 Mary Ochsenhirt Amdur ( February 18 , 1921 – February 16 , 1998 ) was an American toxicologist and public health researcher who worked primarily on pollution . She was charged with studying the effects of the 1948 Donora smog , so she specifically looked into the effects of inhaling Sulfuric acid by experimenting on guinea pigs . Her findings on the respiratory effects related to sulfuric acid led to her being threatened , to her funding being pulled , and to her losing her job at the Harvard School of Public Health in 1953 . Undeterred by the setback , she carried on her research in a different role at Harvard , and subsequently at MIT and New York University . Despite the early controversy related to her work , it was used in the creation of standards in air pollution , and towards the end of her life she received numerous awards and accolades . 
