Dumping of dry ice in rivers is killing marine life
by The Daily Eye Team May 13 2014, 1:08 pm Estimated Reading Time: 0 mins, 40 secsDry ice used by mechanized boats to preserve fish and dumped in the river over a long period of time can harm more marine life than the little it seeks to preserve on the shelf. The preservative may help the sea food reach the dining table in a fresher condition but it is carbon dioxide in solid form and causes acidification of water and accelerates eutrophication due to the increase in availability of nutrients, team members of the panel on the Betul clam mortality stated. "Whenever dry ice is discarded, it dissolves and forms carbonic acid which not only lowers pH levels but also leads to anoxic conditions. This results in increase in biological oxygen demand, owing to the death of algal and bacterial biomass," Mahesh Prabhu, an environmental engineer said.