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 21 - The Anaconda Road Massacre
April 20 - The Bravest of Conductors
April 19 - Terrorists Bomb Oklahoma City
April 18 - Labor’s First Lawyer
April 17 - Corporate Criminals Know No Borders
April 16 - Another Day in the Class War
April 15 - The American Federation of Teachers is Founded
April 14 - Agricultural Workers Risk Everything to Organize
April 13 - The Laborers Union is Founded
April 12 - The Historic Walkout at Toledo Auto-Lite
April 11 - Terrorists Try to Silence Workers
April 10 - In the Streets Against Cruelty
April 9 - Minneapolis Teachers Brave the Cold for a Better Tomorrow
April 8 - Truman Takes Over Steel
April 7 - The Day the Line Went Dead
April 6 - Women Marching Off to Work
April 5 - One Day Longer
April 4 - A Day of Mourning
April 3 - I’ve Been to the Mountain Top.
April 2 - The First Woman in Congress
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