Some of this waste seeps through the porous limestone of the island into the aquifers. The discharge of airborne pollutants into the atmosphere eventually returns as acid rain to damage housing, and can cause respiratory problems for people in the areas where bauxite processing takes place. There is also an annual loss of millions of tons of topsoil from erosion that ends up causing siltation of the inshore, with severe consequences for the reefs and aquatic life that they support.