Martin Franchi (mfranchi@ionsys.com)
Sun, 30 May 1999 18:17:26 -0300
>> Yes but many small darkrooms flushing chemicals down the drain is really
>> not good for your local water supply.
>
>I would earnestly like to understand how wastewater would effect my supply
>of water. Am I drinking washing machine soap?
>>
>
Steve
Well I can only speak for my area specifically, but Toronto and many other
surrounding communities draw and dump their supply from Lake Ontario, mind
you the intake is not beside the output but it is still a common
source/dumpsite. The municipal waste treatment facilities treat biological
waste, not chemical, you can't pour paint down the drain right? The
obvious problem with used fixer is the silver and metals are not soluble
they just settle to the bottom and start to become ingested by the
organisms at start of the food chain, other compounds may or may not
precipitate out hence another problem (see previous problem or now toxic
soup).
I guess depending on where you live you could contaminate your water table,
the composition of the ground helps or hurts the process the type of rocks
porous/filters ect.
Your washing machine soap is actually pretty friendly as its biodegradable,
the only problem was phosphates in the soap which when introduced into a
lake would cause algae to go nuts, which would eventually use up more
oxygen in the lake and...you get the point? In the past when you went
camping you took "Sunlight" soap for washing stuff as it was phosphate
free, but now I think almost all the powders/liquids are phosphate free.
My good friend just finished his PhD thesis on mercury in freshwater
systems and was doing research beside Algonquin Park in Ontario for the
last 4 years (so much fun to go visit while he was there) and it was wild
to see all the lakes being studied by various grad students (it is a major
research area) and some of the "hot" toxic lakes and what happens when you
introduce various natural (fish) or unnatural (acids) into these systems.
We had many discussions and I've come to see how delicate the systems are.
So how does this relate to your drinking water, well for me it really just
seems like common sense, the introduction of various non-natural chemical
compounds or naturally occurring ones in higher concentrations (like even
parts per million can be disruptive) is going to effect your surroundings.
But this could all be moot, as Lake Superior is a big dumping ground for
industry by both Canada and the US ends up flowing right by me in Lake
Ontario and down past Guy Glorieux along the St Lawerence. Did you know
that the Beluga whales living in the St Lawerence are treated as toxic
waste once they die because they ingest everything that is in the river and
it is cumulative in their tissue (yikes).
So I know this is the alternative photographic process mailing list and not
the "tree hugger crazy enviormentalist" list so I will try to direct any
further comments to that. If there are any pure technical questions I'm
sure my buddy would be happy to go ad nauseam about how chemicals or metals
can specifically get into drinking water.
>The conservation of water worked so well, the sewage clogged the system.
crazy
Cheers
Martin
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( O O )
________________oOOo__U__oOOo________________
"I promise I shall never give up, and that I'll die yelling and laughing.
And until then I'll rush around this world I insist is holy and pull at
everyone's lapel and make them confess to me and to all."
Jack Kerouac
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