, the
water in this room was so deep that it was
not possible to reach the spring. My con-
ductor informed that during the rain
this water had flowed over the edges into
the spring, its rim being somewhat above
the level of the floor.
I'm third place the use of a very filthy.
undrained and ill-smeling stable I'm the
center of the factory building had just
been discontinued and was being converted
into an Ice storage room. The yard be-
tween the stable and the factory
grown up with weeds, very muddy and I'M
drained at the time of inspection.
"Seldom If Ever Cleaned"
I'm many cases it was found that the
wooden tops over the cans were dirty; that
the cans and tanks are seldom if ever
cleaned that the men walk over the tops
after visiting the yards, stables, ETC.,
bringing in filth dirt in their shoes; that
there are many uncleaned and unused
rooms adjoining ice-making storage
rooms, and unkempt. weed-grown yards
nearby; that the men are uncleanly in their
habits and clothing, and all wore old and
badly soiled clothing and shoes; that the
filters are seldom if cleaned and are
of doubtful value from a meteorological
standpoint
''Our examinations show for the most
part that manufactured ice contains more
bacteria than the water from which it has
been frozen. The contrary, of course,
should be the case. for it is now well
known that the act of freezing causes the
death of large number of bacteria. This
discrepancy we believe. is readily account
ed for by the unclean methods used in the
manufacture of ice, given in detail in the
report on the inspection of ice factories.
The added dirt accounts for the increased
har Of hap In 10