1948 Donora smog

1948 Donora smog
The wire mill, Donora 1910
1948 Donora smog is located in Pennsylvania
1948 Donora smog
Location of Donora in Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°10′34″N 79°51′20″W / 40.17624°N 79.85547°W / 40.17624; -79.85547
PHMC dedicatedOctober 28, 1995[1]

The 1948 Donora smog killed 20 people and caused respiratory problems for 6,000 of the 14,000 people living in Donora, Pennsylvania,[2] a mill town on the Monongahela River 24 miles (39 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. The event is commemorated by the Donora Smog Museum.

Sixty years later, the incident was described by The New York Times as "one of the worst air pollution disasters in the nation's history."[3] Even 10 years after the incident, mortality rates in Donora were significantly higher than those in other communities nearby.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference phmcdatabase was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ John Bachmann, David Calkins, Margo Oge. “Cleaning the Air We Breathe: A Half Century of Progress.” EPA Alumni Association. September 2017. Page 9.
  3. ^ Hamill, Sean D. (November 1, 2008). "Unveiling a Museum, a Pennsylvania Town Remembers the Smog That Killed 20". The New York Times. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference PPG was invoked but never defined (see the help page).