Murray's river mouth turns corrosive

The wetlands at the mouth of the Murray river in Australia have developed a yellow crust of sideronite which is as corrosive as battery acid.

Falling water in Lakes Albert and Alexandrina have exposed Iron Sulphide rich soil to the air,leading tothe production of 240,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid which dissolves aluminium,arsenic,lead and zinc which could contaminate water supplies, it is feared.