Evening star., 1914-04-16

problem Of maintaining the heaithfulness
Of city populations
Air Pollution as there are to the
= m richly phased life OF
oouIce OF LIS. the city. In air
pollution, however, many students Of city
hygiene are convinced. the greater ele-
ment Of the problem is to be found. The
narrow wedge-formed chest, of insuf1-
cient capacity for the vital body. the
jaundiced skin and poison n-saturated sys-
tenn are, they declare, placeable TO tne
account of a yitiated air supply. In tneir
studies of the smoke problem they have
sought to show that this evil affects
health through direct poisoning or the
lungs and other internal tissue, and, IN
directly. through the exclusion OF sun
light, lessened self-control and the de-
struction of mental equilibrium.
The average adult consumes about
thirty cubic inches Of air in each inhala-
ton, or possibly $4,000 cubic inches every
day. Therefore the population OF a moo
ern city, crowded upon a rev SQUARE
miles of land built up with vast honey
combs for habitation, and containing Its
million individuals, would consume each
day S64 OC0, ,0OO, ,0O0, 900 cubic inches OF air.
while the city's furnaces probably CON
sumo still greater mass of air. replac-
ing 1t with SCOT and smoke. For TINS rea-
son students of city health regard the
problem of city's poisoning itself
through the discharge of its waste prod
ucts into its atmosphere with serious
apprehension.
These investigators suggest that as
many persons are devitalized, disabled
and poisoned by the impurities contained
in smoke polluted air. as by all the I'M
pure foods upon the market, together
with the noxious water supplies. Al
though there has never been thorough,
scientific attempt to make accurate estl-
nation of the amount of harm done by
the polluted city air to the bodily ana
mental health and productive capacity
Of the city dwellers. the fact mas neen
established that the constant inhalation
of the soot-laden, poisoned atmosphere OF
manufacturing cities diminishes the
body's reserve strength. impa1rs the pro-
ductive efficiency. both Of body and mind.
and causes specific diseases, among them
acute pulmonary troubles, such as pui-
monary tuberculosis.
4
The smoke pollution of the air consists
Of solid and vaporols ingredients. Among
its destructive ele-
Noxious Compounds ments are noxious
compounds Of car
IL 1AtiiiospAAo1e. bon. sulphur. nitro
gen, chlorine and arsenic. Thus pol
luted. the air irritates the sensitive MEM
DrdneS OIL the eyes, nose, throat anu
lungs. 1t causes and aggravates infiamma-
tory diseases of these organs. and it in
creases susceptibility to such diseases as
bronchitis. pneumonia and sub-acute
forms of phthisis. The poison, further.
enters the gastro-intestinal tract, caus-
ing nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and sys-
temic poisoning Recent Investigations
in Pittsburgh, the city where a million
factory wheels are never idle. have shown
that pneumonia increases with the den
sity of atmosphere smoke, irrespective of
the density of population or of poverty.
Moreover, in late years, there has de-
yeloped in the smoky cities very acute
and fatal form Of pneumonia.
The solid particles of smoke, the SCOT
in the polluted air. work detrimental
irritation upon the living being. This
of the visual, naso-pharyngeal, pulmo-
! nary, gastro-intestinal and neural
mechanisms. They may be more or less
disabled by its action Thus. the smoke
polluted air plies its destruction upon
sensory, motor, intellectual, affective and
| emotional functions of the human animal,
who has devised for himself a fate MAX
ing necessary sea of smoke belching
tunnels above a solid glare Of eternally
seething furnaces and surrounding in
fernal environment of noxious gases,
poisonous fumes and SCOT.
X =
| Premature decay, untimely death. exag-
gerated fatigue. frequent sickness, in
| stability OF at
Expert outlines tention. malcon-
EAeo+c of po;eon tent, irritability
lessened self CON
troll and psychic disequilibrium are among