Thursday, May 15,1972
Pollutants trapped
Smog Causes Deaths
(Editor's Note: the following is
the first story in a series on the
air pollution problem.)
by Bill Stuble
Collegian Staff Writer
The sun was showing not
shining over central London at
high noon Sunday, Dec. 7, 1952.
A New York Times reporter said
it looked like an unlit Chinese
lantern even at noon although
there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
This was the third day of an
unusual air pollution episode
caused by a meterological
phenomenon known as
temperature inversion.
Weathermen explained that an
extremely slow moving mass of
air had moved in over the city
with the result that a blanket of
warm air was trapping beneath it
a layer of cooler air and much
of the city's air pollution.
When rainfall and a brisk wind
finally cleared the air, medical
reports listed 4,000 deaths over
the normal rate and many
illnesses as a result of the nearly
black smog that covered the
city.
This was only one such
incident in the annals of air
pollution. A similar smog struck
London in 1956 resulting in
approximately 1,000 deaths and
as early as 1930 the industrial
Meuse Valley in Belgium was hit
by a temperature inversion that
claimed 60 lives.
Donora, Pa., was the scene of
a death-dealing smog in 1948.
Located at a sharp bend in the
Monongahela River 25 miles
southeast of Pittsburgh, Donora
suffered the most serious smog
in terms of percentage of
population affected. Twenty
elderly persons died and 4,500
of the town's 13,000 residents
became ill.
Experts said that if a similar
smog struck New York City,
11,000 persons would die and
four million would become ill.
New York City did suffer a
temperature inversion in
November 1966 which resulted
in an estimated 100 deaths.
A heavy soot in Donora's
atmosphere was so dense,
according to The Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette, that it precipitated
on paved streets causing
pedestrians to leave footprints
where they stepped.
The Post-Gazette might have
had this in mind when it
editorialized on Nov. 1, 1948 on
the Donora incident, " . . . no
one is any more free to throw
gas refuge into the air than he is
to dump garbage in the streets."
In any case the statement could
qualify as one of the first
common laws of air pollution.
Today the possibilities of
local air pollution emergencies
are minimized by alert city
authorities
New York City maintains an
air pollutant monitoring system
which provides daily its Air
Pollution Index,, a relative
indicator of the presence of
three major pollutants in the
city's atmosphere. When the
pollution reached dangerous
levels in the 1966 emergency,
city authorities immediately
ordered the shutdown of waste
incinerators and advised
landlords to lower apartment
temperatures to 60 degrees,
thereby minimizing the
pollution emitted from coal and
fuel oil burning furnaces.
Also, unnecessary travel by
automobile was discouraged and
power plants were ordered to
switch to low sulfur content fuel
where possible.
There are many facets to the
air pollution problem, however;
emergencies caused by
temperature inversions are not
the bit:est •roblem.
Francis A. Wood, professor of
plant pathology, spoke Oct. 18
on "The Impact of City Air
Pollution on Plant Life."
Citing Johnstown as the most
seriously air-polluted city in
Pennsylvania, he recalled a
project there in which 600 white
pine seedlings were planted, of
which only three or four
survived. He explained the white
pine was sensitive to the air
pollution emitted by local steel
mills.
"If you want to see the
effects of air pollution on
vegetation," Wood said, "don't
go into well-established cities
where only resistant strains have
survived."
However, air pollution is not
dangerous in high concentrations
only. Research is being done at
the University's Center for Air
Environment Studies on the
low-level, long-term effects of
contaminated air.
Principle investigator Rodney
A. Rhoades, assistant professor
of physiology, reports a
significant change in lung tissue
elasticity, among other ailments,
in various mammals exposed to
low levels of several primary air
pollutants for periods of nine
months.
In the distant future there
may be some new prospects for
danger. For example, air
pollution threatens to disrupt
weather conditions on a
world-wide scale according to
some scientists. Carbon dioxide,
although not officially
considered an air pollutant, has
the profound ability to permit
infra-red (heat) rays from the
sun to penetrate the earth's
atmosphere while blocking those
same rays from leaving through
the atmosphere after they reflect
off the earth's surface. The
result is a global increase in
temperature.
The effects of this will be
inconsequential at least until the
year 2000, according to William
J. Moroz, director of the Center
for Air Environment Studies and
professor of mechanical
engineering. He also pointed out
that air pollution in the form of
particles has the reverse effect of
carbon dioxide in interfering
with the passage of infra-red rays
through the atmosphere, thus
reducing the problem somewhat.
In any case, there are few
signs that air pollution control
will be a temporary chore. Even
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
declared in its 1948 editorial on
the Donora incident, "The job is
far from fin ish ed ."
Classified Ad
Single and double rooms for
rent, each $5O per month.
Kitchen privileges included.
Members of HOPS welcome. Call
Dan Parthemore, 234-5638,
1603 Thompson St., Harrisburg.
THE CAPITOLIST
DTK
Mental
Health
Seminar
Delta Tau Kappa, the
international social science
honor society, will sponsor a
symposium, "Careers in Mental
Health", Thursday, May 18,
beginning at 12:00 p.m. in the
auditorium.
The seminar, which is open to
the public, has as its objective to
inform college students of
opportunities as volunteers,
student-interns and
post-graduate work in the field
of mental health.
Several area mental health
personnel will participate in the
symposium. The following
people are scheduled to serve on
the panel of speakers: Harold D.
Keister, Director, Intermediate
Care Unit, Harrisburg State
Hospital; Delores Loncaric, a
nurse and caseworker based at
the North Dauphin County
Mental Health Clinic; Barbara
Scheffer, Director, Volunteer
Resources, Harrisburg State
Hospital; John S. Brauner, a
caseworker with Goodwill
Industries; Dennis Felty,
Program Director, Harrisburg
Hospital Mental Health Center;
and John K. Stauffer, Assistant
Director, the Aurora Club,
which is a mental health group.
Stauffer is also a student at
Capitol Campus.
Miss Scheffer will serve as
panel moderator. Each panel
representative will briefly
explain the basic function of his
rehabilitative services. Those
attending the seminar may pose
questions to the panel by
presenting them on note cards
and giving them to the
moderator.
Elect
Don
Snyder
8291 Nelson
SU Treasurer
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College
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Volunteers
Camp Sertoma needs help.
The summer camp for mentally
retarded children is in dire need
of maintenance work, which
must be completed for the camp
to open on June 6.
The work would entail
cleaning of cabins, policing the
grounds, and some painting. The
camp is located at the foot of
Blue Mountain near
chafa sj
It d oesn ' t
amount
to much.
$1,999. *
Which isn't much at all considering all the car
has amounted to in 23 years
Cameron Auto , Inc.
3400 Paxton Street
Harrisburg, Pa. Across from the
Harrisburg East Mall
*P.O.E. suggested retail price, Sedan 111.
Local taxes, other dealer charges not included.
Vote:
1014 Plane Street, Middletown, Pa
EA Vice-Pres.
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Vote Today
SGA PRESIDENT
EMI NM
For Action
Linglestown, approximately a 30
minute drive from campus.
A campus group is planning to
go to Sertoma on Saturday, May
20. Volunteers could meet al the
Cafeteria at 9:00 A.M. and a
motorcade could form. If you
wish to help or for further
information, call John Slanhier
at 232-6675 or Bob Bonaker at
944- I 788.
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