The St. Louis Smog of 1939
In 1939, a severe smog struck St. Louis, Missouri. All the streetlights and headlights on vehicles had to stay lit 24/7 or else people would risk running into something the fog was so thick. This wasn't a recent problem though. It had been going on for decades before, because of the large-scale burning of bituminous(asphalt) soft coal that provided heat and power for homes, businesses and transport. Back in 1893 an ordinance had been passed by the Council saying that the emission of "thick grey smoke within the corporate limits of St. Louis" was not allowed. The law was unable to be enforced due to the inadequate inspection and enforcement.
In 1933, before the St. Louis Smog happened, the mayor came up with the "citizen smoke committee", to which he appointed Raymond Tucker to be ahead of making the air quality in St. Louis better. Even with these early efforts there was still no impact on the smog problem. So, the mayor had the town switch to a cleaner fuel, oil, coke, gas or anthracite, but they were all too expensive. In a last effort he decided that the townspeople should wash and size their existing coal, allowing it to burn hotter and cleaner. When 1937 rolled around the Smoke Ordinance was passed, which ended with the creation of the "Division of Smoke Regulation in the Department of Public Safety." Just a year before the smog outbreak became serious, emissions from the commercial smokestacks were reduced by two-thirds, but it was still a visible problem since the new law was targeted at larger companies.
At this time 97% of the households still used coal to heat their homes. So the St. Louis Post Dispatch did something about the smog, and became notable for their story. The St. Louis Post Dispatch created a campaign showing the dangers of smog so that they would switch to a cleaner, more efficient coal to help reduce smog levels. Then, on Tuesday, November 28th of 1939 the meteorological temperature inversion had trapped the emissions from the coal close to the ground. It was forevermore known as "the day the sun didn't shine" since it was such a thick cloud of black smoke, it covered all of St. Louis. That day the smog was the worst that anyone had ever seen in the city, and it got the nickname "Black Tuesday". The thick black cloud stayed for a course of nine days over the next month, and finally went away when a rainstorm came. After this incident semi-anthracite was taken from Arkansas for the winters, and it helped to make a significant and permanent improvement in the air quality.
At this time 97% of the households still used coal to heat their homes. So the St. Louis Post Dispatch did something about the smog, and became notable for their story. The St. Louis Post Dispatch created a campaign showing the dangers of smog so that they would switch to a cleaner, more efficient coal to help reduce smog levels. Then, on Tuesday, November 28th of 1939 the meteorological temperature inversion had trapped the emissions from the coal close to the ground. It was forevermore known as "the day the sun didn't shine" since it was such a thick cloud of black smoke, it covered all of St. Louis. That day the smog was the worst that anyone had ever seen in the city, and it got the nickname "Black Tuesday". The thick black cloud stayed for a course of nine days over the next month, and finally went away when a rainstorm came. After this incident semi-anthracite was taken from Arkansas for the winters, and it helped to make a significant and permanent improvement in the air quality.