1 Sample Did Not Contain Dairy Cream. Bread: 1 Sample Contained a Strip of Aluminium 2.5 Cm Long
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Minutes of the meeting of the Western Health Board 4th May 1981 Part 2 Item Type Meetings and Proceedings Authors Western Health Board (WHB) Publisher Western Health Board (WHB) Download date 26/09/2021 14:58:06 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10147/92576 Find this and similar works at - http://www.lenus.ie/hse 10. Fresh Cream Cake: 1 sample did not contain dairy cream. Bread: 1 sample contained a strip of aluminium 2.5 cm long. Minced Meat: 1 sample contained sulphur dioxide. COMPLAINT FOOD SAMPLES FROM THE PUBLIC: Milk: 1 sample was found to be unsatisfactory due to the inside surface of the bottle being covered with mould and general dirt. • 1 sample had a piece of matted fibrous fabric. JL sample had black material and organic matter. Chocolate: _1 sample had a piece of twig h" long embedded in it. Contents of Bakery Silo: 1 sample had a large amount of mould growth. Smithwicks Ale: ' 3. sample contained some yeast cells & mould. fnot beer, done. Dr. M. Clarke suggested that the General Practitioners in both the -11- REGIONAL HOSPITAL STORES: The number of samples examined on behalf of Galway Hospital Stores was made up as follows:-. Bread 42 Butter 44 Sausages - 43 Fish 35 Milk 49 Black Pudding 3 Flakemeal - 1 Meat 1 I Cauliflower 1 22 samples of milk were found to be deficient in fat or non-fatty solids; one sample contained sand and cement. WATER/EFFLUENTS During the year, a total of 3517 water/effluent samples were submitted for chemical analysis by Local Authorities Mining Companies, Engineering Consultants and private individuals. This work involved the chemical analysis of • existing and new sources of supply for potability and suitability for industrial use, and the examination of fluoridated supplies for fluoride, in accordance with the terms.of the Health (Flouridation of Water Supplies) Act 1960. "• Samples of sewage effluents, industrial discharges and river waters were examined on behalf of the Local Author ities to check the efficiency of treatment plants and to assess the quality of receiving waters. Specific cases of pollution of river water were examined on behalf of Boards of Conservators and members of the staff attended fished not beer oone. Dr. H. Clarke suggested that the General Practitioners in both the f2j -12- Court as expert witnesses to give evidence on the work done. A breakdown of the samples tested is given below:- Local Authorities 2 ,009 Killala Bay Monitoring < 674 > Engineering Consultants 64 Boards of Conservators 276 Mines 190 Private 304 Total 3,517 DRUG ANALYSIS: The drug testing scheme on behalf of the National Drugs Advisory Board (NDAB) was continued during the year. A total of 177 samples was submitted for analysis under the agreement signed between NDAB and the Western Health Board on 13/5/1976. The purpose of these tests are:- (a) To establish, in respect of products for which applications for product authorisations to market have been granted, that they comply with the Chemistry & Pharmacy Specifications submitted by the applicant companies. (b) To verify the companies method of assay. In addition to the work for NDAB, 6 certificates were issued to Pharmaceutical Companies for veterinary products. TOXICOLOGY: A total of 160 post mortem examinations was carried out IIS hod not beer cione. Dr. M. Clarke suggested that the General Practitioners in both -13- on behalf of Coroners and Pathologists in the Western Health Board area. Most of these were investigations for the presence of alcohol, drugs and poisons. The drugs and poisons most commonly involved in these ex aminations were:- alcohol, barbiturates, paraquat, strychnine, imipramine, propanolol, paracetamol, valium/ librium, salicylates and heavy metals. A service was also provided to the general public in testing blood/ urine for alcohol. In this connection, a total of 79 samples were tested, of which 71 contained alcohol I levels in excess of the legal limit as shown below:- NO. OF SAMPLES RANGE MEAN ( /ug/100 ml) (yug/100 ml) Blood 56 10 - 292 148 Urine 23 10 - 304 170 In addition, 22 cases of poisoning of animals, mostly dogs, were investigated on behalf of the Regional Veterinary Service. • INDUSTRIAL TOXICOLOGY: The monitoring system of workers for the assessment of Industrial Exposure to lead through the measurement of blood lead values was continued on behalf of the Mines. A total of, 187 was examined, made up as follows:- Irish Base Metals 176 Tara **• In addition to the blood/lead level determination, environmental testing involving dust filters and grass Wd not b*c done. Dr. M. Clarke suage&ted thot the General Practitioner* in both the -14- from the vicinity of the Mines was carried out on behalf of the Mining Companies. The total number of environ mental samples examined was 518c— Tara 197 Mogul 168 Irish Base Metals 153 CONSULTANTS & PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS: The laboratory has continued to provide a service to the general public in Analytical Chemistry. In this context, 331 certificates were issued to McDonogh Fisons Ltd., as a quality control measure on the manufacture of fertilizer products at their plant in Galway. Certific ates were also issued to McDonoghs on the analysis of compound feedingstuffs. An additional 13 certs, were issued for I.A.W.S. A service was provided to the general public, mainly in the testing of water samples for potability, also to Boards of Conservators in the in vestigation of river/lake pollution. KILLALA BAY MONITORING: Since 1976, a committee with representatives from Mayo and Sligo Co. Councils, the Western & North-Western Health Boards and the Asahi Company, has been monitoring the effluent from the Asahi factory in Killala, and also looking at the quality of the receiving waters in Killala Bay. In 1980, the whole monitoring programme was reviewed to take account of the satisfactory results of the previous WTthis hod not beer cione. Dr. M. Clorke suggested that the General Practitioners in both -15- 3 years, and also in the context of the licence granted to the Company by Mayo Co. Council to discharge their effluent under the terms of the Water Pollution Act 1976 In relation to the Bay, in the old programme, sea water samples were collected from 15 locations around the perimiter of the Bay on a monthly basis. The collection of the samples involved the hiring of a boat, which was costly and^during the winter months, a dangerous job. In the new programme, sea water specimens are collected monthly from the shore at the following locations:- Lackan Pier, Kilcummin Pier, Killala Pier, Pollaheney Pier, Easkey Pier, Enniscrone Pier, Enniscrone Strand, River Moy in Ballina Town beside the Cathedral, River Moy one mile north of Ballina Town, and from over the v diffuser pipe in Killala Bay. The intensity of the monitoring has not altered, the only change is that the ease and cost of the sample collection is reduced con siderably. In the case of the effluent, random checks are carried out regularly to enable the County Council to find out if the conditions of the discharge licence are being complied with, and also to check on the in-house monitoring at the Asahi factory. The new programme has now been in operation since October 1980 and is proceeding satisfactorily. The detailed results are given in Appendix 2, and from these it can be seen that no trace ofeither of the constituents of ^^Iffcod not beer, done. Or. M. Clorke suggested thot the Cenerol Practitioners in both the -16- the effluent, namely acrylonitrile and methyl acrylate, has been detected in the waters of the Bay throughout 1980. Specimens of shellfish from the Bay were also examined, and again no trace of either constituent was found. j AIR POLLUTION: The measurement of suspended particulate matter and sulphur dioxide in the air at the 4 monitoring stations i.e. the Public Analyst's Laboratory, Regional Hospital, Leisureland Salthill, Spanish Parade and Grammar School, College Road was continued during the year. The annual mean values for each station are presented below with the detailed results in Appendix 3 . PUB.ANALYST LEISURELAND SPANISH GRAMMAR LABORATORY „ SALTHILL PARADE SCHOOL *Sulphur Dioxide(S02) 14 18 15 16 Suspended Particulate Matter(Smoke) 9 4 15 11 *NOTE: The results in microgramms per cubic meter. The World Health Organisation Expert Committee has tentatively recommended the following limiting values as a long-term goal to prevent undesirable illness from air pollution:- 3 Sulphur Annual Mean 60/ug/M 98^ of observations Dioxide: should be below 200^ug/M 3 ParUcSftes: Annual Mean 40/Ug/M 9» of observations should be below 120/ug/M The results from the 4 monitoring stations show that the level of air pollution in Galway City is extremely low m hod not beer cone. Dr. M. Clorke suggested thot the Genero] Proctitionorfc in both -17- and well within the long-term W.H.O. goals. LABORATORY ACCOMMODATION: The laboratory has suffered from a chronic shortage of space for several years now. During the past year, plans were drawn up for the incorporation of our unit in the proposed Clinical Science complex on the other side of the hospital grounds. This project, which is a long term one, will give us approximately 6,000 sq. ft. of modern laboratory space and is very much welcomed. In the short term, it was agreed to provide 1,000 sq.ft. of prefabricated building on our existing site, and it is expected that this unit will be operational by July 1981. FINANCE: J ' V The total amount of money collected from fees from private clients in 1980 was:- £55,653. STAFF: The writer wishes to thank all members of our staff for * their loyal and devoted service throughout the year.