The Meuse Valley near Liege was one of Belgium’s leading steel industry sites, with a high concentration of iron mills and smelters. In December of 1930, a thick smog that contained multiple pollutants, including sulphur, covered the densely populated valley for several days and caused the death of up to 60 persons, as well as several thousand cases of pulmonary attacks. The Meuse Valley incident triggered multiple scientific studies and became one of the earliest cases showing a connection between acute air pollution and severe health problems.
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Further Readings:
- Nemery, Benoit, Peter Hoet, and Abderrahim Nemmar. "The Meuse Valley fog of 1930: an air pollution disaster." Lancet 357 (March 2001): 704-8.
- Roholm, Kaj. "The Fog Disaster in the Meuse Valley, 1930: A Fluorine Intoxication." The Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology 19 (1937): 126-37.
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0
Month:
12
Year:
1930