[Report 1955] / Medical Officer of Health, Leicester Borough.

  • Leicester (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1955
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1955] / Medical Officer of Health, Leicester Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    some necromancer in his nefarious art, an apothecary’s remedy, or an artisan’s raw material ? “And while the great and wise decay, And all their trophies pass away Some sudden thought, some careless rhyme Still floats above the wrecks of Time”. (Lecky) Four further mineral specimens were also submitted by the Museum, on behalf of the Water Department, with a request for the determination of iron content. These samples, far from transporting one’s mind back to olden days, reminded one of modern engineering achievements, for they were examined in connection with the River Dove Water Scheme. Assistance was rendered to the City Police on two occasions. In the first instance, the genuineness of a lambskin carpet was questioned. We were able to state that the sample was genuine, but either badly dressed originally, or ruined by subsequent washing. The second instance was more amusing. A glass sphere filled with a blue granular material was picked up in a local park. All fears of bomb outrages were dispelled, when the blue material was shown to be sand and blue-dyed starch ! (b) Submitted by the Public Miscellaneous samples submitted by the Public generally savour of the spice of life—if variety can thus be described ! These specimens ranged from petrol to poultry stimulants, from cyanide antidote to cactus fruit, and from fountain pens to fish paste. Whilst the majority of these samples constitute simple straight¬ forward analytical determinations, some pose minor research problems. In the latter category, a steel plate was submitted, the surface of which had been treated with mercury for the purpose of preventing the adhesion of glyco-gelatine film. The plate was a component of a capsule¬ making machine, and objection had been made by the overseas pur¬ chaser of the presence of this mercury. Experiments were carried out to determine the amount of mercury absorbed by the gelatine coating of the capsules, and it was found to be in the order of seven parts per million. The 1948 B.P. gives, for the maximum dose of mercuric chloride, one-sixteenth grain or four milligrams. This may be con¬ sidered to be one of the most toxic forms of mercury, and if the mercury existed in this form on the gelatine, the amount taken—assuming a dose of three capsules—was calculated to be 0.0023 milligrams, which certainly would not be fatal.