SCI/TECH: Yellow rain phenomenon

On the 4th of June 2004, a strange occurrence has unfolded at a housing estate in Tanjung Bungah where rain would leave yellow residue on vehicles parked in the open.

Residents of Taman Sri Setia have been experiencing the strange phenomenon in the past few months and are anxious to know whether the 'yellow rain' is harmful to their health or the environment. 'Eco- nomy rice' seller Kenny Lim, 49, said his first encounter with the unusual rain was last year but it had become more frequent this year with the recent incident occurring yesterday.



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"I was walking around the neighbourhood in the morning when I noticed yellow droplets falling from the sky", Lim said yesterday.

The yellow water, he said, would leave stains albeit not permanent on their vehicles.

Another resident Bobby Ooi, 65, said since the yellowish raindrops did not cause discolouration to his car, he was not worried about it.

You all may remember on the X-files were there was a case about yellow rain. Apparently, this phenomenon is very common and always different coloured rain has also been known to fall as well.


[edit on 18-6-2004 by Zion Mainframe]

a google returned this :

Yellow rain is an anaerobic toxin that has a yellow color when
dispersed, but after exposure to oxygen, sometimes 24 hours,
all that is left is the carrier "flour." So, the mycotoxin and
its carrier are dispersed, fall to the ground while being
exposed to oxygen, and after a period of time all that is left
is the carrier - possibly flour.

Yellow Rain was used as a chemical-biological agent in
Southeast Asia in the l970's. Russia used Yellow Rain against
Afghanistan and Southeast Asia. Yellow rain can be used to
clear out an area of Indigenous people and within 24 hours
occupying forces can move in to inhabit the area. Again,
Yellow Rain loses all toxic effects within 24 hours after
being exposed to oxygen.


users.rcn.com...

I encourage those interested in "yellow Rain" to read this article... there's mention of Aliens in it... hmmmm

cns.miis.edu...

Two conflicting pieces of evidence--a declassified CIA report and a yellow-green shower in India--may revive the 20-year-old debate over Yellow Rain, which remains a lingering mystery of the Cold War. On September 13, 1981, then-U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig accused the Soviet Union of supplying trichothecene mycotoxins (poisonous compounds made by fungal molds that infect grain), popularly known as Yellow Rain, to the Communist regimes in Vietnam and Laos for use in counterinsurgency warfare. Leading American scientists challenged the U.S. government's evidence for these allegations, however, and the controversy was never fully resolved.



I had never heard of this until today, looks like I have some research to do now.

You are a beast elevatedone
im going to monitor the yellow rain phenomenon around the world

If they are touching it, it doesnt seem too toxic. I have seen similar things in Alabama where I used to live. It was caused by rain gathering pollen and dust in the air as it fell and leaving the yellow pollen behind when the drops evaporated. Little run offs and ditches sometimes had yellow rings even where the high point of the water was. It is spring and thus pollen season so maybe this isnt sinister after all, just a high pollen count for them perhaps.

but how do you explain the other types of rain?? there have been reports of black rain as well.

There have been reports of black rain falling across South Australia's west coast at the weekend.

Residents from Smoky Bay to Laura Bay have confirmed the black rain, which deposited ash on vehicles and boats.

The Bureau of Meteorology's weather observer in Ceduna, Mark Bedson, says the black rain came down during thunderstorms across Eyre Peninsula early Saturday.

link

Well, we now know that coloured rain can be caused by dirt,dust,etc, but what about this toxic yellow rain?

Trichothecene mycotoxins were alleged to be used in Southeast Asia, the incidents known popularly as "Yellow Rain." Initial suspicions were raised in the summer of 1975, when there were multiple reports among Hmong and Cambodian refugees of light aircraft dumping a yellow-green powder, causing vomiting and involuntary defecation. The powder was followed by the dropping of a munition that detonated in the air to produce a dense red haze that drifted down into the green-yellow dust, causing oral hemorrhaging followed by asphyxiation. Mortality rates were described as high. A UN commission was formed, but investigators were denied access to the areas where attacks reportedly took place. There are similar reports dating from the late 1960s in Yemen as well as from Ethiopia and Afghanistan in 1979-81. It has been alleged that there were more than 6,300 deaths in Laos, 1,000 in Cambodia, and 3,000 in Afghanistan. All alleged attacks occurred in remote areas, which made confirmation of attacks and recovery of the alleged agent extremely difficult.

Much controversy has centered about inconsistencies in eyewitness and victim accounts, as well as on the quality of the forensic evidence. The original public accusation was supported primarily by anecdotal accounts, intelligence reports, and the chemical analysis of a single sample without proper controls. The initial accusation also relied in part on an argument that mycotoxins did not occur in Southeast Asia because there were no reported occurrences in the literature. Soon after the original accusation was made, other investigators suggested that the "yellow clouds" were, in fact, bee feces produced by swarms of migrating insects, a phenomenon that had not been considered; the yellow rain was found to be composed mostly of pollen. It was also noted that Fusarium species are found in Southeast Asia, refuting some of the support for the original accusations. Subsequent chemical analyses of additional samples including clinical samples which established that victims were exposed to trichothecene mycotoxins; another sample contained mycotoxins and traces of a polyethylene glycol derivative. These reports provide additional support to the case for yellow rain as an example of toxin warfare. However, the possibility remains that the yellow rain and the mycotoxin exposure were natural phenomena.

Trichothecene mycotoxins

But what is Trichothecene mycotoxins??

The Russian military discovered the potential use of trichothecene mycotoxins as biological toxins shortly after World War II, when civilians ate bread baked from flour contaminated with species of fusarium mold. Some victims developed a protracted lethal illness characterized by initial symptoms of abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and exhaustion followed within days by fever, chills, muscular pain, and an imbalance of the red and white blood cells accompanied by pus-forming or other disease-causing organisms or their toxins in the blood or tissues.According to UNSCOM, Iraq researched trichothecene mycotoxins, including T-2.

The trichothecene mycotoxins are nonvolatile compounds produced by molds. These substances are relatively insoluble in water but highly soluble in ethanol, methanol, and propylene glycol. The trichothecenes are very stable and resist heat- and ultraviolet light-induced inactivation. Heating to 500o F for 30 minutes will inactivate the toxins, while exposure to sodium hypochlorite destroys toxic activity.

This discussion focuses on the T-2 mycotoxin, a highly toxic agent that causes several illnesses in humans and animals. From the 1970s and 1980s trichothecene mycotoxins surfaced in the press as a biological warfare agent in incidents labeled "yellow rain" attacks in Southeast Asia.

T-2


Structures of some of the Commoner Trichothecene Mycotoxins.



Trichothecene Mycotoxins

Symptoms

After exposure to the mycotoxins, early symptoms begin within about 5 - 60 minutes. They attack multiple systems at once providing full-body misery.

Skin symptoms include burning, tender and reddened skin, swelling, and blistering progressing to tissue death dermal and sloughing of large skin areas in lethal cases.

Respiratory exposure results in nasal itching, pain, sneezing, bloody and runny nose, difficulty breathing, wheezing, cough, and blood-tinged saliva and sputum.

Gastrointestinal symptoms include loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, abdominal cramping, and watery and/or bloody diarrhea.

Following entry into the eyes, pain, tearing, redness, and blurred vision occurs.

Systemic toxicity may occur bringing weakness, prostration, dizziness, lack of muscular coordination, irregular heartbeat, hyperthermia or hypothermia, diffuse bleeding, and hypotension. Death may occur within minutes to days depending on the dose and route of exposure.

Bio Weapons

[edit on 18-6-2004 by infinite]

pink snow phenonemon

waynesword.palomar.edu...

I've lived in Savannah and Atlanta, GA, two heavy pollen areas. The pollen count gets so high during the spring that it is common to have yellow droplets on your car on a daily basis, this is from the pollen sticking to the the dew in the morning. However, the pollen count can get even higher, so much so, that the incoming rain will actually pick up the material in the lower atmosphere and mix with it before hitting the ground, thus creating actual yellow rain.

This phenomenon in GA is natural and occurs every year at the same time. The thing in Tanjung Bungah sounds like it too is a mixture in the air. I would venture to say, since this is a surprise, there is another man made element being introduced into the atmosphere creating this effect.

Then there is yellow snow. It is created every winter all over the north, almost on a daily basis in some parts. However, when tested in the lab all yellow snow showed the same trace elements of amonia. Scentists are still baffeled to this day!

The Big O

Hmmm... I think I know where yellow snow comes from... Perhaps this yellow rain can be explained very easily... god just missed the toilet. I lived in Hinesville, GA just south of savana and there was a yellowish snow every now and then.

P.S. Don't eat the yellow snow

yellow rain like a golden shower? I have heard of golden showers but not sure what they are. They are probably worth alot of money since they are golden

Hoaks, excellent post and thank you for sharing the information with us

(Taken from Hoaks link)

To really appreciate these organisms you must view them under high magnification, preferably 400 power. Through a microscope a drop of melted snow contains literally thousands of brilliant red cells of Chlamydomonas nivalis that resemble globular hard candies. Critical focusing reveals a thickened wall with a warty or minutely bumpy ornamentation. Sometimes the cells are mixed with the distinctive winged pollen grains of timberline pines, such as whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis). In the Sierra Nevada I can usually find a few cells of another kind of snow algae in drops of pink snow. The other species, Chloromonas, has oval cells with a greenish center and a distinctive orange-yellow lipid droplet at each end.

Link

www.malaya.com.ph...

Apparently in march, there were some alleged problems with genetically modified corn and its pollen.

[edit on 19-6-2004 by Jamuhn]

Thank you for that Jamuhn. From reviewing all the information that we have gathered it does seem that a lot of different materials can cause the phenomenon, from bioweapons to regular dirt and dust.