The Environmental Protection Agency became adamantly involved an scientific communities joined forces to help reduce the smog back down to levels that were previously recorded. What this incident really drove home was that the aspects of air pollution could not be ignored, and there are still many places (including Los Angeles) that suffer from poor air quality days due to smog.

Smog air pollution is essentially a combination of various particle elements that have a chemical reaction with the sunlight. This is why smog is a much more prevalent problem in regions where the sun is stronger for most of the year and the temperature remains higher throughout most seasons.

Worldwide, London, Tehran, and Mexico City have historically suffered from smog air pollution. In the United States, Los Angeles, New York, and various cities in Pennsylvania have had death tolls from smog air pollution.

Smog is not a new phenomenon. In US history, 20 people in Donora, Pennsylvania died from smog. New York has had three major smog air pollution incidents in 1953, 1963, and 1966. Each incident was recorded to have killed between 160 and 250 people. The dangers of smog are serious, and every year there are a number of deaths and hospitalizations due to this ugly killer.

As early as 1306 smog that was related to the emissions caused by the burning of coal fires settled over London, which led to a relatively brief ban on coal fire burning. Of course, since coal was the main source of heat for so many, this ban was lifted as early as possible. While this is not the same type of smog air pollution that we see today, the health effects were just as great.

Later, London experienced what was deemed The Great Smog of 1952, which led to a 4 day death watch that killed over 4,000 people. The remaining 8,000 people who died from this particular smog event took up to six to eight weeks to pass away. This was a smog air pollution event that had catastrophic results.

Smog air pollution has the ability to create or irritate existing health problems. For instance, asthmatics and other people with lung diseases can suffer greatly during a high smog event and in some cases the potential for death is very high.

Living in a smog intense area is more likely to affect the overall health including causes lung diseases, causing interference with normal eye and nose functions, the removal and drying of the protective membranes found in the eyes, nose, and throat, and it can even decrease the body’s ability to fight off infections.

The hearts of many have suffered significantly from the effects of smog, including sudden onset heart attacks. Children and the elderly are greatly susceptible to smog related illnesses, and it is imperative that those living in high smog areas go out of their way to protect themselves.

So if this danger is lurking around us why have we not been able to remove the threat from our world? Basically because we like to drive, or feel we have to drive. We like the convenience of being able to hop in the car and run to the store to buy products that were made in high emission factories.

Car exhaust is a leading cause of smog. In short, smog air pollution is a “fog” of ground level ozone, which includes carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. There are tiny particles of these pollutants that mix with other pollutants and then react in the presence of sunlight. When smog settles over an area it can seem like there is a fog of smoke that covers the ground.

While the standards for vehicle and industry emissions are still tighter than ever, they simply are not tight enough. If we want to eliminate the health effects that go hand in hand with smog air pollution then we have to investigate and support new forms of transportation and industry. The more we can limit the use of emission creating vehicles and factories or power plants, the closer we get to containing the smog monster that has a deadly and frightening power.