—The Daily Collegian Friday, Jan. 7, 1983
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The Daly Colleg an Fr day Jan 7 983-5
Acid rainfall level high in Centre County area
By BRIAN MAGEE
Collegian Staff Writer
In the past several years, the term."acid rain" has gone
from being scientific jargon to one of today's most hotly
debated environmental issues.
Industry, sportsmen, farmers, researchers and govern
ment officials have varying opinions of what if anything
should be done about it. And it looks as if those
searching for some agreement as to what exactly should
be done are in for a long wait.
James Lynch, leader of a project that monitors acidity
of rainfall for the Pennsylvania Department of Environ
mental Resources, said while all of state receives acid
rain, most acidic precipitation falls on the region stretch
ing from the southwest corner of the state to the.eentral
portion, which includes State College.
The sources of acid precipitation, many experts belieye,
are the pollutants sulfur dioxide from the burning of
coal and other fuels in utility plants and smelters and
nitrogen oxides from automobile exhaust.
Through a series of complex chemical reactions these
pollutants combine with atmospheric :moisture to form
acids.
Lynch said rain received in this part of the state is more
acidic than any other part of the United States, with a pH
around 4.0.
The lower the pH, the , more acidic the rain. A pH of 7 is
neutral. A pH of 5.6 is considered normal for rain.
collegian notes
o The Penn State Thespians will
meet at 1:30 Sunday afternoon in 307
HUB.
• The Krishna Yoga Society will
hold a free vegetarian feast at 7
tonight and 5 Sunday afternoon at 103
E. Hamilton Ave.
• The student counselors are
available for general information,
personal counseling or referral ad
vice. Stop by 135 Boucke or call 863-
2020 4 p.m. to midnight Monday
through Friday or noon to 8 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday.
• Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship
will meet at 7:30 tonight in the Eisen
hower Chapel loft.
4-*****************
am''''
7:15 *
AND A 14 „
ik GENTLEMAN -u* .30
•
A'RENA•S•PLEX
4C THEATRES & CASINO *
DONKEY KONG *
1600 N. Atherton St. 2374444
4C
PAC MAN DEFENDER
-0( 7.8:30-10
- 1(
- lc BELLA
4 +l , • A
. .
45 1-44-1t4:4- -- ********** 7 *-tlL i.
Allegheny
Women's Center
• abortions .
• free pregnancy
and
related counseling
Mon-Fri 9.5 Sat 10.4
Call collect 412-362-2920
Write a letter
AkVi i to a friend!
FED
MIDNIGHT MEXICAN
MADNESS
2 TACOS $.99
Every Friday & Saturday Night I
12 mid-2:3oam
-i4-4725
Phone for take-out 23 , -
131 S. Garner St.
Open Sun-Thurs 11am-12 mid
• Fri-Sat 11am-2:3opm
L
• The canoe division of the Penn
State Outing Club will have a pool
session from noon to 2 Sunday af
ternoon in McCoy Natatorium. Begin
ners are welcome.
• The State College Area Music
Guild will present a free concert at
2:30 Sunday afternoon in the First
Presbyterian Church, Bellefonte.
o The Badminton Club will meet to
discuss the upcoming match with
Mansfield State at noon Sunday in 126
White Building.
• Any 'Golden Key member inter
ested in helping with the College Bowl
please leave your name and phone
number at the HUB Desk.
R EA D
RE LE
CyC
The Collegian
Mother Earth
Thank You.
Attitude Adjustment
Hours 4-7 pm
with Dave Parry
Friday Night
Pat Mcguines
Saturday Night •
The Bobcat
, , J
ii
. z3v THE ' ‘'.',
kBRICKHOUSEM
.TAVERN Ave watt*l
. av-ke--4.- 1 / 4 ext"...„00.9.1 0 m
Humes Alley Around the corner
from Uncle Eli's
Jim Holian, a graduate assistant in meteorology who
monitors rainfall for that department, agreed that the pH
of the region's rain is the lowest in the nation, but he
pointed out that the effect of acid rain depends on the local
geology.
The low pH rain doesn't affect the Centre Region's
surface waters as much as other areas because the
limestone and dolomite deposits in the , valleys neutralize
most of it, Holian said.
But the Poconos and New York's Adirondacks are not as
fortunate. Their lakes and streams are acidic enough to
kill many kinds of fish.
While central Pennsylvania lakes are buffered against
large pH drops, streams have shown pH values between
5.0 and 5.5, with a few in the 4s, said Dean Arnold, leader of
the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at the
University.
"Our trout streams are in trouble," he said.
Different fish species have different pH limits in which
they can survive, said Arnold, who has been involved in
acid' rain research since 1974.
But even if the water is not acidic enough to kill the fish,
it can affect their growth and reproduction.
Tests done in laboratories may show a species resistant
to a certain pH level, Arnold said, but when put into a
stream of the same pH it may be unable to reproduce and
the population dies out.
Recent research suggests that in acid rain environ
ments, some trees grow more slowly and many plants
• The School of Music will present • The mountaineering division of
organist Barbara Harbach-George in the Penn State Outing Club will hold a
recital at 8:30 tonight in the recital fixed rope climbing and rappelling
hall of the Music Building. class at noon Sunday in 8 Intramural
Building. Bring your sneakers.
• The Graduate Student Associa
tion will sponsor happy hours for
graduates and guests from 4:30 to 6
tonight in 102 Kern.
• The Office of Student Activities
will sponsor an eight-ball tournament
at noon tomorrow in the HUB Billiard
Room. Entry fee is $2 and the first 32
entrants will receive a free T-shirt.
The first place winner will be eligible
to represent Penn State at the region
al competition. Entries received after
4 this afternoon will not be seeded.
experience spotting and discoloratiim. This is especially
damaging in crops such as lettuce, where the leaf is
important, Arnold said. Also, the nutrient content of
soybeans raised in acidic conditions was shown to de
crease.
More tests are needed to determine the long-term
effects on plants, he said.
Acid rain can also adversely affect drinking water by
leaching harmful metal ions from the soil and pipes and
carrying them into the water supply, Arnold said.
These metal ions, such as copper, lead and aluminum,
become more soluble in acidic water, enabling them to
travel with the water.
Rosa de Pena, University professor of meteorology, said
70 percent of the acid precipitation is a result of sulfur
dioxide, while 30 percent comes from nitric oxides.
The pollutants can be carried hundreds of miles before
falling to the earth. De Pena, Holian and others in the
meteorology department are working on techniques that
would determine where the acid rain falling in one area
picked up its pollutants.
HOlian said that sulfur dioxide, which has an atmospher
ic residence of three to five days, could come from as far
as 700 miles away all the way from St. Louis, for
example.
Lynch said the major pollutant for this area is probably
the Ohio River Valley, with some additional pollutants
coming from local industries.
He added, however, that "there is little concrete data
o The Penn State Thespians will
hold auditions and crew sign-up for
their production of the childrens'
show "Playground" from 7 to 10
Sunday night in Schwab Auditorium.
Roles are available for five women
and seven men.
Yachad, Penn State Friends of
Israel, will show a slide show on the
physical landscape of Jerusalem at
4:30 Sunday afternoon at the HUB
Desk.
police log
o The State College Police Depart
ment reported Wednesday that Mid-
State Bank, 243 E. College Ave., re
ceived forged checks totaling $9OO in
November and December. An investi
gation is continuing, police said.
• State College police reported
yesterday that a coat, books and
calculator owned by Vinh Long, Snyd
er Hall, were missing from 159 S.
Garner St. The value of the missing
items is estimated at $125, police
said.
• Katy Gavaghan, 263 Thompson,
told University Police Services yes
terday that an unescorted male was
cracking a whip on the second floor of
************** * * * * * * * * * * * * *:
* Attention Liberal Arts Students
We need student volunteers
January 25, 26, 27
* for the Liberal Arts College
-A , 0 4 Phon-a-thon
• e
N call: 865-2545 for info °Ori e
***************************
presently the evidence is circumstantial."
Dry deposition, the falling to earth of sulfur dioxide and
nitrogen oxides as dry particles, was once thought to be
insignificant but is now seen as a substantial contributor
to the problem.
Dennis Thomson, University professor of meteorology,
said dry deposition of pollutants can amount to anywhere
from one-tenth' to four times as much as acid rain. '
Dry deposition may pose a more serious threat to plants,
Thomson said.
When acid rain falls on a plant at the beginning of a
storm, it is usually washed off by more neutral rain later
in the storm. Dry deposition, however, can stick to a plant
leaf for days, the longer exposure causing greater dam
age.
"But this is a matter of some controversy," he said,
adding that more research is needed.
Some question exists to whether the pH of rainfall has
been decreasing in the recent past. Lack of long-term data
prevents researchers from determining trends.
De Pena said published data suggests a decrease in the
pH of precipitation since the 19505, but the data is not
conclusive.
She said the acid rain problem is serious enough to
warrant trying to reduce pollution levels, "but how to do
that is another problem."
Until more research is done, Thomson said it will be
difficult to give industries guidelines on decreasing pollut
ion.
Thompson. Officers were unable to
locate the person; police said.
• Fred Burns, supervisor of pre
sentation services, 1 Willard, told
University police yesterday that an,
overhead projector was missing from
101 HUB during Fall Term. He also
reported a slide projector missing
from 105 Sackett since Dec. 16. The
value of the missing items is esti
mated at $660, police said.
• James Grace, 108 Ferguson, told
University police Wednesday that his
briefcase and its contents were miss
ing from his office. The value of the
missing items is estimated at $llO,
police said.
—by Michael J. Vand