Mary Amdur (1921-1998) was a researcher who shaped our understanding of the negative effects of air pollution. Her work laid the groundwork for clean air regulations in America that are still in place today.
Mary Amdur (1921-1998) was a researcher who shaped our understanding of the negative effects of air pollution. Her work laid the groundwork for clean air regulations in America that are still in place today.
History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, and Ale Tejeda. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Grace Lynch, creator and host of the WMN show - As She Rises. For the next two weeks the team behind As She Rises is taking over as your guest hosts for Womanica.
As She Rises is a show that personalizes the climate crisis. This month, for our second season, we’re highlighting stories of climate progress that can help give us the hope we need to keep going. The show features poets and activists much like your Eco Warrior of the day.
Today, we’re talking about a woman whose research shaped our understanding of the negative effects of air pollution. Her work laid the groundwork for clean air regulations in America that are still in place today.
Let’s talk about Mary Amdur.
Mary was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on February 18, 1921. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh in 1943, and received a PhD in biochemistry from Cornell only three years later. After graduation, she worked at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary before she took a job at the Harvard School of Public Health to study emissions in 1949.
The year prior, a thick yellow fog descended onto Donora and Webster, two small towns near Pittsburgh. The towns were right next to steel and zinc plants that had been pumping emissions into the air - a change in atmospheric temperature trapped the pollutants near the ground.
People living in Donora reported difficulty breathing, head and chest pain, and nausea. In some cases, people’s skin turned blue from lack of oxygen. The fog was so thick that it was impossible to drive - ambulances had to be led down streets by people on foot. Finally, five days later, it rained and the smog cleared. But by then, 20 people had died.
At the time, little was known about how the pollutants emitted from steel and zinc plants impacted the human body. Mary was determined to find out.
As part of her research, Mary bought guinea pigs with her own money and placed them in humid chambers. Then, she sprayed the guinea pigs with a mist of sulfuric acid and sulfur dioxide, and cataloged the dramatic negative effects the animals had from inhaling the toxins.
Her research pointed to the fact that pollutants emitted by large factories caused real harm to humans. But the lab in which she was conducting the research, was partially funded by the American Smelting and Refining Company - whose plants emitted sulfur dioxide.
When they learned about her research exposing the negative effects of inhaling sulfur dioxide, they pressured her to withdraw her research from publication. When she refused, her boss terminated her project.
Mary was undeterred. She started a new job at Harvard’s physiology department, and eventually published her findings. She also developed a model to study how mammals reacted to inhaling sulfur dioxide and other toxic particles. This model served as the foundation for the next forty years of her work.
Mary worked at Harvard for nearly thirty years, continuing her research on the adverse effects of air pollutants. In all her time there, she was never given tenure.
In 1977, she moved to MIT’s Energy Laboratory, where she studied the effects of inhaling pollutants produced from burning fossil fuels. She worked at MIT for twelve years, and once again never received tenure. In 1989, Mary left MIT to join NYU’s Institute of Environmental Medicine.
Over the course of her career, Mary received numerous awards for her research accomplishments. In 1997 she was the first woman to receive the Merit Award from the Society of Toxicology.
Her groundbreaking research was key in the passage of the Clean Air Act of 1966, and the Air Quality Act of 1967. But beyond her academic prowess, she was also a beloved member of her community. Peers and students remember her for her compassion, honesty, her Easter hot cross buns and Halloween ginger cookies.
Mary died on February 16, 1998. She was 76 years old.
For more information and pictures of some of the work we’re talking about, find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Check out the second season of As She Rises wherever you’re listening right now.
And special thanks to Jenny and Liz Kaplan for inviting me to guest host this episode.
Talk to you tomorrow!