![history of automation and effect on environment history of automation and effect on environment](https://img.yumpu.com/28662617/1/500x640/vision-based-navigation-and-tracking.jpg)
Today, policymakers and air quality managers rely on cutting-edge science to establish regulations and make management decisions to reduce and control air pollution with cost-effective approaches.ĮPA's Air and Energy Research conducts a vast amount of this research, producing findings and developing technology vital to our understanding of air pollution. And in 1970, a milestone year, Congress passed the Clean Air Act Amendments which led to the establishment of the nation's air quality standards. States began passing legislation to reduce air pollution. Scientists started investigating the link between air pollution and health. Air pollution had become a harsh consequence of industrial growth across the country and world.Ĭrises like Donora's were widely publicized people took notice and began to act. The situation in Donora was extreme, but it reflected a trend. They sat stewing in the streets, where residents breathed them in lethal doses. But the air pocket left pollutants with no escape route. Steel and zinc smelters had long plagued the town with dirty air. A warm air pocket had passed high above the town, trapping cooler air below and sealing in pollutants.ĭonora was no stranger to pollution. The death toll rose to nearly 40.ĭisturbing photos show Donora's streets hidden under a thick blanket of gray smog. Over five days, nearly half of the town's 14,000 residents experienced severe respiratory or cardiovascular problems. In October 1948, Donora, Pa., was enveloped in a lethal haze. Environmental Protection Agency, states and communities to make decisions to effectively reduce and control air pollution. The research is providing the scientific foundation for the U.S. Air Science 40 - Celebrating Four Decades of Innovative ResearchĮPA's Air and Energy Research is at the forefront of air pollution research to protect public health and the environment.