9 mo. ago • 100%

Where does pollution go when it rains?

I unfortunately live in a very polluted area, one where air quality apps mark in red and recommend that I never get out of my lair.

When it rains enough the air quality becomes more bearable and here comes the question: where does pollution go when it rains hard? Does it get pushed to the ground and stays there? Does it get embedded in the water (so instead of breathing it, I get to drink it later in the tap water)?

I'm curious to know where it gets dispersed or stuck (to possibly avoid it)

11 comments

AFAIK it ends up on the ground, and in the ground water. Which means that it could contaminate drinking water if it's not treated properly. It will enter rivers and lakes, and snow and everywhere else that water gets.

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- Yup. Raindrops originate from water vapor collecting around a particle in the air. When the rain falls, it pulls those air pollutants to the ground, where they either enter the ground or run down to rivers, lakes,, or the ocean.
  
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  So pollution does indeed bind with water and gets carried around. I wonder how well chlorine helps destroy or clean such filth
  
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- So we're doomed, or rather, I am. Well, theoretically speaking we're all doomed, but it would be pleasant to last as long and healthy as possible
  
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This varries alot depending on where you live.

Normally it's like this.

First it goes into the water, then it goes to the ground, which normally filters it very well. BUT if this is generally a polluted area, and also depending on the composition of the earth, it may not filter it at all. We assume that there's some filtering though.

Now it gets really country-dependent. Some countries filter the tap water very well, some adds chlorine to 'cleanse' it, and some may not do a very good job entirely.

I'm no expert in which countries around the world do what, but it's probably something you can look up for your area.

Generally though, it's worse for you to inhale (unless the water is just polluted in other ways)

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- Thanks! You're right that I wasn't thinking about chlorine which does get added to the water where I live. I suppose that doesn't entirely kill all germs and pollution going into the water, but it helps getting rid of it.
  
  Also, yeah. When I am out breathing pollution, it feels really bad for me
  
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It would logically have to end up on the ground. If it gets into the water would have to do with solubility, and most combustion products aren't very soluble, so you're probably not drinking too much smog.

I don't actually know where they ultimately end up and to what degree they can make you sick except through inhalation. Somebody has to have studied it, though, right?

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- Ah, interesting. I should hope not all pollutants dissolve into water, but I wonder: wouldn't they still be bad when ingested even if not dissolved into water?
  
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  Yes, probably. If they're trapped in urban dirt, and you don't snack on sod from a lane divider often you shouldn't have to worry about it, though.
  
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Just a non-scientifc opinion: I think it binds to the rain/the humidity and does go into the ground, yes. Depending on where your water comes from, it might not seep into that, I think. And stuff in your lungs may be worse than the same stuff in your stomach, depending on the stuff, I guess.

What I really came to say: the only long term solution is guillotines

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- I suppose guillotines help in a variety of situations, though I would have not imagined them as an extreme way of filtering the lack of actions by politicians and corporations towards the environment 🤔
  
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