Killer fog.

Documentary about the 'killer fogs' of London in the 1950s and early 1960s. The film uses a wealth of contemporary film to detail story the tragic fog of 1952. The 1950s footage is interwoven with narration and modern interviews with survivors of the period. The survivors share their memories of the fog and of their loved ones who died because of it. Records from the 13th century show that pollution was already causing stinking, unhealthy fogs in London at that time. Fogs were accepted as a part of life in London. Over the centuries, the industrial lobby successfully thwarted all attempts to control atmospheric pollution. Britain was bankrupt after the Second World War. To pay off the nation's debts, high-grade coal was exported, and cheap, 'dirty' coal was used in power stations and homes in Britain. When people began dying because of the pollution this caused, Churchill's government equivocated, and was reluctant to admit that there was any problem. The film details the repeated warnings which the government chose to ignore. These included a killer fog in Donora, Pennsylvania which was caused by pollution. American epidemiologist Dr Joel Schwartz tried to model the fogs of London, he describes his remarkable realisation that London should not be prone to fogs at all. He realised that the famous fogs of London were being caused by pollution. Harold MacMillan introduced mere cosmetic measures to make it look as if the government was taking action. Only after a possible 100,000 deaths in London due to years of killer fogs, was the government forced to introduce the Clean Air Act, which barred the domestic use of coal.