Many people see the white snow that fell in winter as a nuisance on the sidewalks, icy roads, wet shoes and a bunch of other troubles. However, children love to play in the snow the most. In parallel with the game, it is impossible not to get the snow in the mouth.
Jeff C. Gaffney, professor of chemistry at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, says that snow contains unsuspected ingredients such as sulfates, nitrates, formaldehyde or mercury.
As it falls from the sky, the snow, with its intricate “cobwebs,” forms a sort of web to trap pollutants that may be in the atmosphere. The most common is black carbon or soot emitted by coal plants and wood stoves.
The longer it snows, the lower the pollution levels in the air, and therefore in the snow.
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One of the most shocking finds in the snow are old pesticides that are no longer used in the world. Stacey Simonich, a professor of ecology and toxic ecology at Oregon State University, is researching this. She found 30-, 40-, and 50-year-old pesticides in mountaintop snow in several US national parks (including Olympic in Washington, Denali in Alaska, and Sequoia in California). However, despite the finding, the pesticide levels in the snowflakes were 100 times lower than the levels considered safe in drinking water.
However, the situation is very bad in urban and suburban areas. Simonich says pesticide concentrations are likely higher in snow in townhouse yards.
Scientists note that pollutants such as sulfates, mercury and DDT can show up in the snow.
“As a mother who is an atmospheric physics chemist, I definitely wouldn’t want my kids to taste snow in urban areas,” Parisa Aria of Canada’s McGill University told the Huffington Post. She is the lead scientist on research that finds falling snow can soak up nasty chemicals from gasoline exhaust into the air, such as toluene, xylenes and the carcinogenic benzene.
