What Sulfuric Acid Is And Why It’s Dangerous

When it comes to the environment, there are no good benefits (I'd use your name, but you left an email address of j@j.com - which is more than a little suspect, frankly - but we'll let your comment stand).

We outlined the industrial usefulness.. there's no doubt that it's great for cleaning electronic parts and in traditional car batteries. It's also great at burning your skin.

But just because it's good in a car battery doesn't mean it's good in our water. After all, car batteries are disposed of as hazardous waste. You're not supposed to just throw them out because of the damage they can do due to the variety of harmful chemicals in there.

Between the cancer and other health effects it can cause when in the environment, as well as the wildlife it kills, it's just a bad idea for it to be out in the environment.

I didn't feel the need to be inundated with emails or potential spam. Especially given that you published the email that I used for that very reason. However, now that I know I will get a response, I will give my e-mail, and I trust it won't be published. I have been watching the ballot effort thus far with disgust at the lack of credible, reliable information that is not manipulated to show only the views of the opponents to mining development.

It is deduced here that sulfuric acid is grim and dangerous… all items are in excess. I would like to point out that sulfuric acid is used for many good causes. I have no problem giving my resource – the CDC. Sulfuric acid is used in the production of fertilizers (to help people eat), paper (various uses), a food additive (dried fruits), purification of petroleum (which we all use), pharmaceuticals (to help people live), and more! I would also like to point out how platinum (associated with sulfide deposits) is used regularly for pharmaceuticals, copper (found in sulfide deposits) is used to wire our houses, cars, and the computers we are all viewing this on… shall I go on?

I assume that while the ballot initiative is based out of the Detroit area, those that are spearheading the campaign must have a vested interest in Lake Superior. However, rather than base a ballot initiative on projected doomsday scenarios and speculative conjectures about potential mining, I feel that the fight should be for realistic situations that have occurred or are occurring in Michigan.

December 1993 saw a fire at the Fermi II nuclear plant that later resulted in the release of over one million gallons of radioactively contaminated water into Lake Erie (article in Detroit News). Metro Beach is closed regularly due to e-coli pollution likely from sewage overflows and runoff (DEQ). The Cuyahoga river caught fire in 1969 and has been emptying into Lake Erie for centuries dumping its pollutants (Ohio History Central).

According to the USGS, the Detroit area gets their water from the Lake Erie and Saint Clair River system. This water is processed in much the same way as mines, notably in Kennecott’s permits, for consumption of the general population. I would assume the technology is even newer for mines than the city water that is regularly consumed. This water is safe enough for millions, but is still polluted.

I think that rather than trying to pass constitutional amendments based on propaganda and misinformation, it would be much more beneficial to the people of Michigan to fix the problems already occurring and stop the pollution that is allowed to go on without regard to our water resources. If we want to fight against industrial pollution of our Great Lakes, should we not fight for ALL of the industrial pollution? Is that simply too big a task? Is Mi-Water afraid of a lack of support due to the influence of industry … Or is it that it is much easier to pick on the UP, the most depressed region of Michigan, without using all the facts.

You know, you've raised some points that I think are better addressed in another blog post. Although our address is in Detroit, the vast majority of the people working on this are from the UP and the ideas originated from there.

The unfortunate reality of the State of Michigan is that the UP needs downstate support to pass anything like this. There's also economic impacts of what happens if unregulated uranium and sulfide mining are allowed to happen; there's other industries who provide a lot of jobs and billions of dollars of economic activity as well who are hurt by polluted water, especially to the extent of what this stuff does to it.

It's rather unfair and a mistruth, frankly, that we've been painted as this "Detroit" or "Grosse Pointe" organization when the people who brought this to the table are from the UP. Our first supporting groups are from the UP.

Under the opposition logic, the mining companies who support this shouldn't have people in Lansing to lobby for them as it's downstate. But the mining companies sure pay a lot of money to have people downstate lobby for them, because they know it's needed. But it's okay if THEY do it in the eyes of some, but not the concerned citizens of the UP.

It's okay, in the oppositions' mind, to have these international companies come in and tell Michiganders and the UP how to do things. Make no mistake, their lobbyists and political contributions are mostly paid for by international corporations, our money and support comes from people.

As to your point about cleaning the water, the problem is more complex than that. Again, we've written some about it in the past but I think there will be further posts. There's a reason we don't take down respectful opposing viewpoints. It's because we're here to educate, inform, keep our UP beautiful and help pave the path for future economic opportunity that are jobs that will be here to stay.

I think that by singling out the UP, you are performing a great disservice to the people in the UP. Your greatest efforts will be based downstate so that you can ensure that there are plenty of people in support of your cause. I question how much of the UP would be involved in the process and moreover, how do you find people throughout the state that would represent the UP in a justifiable way so that it is not viewed as an attack? It sure feels like you are throwing out your first salvo in a war on UP jobs and development.

By virtue of the framework of how our government works, all industries lobby. Even our own publically funded universities use public funds to pay for lobbyists to get more funding. The Michigan Environment Council, Sierra Club, and the National Wildlife Federation all have and currently lobby in Lansing. It is no wonder that mining companies, such as Kennecott and Cleveland Cliffs must have lobbyists, even Comcast Cable has lobbyists! How hypocritical of you to claim that you are not supported through lobbying… your cohorts and supporters are neither immune nor exempt from lobbying, and they actively utilize their right.

I live in Marquette and am an active citizen that not only participates in society, but also educate himself in the news of the area. The only real talk of this supposed protection of Lake Superior has come from downstate or as an afterthought in the goings on of other organizations in similar support as you. I cannot help but observe the fact that you do not show your supporters anywhere, nor do you advertise them. Other anti-mining organizations show their support of you, yet aren’t proposing the ballot. Of course people would see that its coming out of Detroit as a negative… don’t Detroiters have enough to worry about other than a lake over 300 miles away? Why would those most publically behind this initiative be geographic information analysts from one of the richest suburbs in the metro-Detroit area and not, say, environmentalists from Big Bay?

I think that it is incredibly detrimental to the psyche of all Michiganders and a blatant note of slanderous rhetoric to continually refer to the companies that are trying to spur industry in the UP as “International”. Let’s start by speaking about CCI, whose offices are not in Michigan. What’s the difference between out of state and out of the country? It all depends on what argument you want to raise. How is CCI any better when profits are leaving Michigan? As well, when is the last time you looked at your “American Made” Michigan-based Big 3 car? How much is made of foreign parts and where was it built? Some of the autos built by our Detroit based car companies have less than 50% American parts, while “Foreign” cars can be upwards of 80% American parts (CNN Dec 2008). In this world of trade we live in, money you spend locally will eventually end up distant, or in other countries in some way. And, please, spare the sentiment that all Kennecott’s money will be ending up in China… its borderline racist, and we all know it!

Do you have any sources for this information, or is it simply propaganda? You're missing the benefits of sulfuric acid too... but thats typical to only take the bad and ignore the good to suit your own needs.