PAGES OF THE PAST
2004
• The Donora Historical Society scheduled an event to commemorate the devastating 1948 smog. Twenty people died and more than 7,000 were hospitalized when severe pollution blanketed the borough. It occurred when a layer of cold, dense air covered the area and didn’t allow the smoke produced by a local zinc mill to escape, turning the atmosphere toxic. The 60th anniversary of the event was marked with the opening of the Donora Smog Museum. This year’s event will include a Town Hall Environmental Summit and a screening of the film “Rumor in the Sky,” which records the oral histories of smog survivors.