Ozone In Death Zone
Levels of ozone comparable to those in a polluted major city make the Himalayan giants even harder to climb according to research by a Canadian scientist.
Posted: 16 November 2005
by Jon
As if climbing Everest wasn't hard enough already, a report in
today's Guardian suggests that the thing, along with other Himalayan
peaks, is mired in a thick layer of ozone, which is, they say, a bad
thing.
Apparently the high altitude Tibetan plateau is surrounded by a
halo of the gas, which is comparable to pollution levels in major
cities which, in combination with the lack of oxygen, makes the
Himalayan monsters even harder.
The article quotes Dr Johmn Semple from the University of Toronto
who discovered the phenomenon as saying: ""Ozone is very unstable and
reacts with any surface of substance. Breathing high concentrations
of ozone causes coughing, chest pain and damage to the lining
throughout the lung."
As if it wasn't hard enough already...
Full story at www.guardian.co.uk
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