Salt storm
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A salt storm is a low-lying cloud of airborne salt that hovers over large areas, the result of wind sweeping over salt flats. Salt storms usually occur in places with large aboveground deposits of salt, such as those surrounding the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the salt flats surrounding the Aral Sea. Salt storms in the latter of which pose a serious health hazard to surrounding areas, as the minerals blown about by these storms are highly toxic, leading to adverse health effects such as throat and lung cancer, infant mortality, and decreased life expectancy. Furthermore, birth defect rates are higher in the regions surrounding the Aral Sea. The damage is caused by breathing in the toxic chemicals in the air (many of which are the result of run-off from nearby farms), and by taking in the chemicals in food and water. Salt storms can also block visibility and cause chemical damage to surrounding structures.
Salt storms are also a frequent phenomenon in the Salar de Uyuni region in Bolivia.
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[edit] External links
- BBC article by David Shukman on a study that finds high levels of DNA damage that could explain the region's abnormally high cancer rate; Muynak, Uzbekistan, 29 June 2004
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