TS D TEX PAIREthat share a

stories or theme topic

Killer

BACKGROUND ART: GARY HANNA; SMOG LETTERING: SHUTTERSTOCK

IN 1952, THE DEADLIEST ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER IN ENGLAND’S HISTORY CHANGED OUR IDEAS ABOUT THE AIR WE BREATHE

22

AS YOU READ, THINK ABOUT: What causes air pollution?

SCHOLASTIC SCOPE • APRIL 2016

L

BY LAUREN TARSHIS

ike so many terrible things, the dark cloud seemed to appear out of nowhere. It swept over London, England—black and poisonous. It brought terror and sickness. It  would kill 12,000 people. SCOPE.SCHOLASTIC.COM • APRIL 2016

23

It was only later, when Brian

Pea-Soup Smog For centuries, London

nightmare, an F5 tornado, or an

went to call the dog in, that he

alien spaceship. This terrifying

realized something was horribly

had been known for its

killer was air—a massive cloud of

wrong. The hazy morning had

fog, a swirling white mist

toxic, polluted air. For five days, it

turned midnight black. The air

that wrapped itself around

blanketed London, causing fear,

had a sharp smell—a mixture of

the city on chilly days. The

panic, and death. It became known

chemicals and rotten eggs. Brian

fog was as much a part

as the Killer Smog of 1952, and it is

and his parents called for Tarzan,

of London as the Big Ben

one of the deadliest environmental

but the dog had escaped through

clock and Buckingham

disasters in history.

a hole in the fence. Normally, the

Palace. It appeared in

shepherd would have been able

countless paintings and

to sniff his way home. But even a

inspired celebrated poems

dog’s powerful sense of smell was

and haunting ghost stories.

December 5, 1952, was a quiet day. Nine-year-old Brian Bone

no match for the smothering smog.

was at home with his parents and

For hours the family searched

gloomy at times, but

15-year-old brother, Hugh. When

the neighborhood, braving the

the fog was natural and

Brian opened the back door to let

darkness as they called for Tarzan.

harmless. Fog, after all, is

out his dog, Tarzan, he noticed that

The dog remained hopelessly lost.

simply microscopic drops

True, it made London

the morning was damp and smoky.

Across London, millions of

But that wasn’t unusual for London

people had been plunged into

at that time of year. The German

darkness. Buses screeched to a halt.

as the city grew more

shepherd trotted into the fenced-in

Trains stopped on their tracks. Cars

crowded and modern, it

backyard, and Brian shut the door

crashed. People stumbled along

wasn’t only fog swirling

and went about his day.

the streets, unable to find their

around London. It was also

of water trapped in the air. By the 1800s, however,

way home. A few got

pollution from factory smokestacks

Smoke belching out of 12 million

so lost they fell into

and millions of home chimneys.

home chimneys created hideously

the Thames River

Much of this pollution came from

green “pea soup” smog.

and drowned. Being

burning coal, which produced an

indoors provided

especially sooty and oily smoke. On

no escape. Black air

foggy days, this smoke stuck to the

crept under doors

drops of water in the air; imagine

and through keyholes,

trillions of tiny water bubbles

filling up homes and

slathered with dirty oil, filling up

offices and hospitals.

every inch of open space.

What was happening?

In 1905, this dark and dirty fog got an official name: smog. By then, smog was already a problem

Brian Bone, about two years before the Killer Smog, with his German shepherd, Tarzan

24

SCHOLASTIC SCOPE • APRIL 2016

A Fact of Life?

in London. It was especially bad on cold winter days. When the temperature dropped, people burned more coal to keep warm.

CENTRAL PRESS/HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES (LONDON); MONTY FRESCO/HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES (POLICEMAN)

Plunged Into Darkness

COURTESY OF BRIAN BONE

This was not a monster from a

Air pollution wasn’t a problem

WHEN DAY TURNED TO NIGHT

ABOVE: Londoners make their way through the darkened streets. RIGHT: A policeman uses a torch to direct traffic through the smog.

be removed only with strong

only in London. The early 1900s

detergent. Many people assumed

were a time of growth for cities

that nothing could be done to make

across Europe as well as the United

the air cleaner.

States. Smog from factories and

In London, coal

steel mills blanketed American

was the cheapest

cities like Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

way to heat a

It turned cities ugly and smelled

home, and most

terrible. Kids playing outdoors

Londoners could

would return home with blackened

not afford cleaner

clothes, their lashes and brows

heating

coated with dark slime that could

systems.



THE FOG IN LITERATURE

In his 1853 novel Bleak House, Charles Dickens used the London fog as a symbol of society’s problems.

SCOPE.SCHOLASTIC.COM • APRIL 2016

25

3YouWAYS Can Reduce

would collapse in the

SMOG

streets. Emergency rooms routinely filled with patients showing signs of smog-related

Cleaning up the air starts with us.

respiratory problems, such as asthma and pneumonia. Chemicals

1

Turn off the light when you leave a room to save electricity. Producing electricity often involves burning fuels such as oil and gas, which contributes to smog.

and particulates in smog can damage the lungs—permanently. Still, decades went by and government leaders took few steps to reduce air pollution. But then came the smog of 1952. This smog was different from others

2

Plant trees around homes and businesses. Trees that shed their leaves provide shade in the summer and let in light in the winter so less energy is needed for heating and cooling. Trees and plants also “clean” air by absorbing harmful gases and releasing oxygen.

before it, more extreme and longer lasting. The unusually cold weather

AMERICA’S TOXIC BREW In 1948, the smog in Donora,

Pennsylvania, turned lethal, sickening half the town and causing 20 deaths. The air was polluted by the city’s railroad yards and steel and zinc plants. The tragedy led to the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955—the first federal law aimed at reducing air pollution.

meant that people were burning more coal than usual to stay warm. There was no wind, nothing to clear away the smog.

The owners of factories and power

It contained toxic chemicals and

plants insisted that reducing

particulates—specks of unburned

remained dark. Schools stayed

pollution would be too expensive.

coal. As Brian and his family

closed. Workers couldn’t get to

And what would happen if they

searched outside for Tarzan, their

their jobs. Even funerals were

had to close their factories? People

lungs were filling with this poison.

canceled; grieving relatives

of modern urban life.

Even before scientists fully

from churches to cemeteries to

the body, there were signs that it

bury their loved ones.

was harmful. On pea-soup smog

A True Disaster

By day three of the smog, there

days in London, schoolkids would

was some good news at the Bone

be hunched over their desks,

house: Tarzan had somehow made

was that smog wasn’t just dirty and

wheezing and hacking as they tried

his way home. But Brian couldn’t

smelly—it was also dangerous.

to do to their work. Elderly people

do much celebrating, because he

What few people understood

26

SCHOLASTIC SCOPE • APRIL 2016

3

couldn’t see well enough to drive

understood how smog damages

SHUTTERSTOCK (ALL IMAGES)

Smog, it seemed, was just a fact

BETTMANN/CORBIS (ALL IMAGES)

would lose their jobs.

So day after day, London

Take the bus, ride a bike, or carpool to school to use less gas, which is a major cause of air pollution.

was sick in bed with a burning,

laws of its own. Since 1955, these

painful cough. He felt as though

laws have supported research on

the smog itself was trapped inside

air pollution and imposed limits

his chest.

on the toxins that can be released

All around London, others

into the air by factories, power

were getting sick too—thousands

plants, cars, and other sources of

and thousands of people. At first,

pollution.

most doctors believed that people

Since then, there have been

were suffering from the flu or

no killer smogs in England or

other typical winter illnesses. Even

America. But dirty air continues

scientists did not immediately

to be a problem in many parts of

make a direct connection between

both countries, thanks largely to

the smog and the growing number

cars and growing populations.

of coughing, wheezing people staggering into hospitals. Soon it became clear that

Smog also remains a truly deadly problem around the world. Beijing, China, and New Delhi,

London was in the grips of a true

India, are just two of dozens of

disaster. The smog wasn’t just

cities frequently shrouded in pea-

making people sick.

soup smogs caused by factories,

It was killing them. By the time the smog finally

burning coal, and car exhaust. According to the World Health

cleared on the fifth day, more

Organization, air pollution is

than 4,000 people had died. In the

the world’s most dangerous

coming months, roughly 8,000

environmental problem. Millions

more would die from illnesses

suffer from pollution-related

related to the smog.

health problems such as asthma. In 2012, about 7 million people

New Laws for Cleaner Air The Killer Smog of 1952 changed

died from exposure to dirty air. Few understand the dangers of

the way people thought about air

air pollution better than survivors

pollution. For the first time, there

of the Killer Smog of 1952—like

could be no doubt that smog was

Brian Bone.

a deadly problem. Over the next

Happily, Brian recovered from

three years, the British government

his illness. But throughout his

passed laws designed to make

life, he has suffered from lung

air cleaner. Polluting factories

problems that may have been

were moved outside the city. The

caused by the smog.

government helped people pay for

Today, at age 72, Brian

cleaner heating systems that didn’t

understands what a gift it is to

rely on dirty coal.

take a deep breath of sweet,

America followed with clean-air

fresh air.

•

SCOPE.SCHOLASTIC.COM • APRIL 2016

 27

NEWS ARTICLE

Tuesday, December 8, 2015 Officials in Beijing issued

at home with her 10-year-old son.

the red alert to try to rein in

most is that my child may

“Air pollution is a huge problem

the smog and to show residents

have a very negative view of

that we ignored early on, while

that the government was taking

nature,” said café manager

we concentrated on economic

action. During the alert, the

Kan Tingting, 35. Tingting

development,” she said. “Now we

number of cars allowed on the

remained indoors with her

are paying the price.”

road was restricted, so many

3-year-old daughter—one of

workers couldn’t get to their

some 2 million schoolchildren

jobs. Others had to stay home

affected by the school

with their children, as Beijing’s

closures. “She loves nature

emergency response plan to

3,200 schools were ordered to

much less than she would in a

smog since 2013. Until now,

close for several days.

normal environment. I don’t

however, it had never sounded

want her to grow up thinking

a red alert. Many residents

nature is ugly.”

wondered why.

The inconvenience caused

Children wear masks to help protect their lungs from smog. Today, Chinese people rank air pollution as one of their country’s most serious problems.

“What bothers me the

by the red alert showed residents just how severe

In another corner of

Devil’s Handshake Beijing has had a color-coded

Did city officials fear the

China’s environmental crisis

Beijing, university professor

economic losses that might

has become.

Wang Bei was bunkered down

result?

Smog So Thick, Beijing Comes to a Standstill

In recent years, China has made a devil’s handshake:

Air pollution in Beijing, China, has become a public health crisis

the trading of a healthy living environment for extremely

By Edward Wong BEIJING, CHINA—Residents

people of the health dangers. Yet

Paying the Price

government leaders try to deal

across this city awoke to

measures, the toxic air grew

have poor air quality. In fact,

with this dystopian scenario,

an environmental state of

worse, shrouding China’s capital

the air in China is among

many are realizing that lasting

emergency as poisonous

city of more than 20 million

the worst in the world. Rapid

change could take years, maybe

air quality prompted the

people in a soupy, metallic haze.

industrialization, burning coal

decades.

force drivers off the road, and

dim streets was like strolling

the number of people who own

shut down factories.

through a coal mine. The city’s

cars have all contributed to the

air quality index read 308,

problem. According to some

declared a “red alert” over air

rated “hazardous” by United

estimates, as many as 1 million

pollution. It also broadcast what

States standards. At that level,

people in China die each year

sounded like bombing raid

people should not even set foot

from diseases linked to the

alerts in the subways to warn

outdoors.

polluted air.

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES, DECEMBER 8, 2015. COPYRIGHT 2015 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY. USED BY PERMISSION.

SCHOLASTIC SCOPE • APRIL 2016

YU HONGEN/IMAGINECHINA/CORBIS

By 4 p.m., walking the

CHENG XUEHU/IMAGINECHINA/AP IMAGES

for power, and a quick rise in

government to close schools,

On Monday, the government

28

fast economic growth. Now, as

Cities in China regularly

even with those extraordinary

It looks like night, but this photo was taken during the morning rush hour in Beijing.

“Shutting down factories is not ideal for the economy,” said Zhao Ling, a technology salesman. “But health should come first.”

•

WRITING CONTEST How has smog impacted the lives of people throughout history? Has enough been done to solve the problem? Use details from both articles to support your answer. Send your essay to KILLER SMOG CONTEST. Five winners will each receive The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. GET THIS ACTIVITY ONLINE

SCOPE.SCHOLASTIC.COM • APRIL 2016

29