1968 / Pennsylvania – WEATHER MODIFICATION – REGULATING RAIN MAKING
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
AN ACT
Providing temporarily for the regulation and licensing of rain- making activities;
“Weather modification and control” means changing or controlling, or
attempting to change or control, by artificial methods the natural
development of any or all atmospheric cloud forms and precipitation forms
which occur in the troposphere.”
Link to Document 1968 Weather Modification Law Pennsylvania
b) Government and armed forces projects within the province
of this statute must meet all the requirements of this act.
(c) No nucleating agent may be used in concentrations
dangerous to man or causes environmental pollution as determined
by the State Department of Health.
page 4
Section 12. Enforcement.–In order to enforce the provisions
of this act, the Pennsylvania State Police shall, on request of
the board, assign at least one trooper and one investigator to
an area where unlawful cloud seeding is suspected. If such
police request the same, the Pennsylvania Aeronautics Commission
shall assign an airplane and pilot. Air samples shall be taken
by the Pennsylvania Air Pollution Commission if requested by the
State Police of the board. For such enforcement purposes, the
State Department of Health shall furnish such technical services
as the board may request.
page 5
(b) Nothing contained in this act shall be construed to
authorize the suppression of lightning.
It was in Pennsylvania that one of the first laws was
passed with the intent of curbing possible harm to nature by changing the weather.
In discussing the bill, which became the 1967 Pennsylvania law, one of its sponsors on the
House of Representatives stated:
“Cloud seeding involves silver iodide, and silver iodide, Mr. Speaker, is
highly poisonous. AgI used in seeding falls
everywhere, on trees, in vegetation, roofs, people and in its
synergistic action joins with motor exhaust to become lead iodide…
Dry ice, CO2 also used in seeding, is equally dangerous, disrupting
the entire ecology of the planet.”
Legal Response to Environmental Concerns about Weather Modification
http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/1520-0450(1975)014%3C0681%3ALRTECA%3E2.0.CO%3B2
Sliver Toxicity:
https://www.nature.nps.gov/hazardssafety/toxic/silver.pdf
“Hazards to fish, wildlife, and other non-human biota:
In fish and amphibian toxicity tests with 22 metals and metalloids, silver was the most toxic tested element as judged by acute LC50 values. In solution, ionic silver is extremely toxic to aquatic plants and animals. Among all tested species, the most sensitive individuals to silver were the poorly nourished and young and those exposed to low water hardness or salinity.”
Is Cloud seeding Harmful?
http://www.ranches.org/cloudseedingharmful.htm
The Office of Environment, Health and Safety, UC Berkeley, rates silver iodide as a Class C, non-soluble, inorganic, hazardous chemical that pollutes water and soil.(8) It has been found to be highly toxic to fish, livestock and humans.(6,7,8,9) Numerous medical articles demonstrate that humans absorb silver iodide through the lungs, nose, skin, and GI tract.(7,8,9) Mild toxicity can cause GI irritation, renal and pulmonary lesions, and mild argyria (blue or black discoloration of the skin). Severe toxicity can result in hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, shock, enlarged heart, severe argyria, and death by respiratory depression.(8)
Moreover, a key manufacturer of silver iodide for weather modification, Deepwater Chemicals, warns of potential health effects of silver iodide in their Material Safety Data Sheet as follows:
Chronic Exposure/Target Organs: Chronic ingestion of iodides may produce “iodism”, which may be manifested by skin rash, running nose, headache and irritation of the mucous membranes. Weakness, anemia, loss of weight and general depression may also occur. Chronic inhalation or ingestion may cause argyria characterized by blue-gray discoloration of the eyes, skin and mucous membranes. Chronic skin contact may cause permanent discoloration of the skin.(10)
Under the guidelines of the Clean Water Act by the EPA, silver iodide is considered a hazardous substance, a priority pollutant, and as a toxic pollutant.(10)