75th Anniversary of the Donora, PA Event, Worst Air Pollution Disaster in US History
On October 31, a commemorative event will be held in the East Rotunda of the Capitol Building in Harrisburg. Donora, PA’s telling and deadly chemical disaster, the worst in US history, has been largely ignored in Pennsylvania and in the U.S. Why? Did you know about it?
In 1948, an air inversion in the Donora Valley trapped emissions from a local zinc works factory. Fluoride in the emissions killed twenty-plus people within a few days—56 over two weeks—and the aftermath is incalculable. Independent scientist Philip Sadtler documented that fluoride was found at lethal levels in the victim’s blood. Smithsonian Magazine states, “A report by the U.S. Public Health Service counted 5,910 people affected by the smog but failed to name a definite culprit. Life expectancy in the town fell precipitously over the next two decades.
Tuesday’s press conference in the Capital will shine the light on fluoride. Participants will present a timeline of how Donora coincided with the onset of Community Water Fluoridation (CWF), describe the cover-up of the Donora disaster, and how this relevant today. The “F” in PFA’s, the forever chemical being outlawed in many states, is fluoride. Learn more about PFA’s in our toxic environment. Are there any safe levels of fluoride? The National Toxicology Program is about to say no.
Displays will start at 10 a.m., with showings of informational videos throughout the day. Speakers and press conferences will begin at noon.
Legislators and staff are invited to educate themselves on the latest news and research on CWF. Spoiler alert: the Journal of the Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (Oct, 2023) has found a “positive correlation between the percentage of state water fluoridation and fractures for both bone forearm fracture and femur fracture (pediatric). Fluoride levels had positive correlations with fracture rates for all fracture types.”
The public needs protective legislation to end the long-controversial policy of CWF. Water companies are not qualified medical personnel, fluoride has never been FDA approved for oral administration and the treatment of the public for dental decay without their informed consent is illegal and demonstrably ineffective. The risks of neurotoxicity (lowering IQ), dental fluorosis, bone degradation, endocrine disruption, and systemic poisoning through fluoride exposure are severe. The public needs a groundswell of action to make room for science.
Attend and share. PA CHD members. We will need some help in the AM to distribute the announcements and literature to House and Senate committees on Community Water Fluoridation and its detrimental impact on children’s health. Meet us in the East Rotunda at 10am.