1966 – Nov 23-25, Thanksgiving weekend Smog, New York City, NY — 168

–~400 Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). 1982, p. 267.
–~200 Dwyer, Jim. “Remembering the City Where the Smog Could Kill.” NYT, 2-28-2017.
— 168 Bird, David. “November Smog Killed 168 Here.” New York Times, 10-27-1967.
— 168 Chhatwal, et al. Encyclopaedia Dictionary of the Environment. 2004, p. 855.

Narrative Information

Bird: “The three-day smog last Thanksgiving caused 168 deaths according to a pape4r presented here yesterday at a symposium on air pollution and respiratory diseases. The figure was given by Dr. Leonard Greenburg, chairman of the department of environmental and preventive medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He said a study had shown that there had been 24 deaths a day attributable to the smog over a seven-day period last November.

“Other speakers at the symposium urged special smog-free shelters be set up in hospitals to guard against death in future environmental incidents. The symposium was held at the United States Naval Hospital in St. Albans, Queens.

“Dr. Greenburg noted that while the smog persisted for only three days, beginning Nov. 23, its killing effect lasted four additional days. Even this, he said, was only the immediate delayed effect, for lung damage suffered during the period would probably be a contributing factor in diseases suffered by New Yorkers for years to come.

‘Smog Shelters’ Urged

“Dr. Greenburg said the study, which he and two colleagues had undertaken, showed that over the years the death rate for that period of November had been fairly constant over the years, averaging 237 a day. During the smog episode it jumped to 261. Dr. Marvin Glasser and Dr. Franklin Field, both of Yeshiva University, which includes the Einstein College, joined him in the study.

“Dr. Stephen M. Ayres, director of the Cardio-Pulmonary Laboratory at St. Vincent’s Hospital, suggested ‘smog shelters’ with carefully purified air to protect persons in future episodes. Those most affected by smog, Dr. Ayres said, are ‘older individuals with pre-existing cardiac or pulmonary disease.’ He said that hospital air today was much too dirty. Tests had shown, he noted, that air in an ordinary hospital room has some 1.5 million particles of dirt for each cubic foot. His smog shelters would reduce this to 100 particles a cubic foot.” (Bird, David. “November Smog Killed 168 Here.” New York Times, 10-27-1967.)

Cornell: “New York City (smog). Thanksgiving Day 1966: An estimated 400 people succumbed to respiratory failure and heart attacks brought on by extreme smog conditions over the New York-New Jersey area during the Thanksgiving Day weekend. Hundreds of other people living in the Northeast Corridor are suspected to have died as a result of a temperature inversion extending over much of the eastern New York and southern New England area.” (Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982, p. 267.)

Dwyer: “Once upon a time, you could touch the air in New York. It was that filthy. No sensible person would put a toe in most of the waterways….

“Thanksgiving weekend in 1966 was warm, and a haze of smog — sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide — wrapped around the city. About 200 people died, a toll similar to a smog crisis in 1953.

“Whether from polluted air or heavy cigarette smoking, the fastest-growing cause of death in New York during the 1960s was pulmonary emphysema. Deaths from chronic bronchitis also soared. ‘On the autopsy table it’s unmistakable,’ a city medical examiner told The New York Times in 1970. ‘The persons who spent his life in the Adirondacks has nice pink lung. The city dweller’s are black as coal.’….” (Dwyer, Jim. “Remembering the City Where the Smog Could Kill.” NYT, 2-28-2017.)

Fensterstock and Fankhauser: “….Meteorologists of the Air Resources Cincinnati Laboratory (Environmental Science Services Administration) at the National Center for Air Pollution Control issues advisories or forecasts of extended periods of restricted natural ventilation, i.e., atmospheric stagnation. This report documents one such forecasted stagnation period which occurred in the Eastern United States during late November 1966. During the stagnation period, air quality deteriorated significantly. An analysis of air quality data from a number of cities showed elevated [end p.1] levels of selected pollutants for the week preceding the episode even though an advisory was not issue, because the area affected did not fit the criteria for extent and duration concurrently…. [p. 2]” (Fensterstock and Fankhauser. Thanksgiving 1966 Air Pollution Episode in the Eastern United States Durham, NC: U.S. HEW, July 1968.) [Chock-full of data, charts and tables on the phenomenology of the event, but in terms of deaths, only repeats the 1967 Greenburg study results of twenty-four deaths a day over a seven day prior attributed to “the episode.”]

Newspaper

Nov 25: “A blanket of warm air covered the city yesterday [Nov 24], trapping pollutants and sending the air-pollution index close to the danger mark. Officials warned persons with heart, lung or respiratory ailments to stay indoors. From 6 A.M., the amount of Sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and dust-carrying haze was so high that Austin N. Heller, the Commissioner of Air Pollution Control, was on the verge of calling the first-alert stage of the city’s air pollution warning system.

“The air became cleaner in the late morning and early afternoon, but the pollution shot up again in the evening, with the index reaching a high of 60.6 between 8 and 9 P.M. Commission4r Heller said the pollution count was possibly the highest in the city’s history.

Index Only a Guide

“By midnight there had been a sharp drop in the level of pollutants. At 2 A.M. it had fallen to 19.5, although it was expected to rise again this morning. Officials noted that the index was merely a guide based on a formula for measuring the combined amount of Sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and haze or smoke in the air. The average index is 12 and the emergency level is 50 for a 24-hour period. Although the index rose above 50 briefly yesterday, it did not remain there long enough to constitute an emergency.

“Commissioner Heller, who met with his top aides into the early hours of today, said at 1 A.M. that he would determine later in the morning what steps to take to counter the pollution threat, if it continued. He said his laboratory staff would ‘be on vigil all night.’

Incinerators Closed

“In action yesterday, the city ordered all municipal incinerators closed for 24 hours and asked local utility companies to use natural gas to reduce the Sulphur dioxide in the air.

“The Weather Bureau said at 1 A.M. today that the stagnant weather condition probably would continue until tonight, when winds and probably showers should help to clear away the pollutants.

“The health warning came from Dr. Aaron D. Chaves, director of the Health Department’s Bureau of Tuberculosis. Mindful of the 10-day period of stagnant weather in November, 1963 [1953?], when 160 to 260 deaths here were attributed to air pollution, Dr. Chaves said:

Anyone with a chronic lung condition, such as pulmonary emphysema, bronchitis or asthma, anyone with an acute upper respiratory infection – a bad cold – and cardiac patients who could develop a couth placing extra strain on the heart should avoid going out.’

“After the air pollution dropped in the afternoon, Dr. Chaves tempered his previous warning and said he saw no serious health hazard at present. Another city medical adviser said late last night that serious medical problems were not expected at existing levels of pollution, but he cautioned lung patients to remain indoors. The adviser, Dr. Stephen Ayers, said there usually was a lag of 24 hours before the effects of pollution became medically noticeable.

“A spokesman for the air pollution control laboratory gave this explanation for the fluctuations in the air pollution index:

In the morning, heating systems are turned on, people are using incinerators, and they were driving their cars yesterday. As the day grew warmer, the heating systems were used less, the day’s incineration completed, and the cars probably parked at their destination. Then, as night came on, the process began again: the heating systems went back on, people started returning home in their cars. Then, late at night, heating systems in apartment houses and residences were turned down, as the law allows them to be. And so the index fell again.

“Stagnant weather was blamed for the conditions; a massive temperature inversion hung over the Middle Atlantic Coast, trapping the polluted air over the city. This inversion occurs frequently in late autumn, when currents of warm air from the south overlie and imprison surface currents that have been cooled by the earth.
Preliminary Steps Taken

“As the dirty air approached the danger level, the city took preliminary steps to lower the emissions of Sulphur dioxide, the corrosive element that makes a New York smog more dangerous than a Los Angeles smog, in the opinion of Commissioner Heller.

“Consolidated Edison and the Long Island Lighting Company were asked to use natural gas at their plants instead of fuel oil, with its high Sulphur dioxide content. Mr. Heller said they agreed to do this whenever possible.

“All municipal incinerators were closed for 24 hours. These 11 incinerators were recently cited by Mayor Lindsay’s Task Force on Air Pollution as among ‘the worst violators’ of New York’s own laws against pollution.

“The air pollution indexes had been rising Wednesday night, and Commissioner Heller became disturbed enough to order a continuous check on Sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and haze. By midmorning, 18 field inspectors had been told to forget their turkey dinners and tart looking for dirty air. Nine summonses, an unusually high total for a holiday, were issued, mostly for smoke violations. Two Con Edison plants, Ravenswood and Astoria, in Queens, were cited late Wednesday for ‘excessive emission of contaminants.’

Sulphur Dioxide High

“Between 7 and 8 A.M., the Sulphur dioxide reached 0.97 parts per million units of air. The normal level is 0.20.

“The carbon monoxide content peaked at 10 around midnight, and 10 is the danger stage if maintained for several hours. Fortunately, the level of carbon monoxide tapered off when Sulphur dioxide and haze were becoming more menacing.

“Dust-carrying haze peaked at 7.5

“The declaration of an air pollution alert depends not only on the degree but also on the duration of contamination. The first stage of an alert can be called when two of the three basic elements of pollution – carbon monoxide, Sulphur dioxide and smoke – pass a certain level for four hours and when the Weather Bureau predicts that the temperature inversion condition will persist for 36 hours, according to a spokesman for Commissioner Heller. He said the warning levels were reached when the air contained .7 parts per million of Sulphur dioxide, 10 parts per million of carbon monoxide and 7.5 parts per million of smoke or haze.

“At no time yesterday, he said, were two of the three levels surpassed for a four-hour period. And, he added, the weather bureau predicted the inversion condition would last about 24 hours, not 36 hours. Therefore, the spokesman said, it was not necessary to call the first-stage alert. Commissioner Heller said earlier, however, that the pollutant levels had come ‘very, very close’ to the required levels for an alert.

“A first-stage alert means that New Yorkers will be asked to reduce fuel consumption and the use of their automobiles voluntarily.

“A second-stage alert is called when Sulphur dioxide reads 1.5, carbon monoxide 20 and haze 9 for a period of two hours. This stage means the banning of the use of fuel oil, a limitation on industrial operations and a strong request for voluntary reduction of all except essential motor traffic.

“A third-stage alert, coming when Sulphur dioxide reaches 2, carbon monoxide 30 and haze 10 for a period of one hour, demands drastic measures. The city can place a curfew on lighting and heating, creating a ‘brownout’ situation similar to that imposed during World War II. Auto traffic, public transportation and industrial activity are stringently reduced.

“Seymour Melman, member of the Mayor’s Task Force on Air Pollution, said last night that this warning system, drawn up by the New York-New Jersey Cooperative Committee on Interstate Air Pollution, did not go far enough. Mr. Melman, professor of industrial engineering at Columbia University, said that whenever air pollution reached ‘medically dangerous levels’ these steps should be mandatory:

The prohibition of other than emergency street vehicular traffic.

The shutdown of public and private incinerators.

The shutdown of large fuel-using and chemical-process plants, other than those essential for public safety.

The lowering of space-heating standards by 10 degrees.

“He also recommended that Con Edison shift to maximum use of gas as a fuel in its power plants, and shut down part of its New York production by importing power from outside the city.

“Representative William F. Ryan, Manhattan Democrat, said he had sent a telegram to John W. Gardner, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, urging the convening of an emergency meeting of Governor Rockefeller, Gov. Richard J. Hughes of New Jersey and other regional officials to implement the air-pollution program.” (New York Times. “Smog Here Nears The Danger Point; Patients Warned.” 11-25-1966, pp. 1 and 44.)

Nov 26: “New York (AP) – Light overnight rain and an increase in wind movement failed today to break the smog cover that has gripped the city for four days. But for most of the smog-stricken Eastern seaboard the air pollution crisis was lifting with the entry of rain and wind.

“The New York City Department of Air Pollution continued its antipollution alert and the Weather Bureau said a minor improvement in the dirty air had occurred, but nothing like what was expected…

“The wind shift from south to northwesterly was so light that it appeared to have little effect in improving air conditions. Sunshine and increasing winds were expected to clear the air further, but no one was breathing easy yet.

“Since Wednesday [Nov 23] the inert air, getting dirtier all the while, clung over communities from Massachusetts to Maryland. Hardest hit were metropolitan areas with their mass industry and transit.

“New York City, Connecticut and New Jersey were placed on antipollution alers. A voluntary ban on use of cars was urged.

“New York Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller ordered a first alert against pollution for the New York City area. First alerts, also in effect in New Jersey and Connecticut, are voluntary as are second alerts. A third alert is mandatory and would shut down factories and bar autos and buses from the streets.

“Thursday the smog was the thickest and the dangers the greatest.

“In all affected areas, victims of heart disease, emphysema and chronic bronchitis were advised to remain indoors, with windows closed, and to use air conditioners if possible.

“In Philadelphia, the pollution index hit the top scale reading of 10. City Health Commissioner Norman Ingraham said the top reading was not really serious temporarily, but it becomes dangerous ‘when such maximum conditions persist for several days.’

“New York’s air pollution ‘norm’ on a different scale has been set at 12, and the danger level at 50. Thursday the index read 60.6. At midnight Friday night it was down to 17.0. A spokesman for the New York Air Pollution Control Commission said the index dropped to 15.0 at 6 a.m.

“The Weather Bureau said a wind shift was expected early today with northwesterly winds up to 10 m.p.h. ….

“Connecticut Health Commissioner Franklin M. Foote said that pollution in that state reached four times higher than average.

“Baltimore reported ‘mostly a smoke-type smog’.” (Associated Press/Ray Kohn. “Rain Removes Smog Except In New York.” Daily Times-News, Burlington, NC. 11-26-1966, p. 1.)

Sources

Associated Press/Ray Kohn. “Rain Removes Smog Except In New York.” Daily Times-News, Burlington, NC. 11-26-1966, p. 1. Accessed 5-8-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/burlington-daily-times-news-nov-26-1966-p-1/

Bird, David. “November Smog Killed 168 Here.” New York Times, 10-27-1967. Accessed 5-8-2020 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1967/10/27/82162296.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0

Chhatwal, G.R., D.K. Pandey, and K.K. Nanda (Eds.). Encyclopaedia Dictionary of the Environment. New Delhi: Anmol Publications Pvt Ltd., 2004, 1328 pages. Partially digitized by Google. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=q31xAq9tz3AC

Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982.

Dwyer, Jim. “Remembering the City Where the Smog Could Kill.” NYT, 2-28-2017. Accessed 5-8-2020 at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/28/nyregion/new-york-city-smog.html

Fensterstock, Jack C. (Air Quality and Emission Data Program), and Robert K. Fankhauser (Meteorology Program). Thanksgiving 1966 Air Pollution Episode in the Eastern United States (National Air Pollution Control Administration Publication No. AP-45). Durham, NC: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Consumer Protection and Environmental Health Service, National Air Pollution Control Administration, July 1968. Accessed 5-8-2020 at: https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyNET.exe/20013P7R.txt?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=EPA&Index=Prior%20to%201976&Docs=&Query=&Time=&EndTime=&SearchMethod=1&TocRestrict=n&Toc=&TocEntry=&QField=&QFieldYear=&QFieldMonth=&QFieldDay=&UseQField=&IntQFieldOp=0&ExtQFieldOp=0&XmlQuery=&File=D%3A%5CZYFILES%5CINDEX%20DATA%5C70THRU75%5CTXT%5C00000005%5C20013P7R.txt&User=ANONYMOUS&Password=anonymous&SortMethod=h%7C-&MaximumDocuments=1&FuzzyDegree=0&ImageQuality=r105g16/r105g16/x150y150g16/i600&Display=hpfr&DefSeekPage=x&SearchBack=ZyActionL&Back=ZyActionS&BackDesc=Results%20page&MaximumPages=1&ZyEntry=1

New York Times. “Smog Here Nears The Danger Point; Patients Warned.” 11-25-1966, pp. 1 and 44. Accessed 5-8-2020 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1966/11/25/82968740.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0