Word: toxication
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...sulfur and nitrogen compounds. But most experts believe that the current problem is directly traceable to the burning of fossil fuels by power plants, factories and smelting operations and, to a lesser extent, auto emissions. When tall smokestacks vent their fumes, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and traces of such toxic metals as mercury and cadmium mix with water vapor in the atmosphere. Chemical reactions follow that form dilute solutions of nitric and sulfuric acids-acid rain...
...link acidity with a specific smokestack. But there is little doubt about the damaging effects of acid rain. Absorbed into the soil, it breaks down minerals containing calcium, potassium and aluminum, robbing plants of nutrients. Eventually the acid enters nearby bodies of water, often with a deadly burden of toxic metals that can stunt or kill aquatic Life...
...Massachusetts became so acidic that it dissolved water conduits and fixtures, producing unhealthy levels of lead in drinking water. Cost since that time for neutralizing chemicals: $1 million annually. In Maine, where the measured acidity of rainfall has increased 40 times in the past 80 years, high levels of toxic mercury, lead and aluminum in acidified streams have killed or deformed salmon embryos. The problem is spreading to other parts of the country. Damage from acid rain has been reported in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida and California...
...research, from $18 million in 1982 to $22 million in 1983. It is the only area outside the defense budget where an increase is planned. The money is beginning to produce results. New research in the U.S. and West Germany strongly suggests that acid rain combines with traces of toxic metals emitted into the atmosphere by fossil fuel-burning plants to leach away nutrients that sustain trees. In addition, scientists believe the mixture of acid rain and aluminum trace elements in the soil is absorbed by roots and can choke off a tree's water supply...
...Harvard-Redcliffe Black Students Association (BSA) was one of seven organization co-sponsoring a Science Center forum last night on the political and biological implications of toxic waste dumping...