The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-08-29

SdTDaSe uulSdnCe, WIFI SOUV SuDScTlD
ed to pay for the legal steps soon t
be taken. and in the expectancy tha
the owners Of more than $4,000, 600 will
join in the litigation, the committe
in charge Of the East Side rebellion
against the garbage nuisance, reporte,
to thesEast Side Improvement associa
ton last night, at meeting held il
st Charles Han, East Main and Still
man streets.
More than a. fourth of the member
Of the association, which numbers 40
cluded the largest owners Of residen
tial property in the neighborhood O.
the nuisance. The fight fund wa.
swelled by contributions of $40, rails
ing the fund pledged to the committee
beyond the $500 dollar mark.
President T. ]. Mcnamara presided
The work of the committee was out
lined by +. L. Bradbury, who describ-
ed the means by which the vile odors
constituting the nuisance were traced
! to the garbage plant. F. 9. Stanley
who is an instructor at Bridgeport
High school, and chemist of ability,
reported his Investigations into the
condition of Berkshire Pond and the
river below the dam, from Berkshire
avenue to Blacks Dock.
His Investigations disclosed a high
ly dangerous condition. This part OF
the river was found to contain one
part Of sewage to every three of wa
ter Noxious gases were constantly
given into the air. The safe proper
ton is one part of sewage in 20.
Joseph Mullins, Joseph Knox and
Lynn W. Wilson, members and w. H.
Comley. Jr., Of the committee. spoke
briefly
-.n.-.1 S.z.,.-- .e A.. a,,.r;a~
was the disclosure of board Of health
methods made by ]. H. Whitcomb, a
member Of the board, who declared
that an unquestioned nuisance pro-
ceeded from the garbage plant but
that whenever he took the matter up
with the other members Of the board,
1t appeared to him as if he were on
trial and not the garbage plant.
Commissioners Whitcomb was thank
ed by the committee for his loyalty to
his trust as a public servant. p w.
Murray, commercial traveller, whose
home ID In the Ninth district, describ-
Cd q visit to the Fischer garbage
plant In York, Pe1nsyl-,an'5S. He saia
that conditions there were even worse
than In Bridgeport. He said that the
Bridgeport authorities were sadly in
fault for permitting the plant to open
before It was equipped to do, the work
The tone of the discussion bore
u6aV1y upon luc-4 dLLltUQe OF the
Board Of Health and the mayor, to-
ward the East Side It was declared
that the board had morally bound it,
self to extinguish the nuisance as soon
as 1t should appear and that this OBJ
legation was expressed by two, clauses
put into the Fischer contract, to meet
the wishes Of the East Side, the one
being a clause saying that it should
be a cause for annulling the contract
If odors were produced more than 900
feet away from the plant, Or if any
offensive substance were placed in any
stream Of water.
It appears that the nuisance is di-
vfded into two parts The first ia
the trouble from the river and Berk-
shire pond. This trouble is caused by
the precipitation into the water OF
garbage fluids In large quantities. The
second part is the so-called overland
smell. which proceeds from the plant
ITSELF
The report of Chemist Stanley. to-
gether with the reports Of Drs.
Wright and Gar1ick, On the effect OF
sewage gases on public health are as
follows:
At the request Of one Of your men,
bers made visit to the river below
Berkshire dam, Tuesday morning,
Aug 18th 1911 with E. H Hawley and
F. L. Bradbury and again on Satur-
day, Aug. 18th with F. L. Bradbury
and r. Meyers. We reached the river
by the way of Berkshire Yacht club
dock, just below Berkshire Mills and
about one hundred yards below Berk-
shire dam.
The general conditions were bad, It
was low tide at the time we reached
the river on both days. I found the
boats, float, ropes and shore coated
with grease.
Our purpose on August 18th, was to
- =
stantly rising to the surface in the
channel below Berkshire dam. found
between point in the river opposite
Berkshire Mills and the dock Of
Blacks coal yard, which is located
about 1000 feet below the mill, my
riads Of bubbles breaking on the sur
face OF the channel constantly CIV
ing the river much the same appear
arce as Is made by a rainstorm. I
found by a test that the channel was
about eighteen feet deep at low tide.
Measuring off a square yard Of
surface by a frame work Of lathes
we counted the number Of bubbles
rising to the surface per minute, the
lowest number was 3S. or at the rate
Of 2;28o per hour; the greatest num-
Der was 65 per minute, or at the rate
Of $500 per hour. I then collected
in bell jar one pint Of gas in one
hours time equivalent to two quarts
To a. square IOOL Oh SURFACE per nOur. |
After a careful estimation it is my |
opinion that the river below the dam |
Is releasing from 10000 to 1900 cubic |
feet of gas per hour at low tide.
EXAMINE THE GAS.
have examined the gas as to it's |
composition and find that it consists |
principally Of hydrogen sulphide, car
bon monoxide, carbon dioxide From |
the quantity of the gas which arises
at this point when the tide is low, |
believe this to be the chief source of |
the unpleasant odors in this vicinity. |
/ have also taken a sample of mud |
from the bottom of the channel at the |
same point at which the gas was col
lected and find that it contains con-
siderable organic matter in process Of |
decomposition. On Saturday, Aug 18th |
obtained a sample of water from the |
surface of the river at the same point |
as which the gases were collected and |
also a sample from the sewer which /
drains Noble avenue section, in order
to compare these sample. / have de-
the free and albuminoid am
monia in each and report the follow
ing results: Sewer, free ammonia $50
parts per million, albuminoid ammonia
5. 10 parts per million, surface of chan
mel, free ammonia 2.20 parts per mil
lion, a1buminoid ammonia 2.O3 parts
per million. This proves clearly that