|
It's correct that the food acids themselves offer little environmental consequence. Even hydrochloric and sulphuric acids in modest quantities won't do any permenant damage once they've been neutralized by carbonates in the soil or heavily diluted in water. It's usually acids containing heavy metals, like chromic acid, that make for dangerous polution. But that's the problem with case cleaner, too. The acid is presumably reacting with lead primer residue and creating water soluble lead compounds that are toxic. There was a theory some years back that the Roman empire fell because the lead goblets treasured by wealthy Romans had just enough lead etched out of them by the tannic acid in wine that it eventually sterilized the imbibers.
Nick
|