Brief History of the Clean Air Act

Brief History of the Clean Air Act

In October 1948, a thick cloud of air pollution formed above the industrial town of Donora, Pennsylvania. The cloud which lingered for five days, killed 20 people and caused sickness in 6,000 of the town's 14,000 people. In 1952, over 3,000 people died in what became known as London's "Killer Fog." The smog was so thick that buses could not run without guides walking ahead of them carrying lanterns.

Events like these alerted us to the dangers that air pollution poses to public health. Several federal and state laws were passed, including the original Clean Air Act of 1963, which established funding for the study and the cleanup of air pollution. But there was no comprehensive federal response to address air pollution until Congress passed a much stronger Clean Air Act in 1970. That same year Congress created the EPA and gave it the primary role in carrying out the law. Since 1970, EPA has been responsible for a variety of Clean Air Act programs to reduce air pollution nationwide.