RE: Hazardous vs. Radioactive Materials

["Flood, John" <FloodJR@NV.DOE.GOV>]

> I believe that a number of "acid" New england lakes get their acidity from

> decaying dead leaves.



Actually, a most of the acidic lakes in New York and New England are due to

acid snowfall from a number of years back.  The largest source of man-made

sulfur emitted into the atmosphere used to be Sudbury, Ontario, which caused

acid precipitation downwind of that facility.  Its impact on rainfall was

limited mainly to Canada, but the lake effect snows downwind of Lake Ontario

contained significant sulfur from this source.  When acid rain was first

discovered by researchers at lakes in upstate New York, an assumption was

made that it was due to acid rain.  Measurements looking for abnormal acid

in rainfall were easy and seemed to confirm the assumption.  Later it was

pointed out that rainfall in that part of the world usually didn't result in

much runoff, and the lakes are filled mostly from spring snow melt.  Further

examination found acid snow and traced it to Sudbury.



Exit trivia mode.





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