"Acid sulfate soils are the nastiest soils in the world. They generate sulphuric acid that brings their pH as low as 2 and leaks into drainage and floodwaters. In this acid environment, aluminium and other toxic elements kill vegetation and aquatic life or, in sub-lethal doses, render many species stunted and sickly. Generations of people depending on these soils have been impoverished and, probably, poisoned by their drinking water."

Dent and Pons 1995, A world perspective on acid sulphate soils. Geoderma 67: 263-276.