National Air Pollution Symposium[edit]
SRI participant Paul Magill discussing the smog on Black Friday in Los Angeles at the first air pollution conference in 1949
The first National Air Pollution Symposium in the United States was held in 1949 and hosted by Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International).[7] At first, smaller governments were responsible for the passage and enforcement of such legislation.[8] The main purpose of the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 was to provide research assistance to find a way to control air pollution from its source. A total of $5 million was granted to the public health service for a five-year period to conduct this research.[6] According to a private website, the amount was $3 million allotted per year for the five-year period of research