Among the special studies conducted by the Shellfish Sanitation Technical Service Units of FDA is one geared toward identifying ways to naturally purify polluted shellfish, 1960s.
In 1948, a noxious smog killed 120 people and made 6,000 ill in the steel town of Donora, Pennsylvania. Here PHS engineer George Clayton prepares an air quality device on a hill overlooking Donora.
Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Frances Kelsey of the FDA, the drug thalidomide, which causes deformed limbs in children, was never approved for use in the United States. Dr. Kelsey's work was recognized by President John F. Kennedy in 1962.
