 |
RE: [RC] Graniteville train wreck. - heidiEd, thanks for this post. I live not too far from the wreck. Our training grounds are probably 5 miles away, as the crow flies. And I wondered about the long-term affects of chlorine gas on the groundwater, given that there are fish kills in nearby Horse Creek. If I understand it correctly, chlorine gas reacts with water and becomes hydrochloric acid, which is why it is toxic to all living things. I wondered if that would affect our drinking water at Hitchcock Woods (training grounds). I hope John will forgive one more reply, in the interest of information... Actually, the most lethal aspect of chlorine is in its gaseous form. It doesn't take much of the gas to cause really serious lung damage and death. Once it gets into water, the toxicity is relative to its concentration. When it forms hydrochloric acid, it is actually fairly innocuous, if it is dilute enough--remember, that is the same stuff that your own stomach produces to help digest your food. The gas does like to break down into its ionic form--which is what it does to form hydrochloric acid. It is more toxic in combination with other elements, forming various compounds such as the one that makes up bleach, etc. Even then, in extremely dilute solutions, it will kill bacteria without harming other critters. Chlorine in very tiny amounts is what is put into drinking water supplies to combat bacteria, and in somewhat larger amounts is put into swimming pools for the same reason. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|