I unfortunately live in a very polluted area, one where air quality apps mark in red and recommend that I never get out of my lair.
When it rains enough the air quality becomes more bearable and here comes the question: where does pollution go when it rains hard? Does it get pushed to the ground and stays there? Does it get embedded in the water (so instead of breathing it, I get to drink it later in the tap water)?
I’m curious to know where it gets dispersed or stuck (to possibly avoid it)
It would logically have to end up on the ground. If it gets into the water would have to do with solubility, and most combustion products aren’t very soluble, so you’re probably not drinking too much smog.
I don’t actually know where they ultimately end up and to what degree they can make you sick except through inhalation. Somebody has to have studied it, though, right?
Ah, interesting. I should hope not all pollutants dissolve into water, but I wonder: wouldn’t they still be bad when ingested even if not dissolved into water?
Yes, probably. If they’re trapped in urban dirt, and you don’t snack on sod from a lane divider often you shouldn’t have to worry about it, though.