The Donora Air Pollution Story

If there was ever a story that shows why we must have regulation on companies this is it.  In 1948 a small industrial town called Donora, Pennsylvania was taken over by smog and pollution.  This pollution came from the smelting operation of U.S. Steel located in the town.  According to the Pennsylvania department of environmental protection from Oct. 26 to the 31st , “20 people were asphyxiated and over 7,000 were hospitalized or became ill as the result of severe air pollution over Donora, Washington County, the Monongahela River town of 14,000.”

It took this major event for the Pennsylvania state government to established the Division of Air Pollution Control in 1949 to study air quality and its effect on human health.  Around this time the State also passed bills stating that the citizens of PA had a right to clean air.  It is a shame that so many had to die before the local government would protect there citizens. 

There are many books about this event.  One of the best was written by Devra Davis titled “When Smoke Ran Like Water: Tales of environmental deception and the battle against pollution”.  This book came out in 2002 and the author is well known as a leading epidemiologists and researchers on environmentally linked illness. 

If you would like to learn more about this event or plan on visiting Donora Pennsylvania make sure you stop by the Donora Smog Museum.  The museum opened October 20, 2008, is located at 595 McKean Avenue near Sixth Street in an old storefront.  The museum is nothing like a traditional museum but you can find archival materials and documentation about the event.