Over the weekend, I've received several warning both verbal and via email, telling me to instruct my loved ones to stay alert and ensure that they don't expose their skin to the Acid Rain that is likely to fall between the 20th to 28th of this month of March. The source of the warning they claimed was NASA.

I took the whole news and started spreading it. It never occurred to me that I should use the search engine to verify the claim. I just felt that the scientific explanation given sounds too good to be discarded. However, while surfing the net today, I came across a debate in one of my favorite online community. A poster was quite angry that the public is being misinformed with inadequate facts.

He posted a link to a site that described what ACID RAIN is, and the kind of effect it can have on human health. After reading that article. I simply felt stupid and blamed myself for not verifying before helping to spread the rumor of ACID RAIN causing SKIN CANCER.

Here is an excerpt from the site

Acid rain looks, feels, and tastes just like clean rain. The harm to people from acid rain is not direct. Walking in acid rain, or even swimming in an acid lake, is no more dangerous than walking or swimming in clean water. However, the pollutants that cause acid rain—sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx)—do damage human health. These gases interact in the atmosphere to form fine sulfate and nitrate particles that can be transported long distances by winds and inhaled deep into people's lungs. Fine particles can also penetrate indoors. Many scientific studies have identified a relationship between elevated levels of fine particles and increased illness and premature death from heart and lung disorders, such as asthma and bronchitis.

You can read the entire article here http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/effects/health.html [nofollow]