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From Above: Acid Rain
l
t was once thought that at
least the water from rain or
snow could be depended
upon to be pure and clean.
But not anymore!
The many tons of nitrogen
oxides and sulfur dioxides
daily spewed into the air by
emissions from automobiles,
oil production facilities.
coal-burning power plants
and other industrial sources
do not stay there. They
come back down. They
come down as dry acidic
powder. Or they mix with
moisture in the atmosphere
to come down in rain, snow
and fog as nitric or sulfuric
acid.
These acidic deposits are
the subject of a scientific
and political storm ttíat has
state pitted against state,
province against province,
nation against nation,
ideology against ideology.
Airborne pollutants do not
respect politically designated
borders. What falls in one
area may have had its origin
in smokestacks or auto
exhausts hundreds of miles
away. Thus, the Canadian
government and parts of the
northeastern United States
point an accusing finger at
the industrial midwestern
states. Likewise,
Scandinavian countries
blame European industrial
centers to the south for
certain ecological damage
they have been suffering.
Acid rain-or acid fog,
which can be 10 times more
acidic than rain-is said to
be responsible for a wide
variety of harmful effects:
dead lakes, sterile fish,
decimated forests, lifeless
soil, deteriorating statuary,
eroding architecture, marred
finishes on motor vehicles
and lawn furniture,
aggravated respiratory
conditions and other health
problems.
Much controversy rages
concerning to what degree
acid rain and related
phenomena are actually
caused by the effects of
human activity on rain, snow
and fog. Industrial interests
contend that even if the
Below: Poisoned Wells
T
he public is becoming
more skeptical whenever
experts offer their opinions.
Take the case of TCE for
example. TCE is the
abbreviation for
trichloroethylene, an
industrial chemical widely
used in the United States for
the last 60 years. lt is now
suspected of causing
cancer.
Cheap and plentiful, the
chemical has been the most
popular solvent. its uses
ranging from degreasing
metal parts and engines to
dry cleaning clothing to
decaffeinating coffee. Since
it was so easily available, it
was merely dumped after
Aprtl 18M
being used.
Apparently no one wanted
to believe TCE could taint
water supplies. And so it is
with a certain degree of
astonishment that it has
been discovered in wells all
over the country. " With an
ease that has surprised
geologists, TCE has
defeated nature's soil, sand
and clay filters to reach
deep aquifers. the
underground geological
formations that supply half
the nation's water" (
The
Wa/1 Street Journal,
August
12, 1980).
In one area where
TCE-contaminated drinking
water was discovered, a
evidence were (to them)
conclusive, it would be
extremely difficult or
impossible to pinpoint which
kind of tree died because of
which pollutants-and from
which smokestack. Cutting
back on pollutants, it is
pointed out, would affect
jobs and enormously ínflate
the cost of electrical power
and consumer goods.
Numerous voices outside
industry maintain that the
situation is intolerable and
that something must be
done quickly to protect the
environment. Sorne,
however, in the scientific
field are now pointing out
that certain nonindustrial
activities of man also have
an effect. The suppression
of forest tires, for example,
increases acidity in nearby
lakes by preventing the
neutralization on forest
floors of excessive acidic
humus-that is, turning
humus to ash.
· One thing is abundantly
clear : Though nature itself
produces acidic compounds
newspaper explained: "State
health experts admitted
Thursday they were wrong
in
assuming
trichloroethylene
never would contaminate
groundwater wells. ... 'We
11
W8 thought TCE
would·evaporate. We
were wrong. We
didn 't thlnk lt would
get lnto the ground·
water. "
[scientists)
thought
TCE
would evaporate..we were
wrong. We
didn't think
it
would get into the
groundwater,'" a scientist
confided (emphasis ours).
Experts disagree on specifics,
but few fail to recognize a
link between man,s activities
and dying forests.
that fit into the natural
scheme of things, industrial
societies
and ecologists,
who insisted on high
chimneys to carry pollutants
away, must accept
responsibility for humanly
produced harmful effects
that upset the delicate
balance of the ecological
system.
Somebody has been
wrong about a lot of
things-not only about TCE.
For while examining tap
water throughout the United
States in one study, officials
identified 22 known or
suspected cancer-causing
substances plus sorne 1,000
other organic chemicals.
Consider, too, that each
year more than 500 new
chemical pollutants are
developed, too many of
which find their way into the
water system.
The knowledge that sorne
experts admit "We didn' t
think ..." must be of small
consolation to any who may
be suffering physically from
foreign substances they
have ingested from their
drinking water.
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