On this day in Labor History the year was 1948.
That was the day that a thick yellow fog rolled over the town of Donora, Pennsylvania just south of Pittsburgh.
Donora was a mill town, nestled in a valley on the bank of the Monongahela River.
By 1948, the town had grown to 14,000 people, who came to work in the town’s steel mills and the Donora Zinc Works.
For years the local residents had complained about the pollution that spilled from the plants.
Smog was a regular occurrence.
But this fog was even worse than usual.
A layer of cold air was trapping a noxious blend of nitrogen dioxide, sulfuric acid and fluoride pollution.
Twenty-four hours passed, and still the fog grew denser.
The police and local doctors began to receive reports of people having difficulties breathing.
The fog became so thick that residents could not see to drive.
For five days the smog hung over the town, until a rain fall began to break it up.
Nearly half of the towns’ residents became ill.
Twenty died.
U.S. Steel refused to take blame for the fog, even though they continued to run the plant as the deadly toxins continued to build.
According to a 2010 article by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Despite the efforts of industry to cast the tragedy as an “act of God,” the fatalities in Donora received national attention. The event changed the way air pollution was viewed, moving it rapidly from an aesthetic issue to a public health concern, and spurred local, state and federal officials to control toxic air pollution.”
In 2008 a Smog Museum opened with the motto “Clean Air Started Here.”
April 27 - Disaster in West Virginia
April 26 - National Guard Ousts Montgomery Ward CEO
April 25 - UAW Mobilizes Against Taft-Hartley
April 24 - The California Spinach Riot
April 23 - Sitting Down for Dignity at Ford
April 22 - The Red Jacket Mine Explosion
April 21 - The Hated Taylor Law Takes Effect
April 20 - Deepwater Horizon Explosion Kills 11
April 19 -The Daughters of Mother Jones
April 18 - We Have Fed You All A thousand Years
April 17 - Fatal Explosion in West, Texas
April 16 - Jacob Coxey is Born
April 15 - Telephone Girls Cripple New England Bell
April 14 - A Job or Be Sterilized
April 13 - The Colfax Massacre
April 12 - The Wagner Act Stands
April 11 - Fed Up Transit Workers Walk Out
April 10 - Explosion at Eddystone
April 9 - Lee Surrenders to Grant
April 8 - John L. Lewis Takes on Henry Ford
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