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Meet the Toxicologist Who Nailed the Smelter Industry After the Donora Smog
Who was Mary Amdur, and how does she relate to the Donora smog disaster?
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What Donora’s Smog Plaque Gets Right … And Wrong
A prominent bronze plaque at the southern entrance to Donora honors smog victims…and then some.
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Was There a 21st Victim of the Donora Death Fog?
I thought I had determined the final count of victims from the Donora Death Fog. I was wrong.
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How Were Lawsuits Settled After the Donora Death Fog?
After Susan Gnora died in the smog, a settlement with US Steel allowed each of her eight children, all of whom were age 20 or older, to receive a bit over half the cost of a new TV.
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Full List of Donora Smog Victims
So, who *really* died in the Donora Death Fog?
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The Curious Case of Stanley Sawa
This post was updated Feb. 14, 2020, based on information obtained from Stanley Sawa’s son. One of the first stories I heard about the Donora smog of 1948 concerned the football game between the Donora Dragons and the Monongahela Wildcats on Saturday October 31. Donora lost the game 27–7, a disheartening loss to be sure.…
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Where Did the Smog Victims Live and Die?
Knowing where each victim lived — and died — can be instructive for several reasons. Consider how many of those victims and their families must have known each other.
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When Did Death Fog Victims Perish?
Ceh and Kirkwood were the first Donorans to die in the Donora Death Fog of 1948. At least 18 more followed, most of them the same night. Ceh died from sudden heart failure, Jeanie of asthma. Both of their death certificates indicate they died at 2:00 AM on the deadliest day of the smog, Saturday, October 30,…
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Could Donora Happen Again? Here in the US?
Certainly there have been strides made in the nation’s ability to combat air pollution. The greater Pittsburgh area, which once served basically as “Air Pollution Central” due to the many steel plants there, has seen continued progress (right) for many years, as have most cities throughout the U.S. We need to remain fully committed to…
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Do You Know Any of These Donora Smog Victims?
Four people are sometimes listed as having perished in smog, but for many reasons finding definitive information on them has proven extremely difficult. They are Steve Faulchak, Ruth Jones, and Alice Ward.
