Heavy metals from cars reach Greenland.* Heavy metals heavy metals, n.pl metallic compounds, such as aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and nickel. Exposure to these metals has been linked to immune, kidney, and neurotic disorders. from cars reach Greenland: Scientists from France and Italy have found remote regions of Greenland to be contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. by heavy metals, many of which are likely to have originated from automobile catalytic converters. The finding, published in the March 1 issue of the journal Environmental Science and Technology, suggests that efforts to reduce automotive emissions are having unintended global consequences, with potential human health implications. Over the past quarter century, industrial nations have equipped the exhaust systems of gasoline-powered cars with catalytic converters to lower emissions of nitrogen oxide Noun 1. nitrogen oxide - any of several oxides of nitrogen formed by the action of nitric acid on oxidizable materials; present in car exhausts pollutant - waste matter that contaminates the water or air or soil , carbon monoxide carbon monoxide, chemical compound, CO, a colorless, odorless, tasteless, extremely poisonous gas that is less dense than air under ordinary conditions. It is very slightly soluble in water and burns in air with a characteristic blue flame, producing carbon dioxide; , and hydrocarbons--key components of urban air pollution. The converters have significantly reduced levels of these gases, as well as those of lead, since they require unleaded gasoline. Some scientists, however, raised concerns that the metals on which the converter technology is based--platinum, palladium, and rhodium--could become widely dispersed in the environment. To assess this potential risk, the scientists analyzed snow samples from central Greenland, developing a time series from the late 1960s through 1995 for each of the three metals. The team also obtained data, from ancient ice, on the natural background concentrations of these metals. This comparison revealed that levels of these metals in snow from the mid-1990s were between 40 and 120 times higher than their levels in ice 7,000 years ago. Based on these results, the authors conclude that humans are contaminating con·tam·i·nate tr.v. con·tam·i·nated, con·tam·i·nat·ing, con·tam·i·nates 1. To make impure or unclean by contact or mixture. 2. To expose to or permeate with radioactivity. adj. the Northern Hemisphere's atmosphere "on a large scale." They add that, since this contamination is obvious at high altitude Conventionally, an altitude above 10,000 meters (33,000 feet). See also altitude. locations in remote Greenland, it is "certainly spread out all over the populated areas of the Northern Hemisphere." While studies of their health effects have been limited primarily to occupational exposures, the metals are believed to be toxic and have the potential--particularly palladium--to accumulate in plants and animals Plants and Animals are a Canadian indie-rock band from Montreal, comprised of guitarist-vocalists Warren Spicer and Nic Basque, and drummer-vocalist Matthew Woodley.[1] They are signed to Secret City Records. and enter the food chain. |
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