The Donora fluoride fog

1. The Donora fluoride fog Benjamin Scott 5-14-14

2. Background information • The anniversary of the worst recorded industrial air pollution accident in US history - which occurred 50 years ago this October in Donora, Pennsylvania -will go virtually unmarked. The Donora incident, which killed 20 and left hundreds seriously injured and dying, was caused by fluoride emissions from the Donora Zinc Works and steel plants owned by the US Steel Corporation.

3. Ecosystems • The town of Donora, Pennsylvania, founded in the 18th century, saw its first success with the interests of Steel and Coal. The discovery of vast amounts of natural resources in addition to a prime manufacturing and shipping location was more than enough to cause the industrial boom. The ecosystem is the town of Donora.

4. Population size • The fog started building up in Donora on October 27, 1948. ... a third to one half of the town's population of 14,000 residents had been sickened by Hydrogen fluoride and sulfur dioxide emissions from U.S. Steel's Donora company.

5. Historical references • This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has The 1948 Donora smog was a historic air inversion resulting in a wall of smog that The fog started building up in Donora on October 27, 1948 Hydrogen fluoride and sulfur dioxide emissions from U.S. Steel's Donora Zinc Works spreaded an people killed some left dying an some left injured.

6. Description • The 1948 Donora smog was a historic air inversion resulting in a wall of smog that killed 20 people and sickened 7,000 more in Donora, Pennsylvania, a mill town on the Monongahela River, 24 miles (39 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. The event is the basis of the Donora Smog Museum.

7. The cause • Horror visited the US Steel company-town of Donora on Halloween night, 1948, when a temperature inversion descended on the town. Fumes from US Steel's smelting plants blanketed the town for four days, and crept murderously into the citizens' homes. If the smog had lasted another evening "the casualty list would have been 1,000 instead of 20," said local doctor William Rongaus at the time. Later investigations by Rongaus and others indicated that one-third of the town's 14,000 residents were affected by the smog. Hundreds of residents were evacuated or hospitalized.

8. Cleanup efforts • The investigation of this incident by state and federal health officials resulted in the first meaningful federal and state laws to control air pollution and marked the beginning of modern efforts to assess and deal with the health threats from air pollution.

9. Environmental concepts chapter 12 • What causes air pollution? Natural events that pollute the air include forest fires, volcanic eruptions, wind erosion, pollen dispersal, and chemical particles. • Air ,Noise, and light pollution • Acid prediction

10. Damage report • Lives and effected • 20 people died and sickened 7,000 people. • Ecosystems destroyed • in this disaster is air quality

11. Lessons learned • The lessons learned at Donora resulted in the passage of the 1955 Clean Air Act America's worst air pollution disaster may have been caused by fluoride emissions: 50 years later, vital records are still missing.

12. Could it happen again? • Yes, this disaster could happen again ,even with the laws protecting the environment , and with technology and industry on the rise our air, water, and land is always under a threat of disaster.