The Air & Waste Management Association traces its roots to a meeting of municipal smoke inspectors in Milwaukee in June 1907. The inspectors, most representing Midwest and Mid-Atlantic U.S. and Canadian cities, were brought together to share methods and techniques of combating one of the most insidious environmental issues of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The smoke that shrouded most American and European cities 100 years ago exposed residents to ash, soot, and a wide variety of respiratory illnesses. Smoke prevention in North American cities in the late 19th century was tied to the growing penetration of the Progressive political movement, which called for the reform of municipal services.
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