History of Air Pollution

Air pollution is not a new phenomenon. In fact it has been a problem since 900 BC when Hit, a town located West of Babylon, was the center of asphalt mining. King Tukulti, an Egyptian king, visited the town and reported a strange smell in the air generated by the ulmeta rocks. These rocks are high in sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide.

Centuries later in 1157, Eleanor, Henry II's wife, left her home in Nottingham, England because the pollution caused by burning wood was "unbearable." In the 1300s England began to use coal instead of wood for heat, causing major air pollution problems. To clean up London's air, King Edward I, outlawed coal burning exclaiming, "…whosoever shall be found guilty of burning coal shall suffer the loss of his head."

Meuse Valley, Belgium

In the 20th century a number of air pollution disasters occurred around the world. In 1930 in Meuse Valley, Belgium, the 15-mile valley trapped pollutants released by coke ovens, steel mills, blast furnaces, zinc smelters, glass factories, and sulfuric acid plants. Industrial pollution in the form of sulfur dioxide killed 63 people and made 600 more ill. Sulfur dioxide and fog droplets combust to form tiny particles that penetrate deeply into the lungs.

Donora, Pennsylvania

In 1948, the United States experienced its first major air pollution catastrophe in Donora, Pennsylvania. Effluents from a number of industries, including a sulfuric acid plant, a steel mill, and a zinc production plant, became trapped in a valley by a temperature inversion and produced an un-breathable mixture of fog and pollution. Six-thousand suffered illnesses ranging from sore throats to nausea. There were 20 deaths in three days. Sulfur dioxide was estimated to reach levels as high as 5,500 ug/m3.

London, England

Known today as "The London Fog," London experienced the worst air pollution disaster ever reported from December 5 to 8, 1952. With daily temperatures below average, fireplaces and industries supplied pollutants that combined with condensation in the air to form a dense fog. Concentrations of pollutants reached very high levels under these adverse conditions. The fog finally cleared away, but four thousand Londoners had perished.

Bhopal, India

Perhaps the biggest air pollution disaster of all time occurred in Bhopal, India in 1984 when a toxic cloud drifted over the city from the Union Carbide pesticide plant. This gas leak managed to kill twenty thousand people and permanently injure a whopping 120,000.

In Houston there have been no large-scale air pollution disasters, but due to the toxins produced by the vast petrochemical industry, Harris County is the third highest toxic air polluter among all the counties in the US. Environmental Defense ranks the county among the top 10% of counties in the country for added cancer and non-cancer risk due to toxic air pollution. The Administration's recent cutbacks of the Clean Air Act only add to the intensity of the issue. Carelessly regulated industry can lead to dangerous consequences. It is a form of social injustice that must not be tolerated, for the sake of the health of those who live near and downwind of these industries.