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Is Eating Snow Safe?
Is Eating Snow Safe?. Snow is made primarily of evaporated water, which crystallizes at very low temperatures. The processes of evaporation and crystallization remove most contaminants -- in fact, similar processes are used to distill water -- so eating fresh snow is usually safe. However, snow on the ground may be contaminated with harmful...
Snow is made primarily of evaporated water, which crystallizes at very low temperatures. The processes of evaporation and crystallization remove most contaminants -- in fact, similar processes are used to distill water -- so eating fresh snow is usually safe. However, snow on the ground may be contaminated with harmful chemicals and pathogens and should not be eaten.
Snow Formation
Snow forms when droplets of water condense and freeze on tiny airborne particles called ice nuclei. Snowflake crystals grow around these nuclei as the original ice crystal "sucks" water molecules out of the surrounding air.
Snow Seeds, Dehydration and Contamination
Eating snow isn't safe under certain circumstances. Ice nuclei may be made of particulate pollutants that aren't safe to ingest. However, the amount of these particulates actually consumed is very small. The discovery of live bacteria and fungi in ice nuclei raises the possibility that even fresh snow may contain pathogens; however, the pathogens discovered thus far affect plants, not humans. Do not eat snow without melting it first if you're in an emergency situation, because the energy your body loses by melting ingested snow can worsen hypothermia, dehydration and starvation. Once snow is on the ground it may become contaminated with animal urine and feces, bacteria, algae and any chemicals or debris on the ground or in running water that contacts the snow.
