House of Commons (ventilation). Report on an investigation of the ventilation of the debating chamber of the House of Commons / by Dr. M.M. Gordon.

  • Great Britain. Office of Works and Public Buildings.
Date:
1905-06
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: House of Commons (ventilation). Report on an investigation of the ventilation of the debating chamber of the House of Commons / by Dr. M.M. Gordon. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    27/286 (page 3)
    PART cd, SECTION I. CIRCUMSTANCES PRECEDING THE INQUIRY. THE PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED WITH REGARD TO THE VENTILATION OF THE DEBATING CHAMBER. From certain questions put to witnesses by Members of the Select Committee that recently reported on the ventilation of the House of Commons, it would appear that the immediate cause of the inception of the Committee was an epidemic of influenza* amongst Members. The Committee caused both a chemical and a bacteriological examination to be made of the air of the Debating Chamber. The result of the chemical examination, which was made by Mr. Butterfield, showed that the air of the Debating Chamber compared favourably with that of ‘some other public buildings in respect of carbonic acid, and was therefore regarded by the Committee with satisfaction. The quantitative bacteriological tests made by Dr. Graham Smith on the same occasions as the chemical tests, showed a mean of 58 micro-organisms per litre of air in the Debating Chamber—a quantity that also compared favourably with that found in the air of other public buildings. Accordingly the Committee observed that “though less exact and less satisfactory than the chemical “results, the bacteriological results could not be regarded as distinctly “unsatisfactory.” The Committee concluded that, so far as these objective tests went, the quality of the air was sufficiently satisfactory. They went on to say, however, that this conclusion, obtained by means of objective tests, was not confirmed by the subjective test of Members’ own feelings: “It is “the common experience of many Members that the air of the Chamber ““lacks freshness, that there are some qualities possessed by it which “lead to a stay for a length of time in the Chamber causing in Members “a lassitude and feeling of heaviness which tends to interfere with the “due performance of their duties.” 3 The Committee also pointed out that the air of the Chamber was liable to pollution from dust and various impurities continually being brought in on Members’ boots. “Particles of dirt, and with these various “organisms, must be borne upwards by the ascending currents, and other “particles must be falling through the interstices of the matting and “grating and mixing there with the incoming air.” | _ With view to general improvement of the ventilation, the Com- mittee recommended a number of important changes which have since been effected. Their final recommendation was as follows :— _ “The institution of inquiry into problems of ventilation still unsolved, with view of introducing further improvements into the present system.” It is in accordance with this final recommendation of the Select Committee that the further investigation to be recorded in the present report has been carried out on behalf of His Majesty’s Office of Works. * First Report of the Ventilation Committee, dated June 25, 1903 : Page 28, Q. 563 ; page 36, Q. 678; page 47, Q. 906. Second Report, July 28, 1903: Page 9, Q. 130. 24080 A 2