When fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas are burned, chemicals like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are produced. These chemicals react with water and other chemicals in the air to form sulfuric acid, nitric acid and other harmful pollutants like sulfates and nitrates. These acid pollutants spread upwards into the atmosphere, and are carried by air currents, to finally return to the ground in the form of acid rain, fog or snow. The corrosive nature of acid rain causes many forms of environmental damage. Acid pollutants also occur as dry particles and gases, which when washed from the ground by rain, add to the acids in the rain to form an even more corrosive solution. This is called acid deposition.
Damage from acid rain is widespread in North America, Europe, Japan, China and South-east Asia. In the US, coal-burning power plants contribute to about 70% of sulfur dioxide. In Canada, oil refining, metal smelting and other industrial activities account for 61% of the sulfur dioxide pollution. Motor vehicle exhaust fumes are the main source of nitrogen oxides. The acids in acid rain chemically react with any object they come into contact with.
Effects of Acid Rain
1)Acid rain dissolves and washes away nutrients in the soil, which are needed by plants. It can also dissolve naturally occurring toxic substances like aluminum and mercury, freeing them to pollute water or poison plants.
2)Acid rain indirectly affects plants by removing nutrients from the soil in which they grow. It affects trees more directly by creating holes in the waxy coating of leaves, causing brown dead spots which affect the plant's photosynthesis. Such trees are also more vulnerable to insect infestations, drought and cold. Spruce and fir forests at higher elevations seem to be most at risk. Farm crops are less affected by acid rain than forest.
3)Acid rain that falls or flows as ground water to reach rivers, lakes arid wetlands, causes the water in them to become acidic. This affects plant and animal life in aquatic ecosystems.
4)Acid rain also has far reaching effects on wildlife. By adversely affecting one species, the entire food chain is disrupted, ultimately endangering the entire ecosystem. Different aquatic species can tolerate different levels of acidity. For example, clams and mayflies have a high mortality when water has a pH of 6.0. Frogs can tolerate more acidic water, although with the decline in supply of mayflies, frog populations may also decline. Land animals that are dependent on aquatic organisms are also affected.
5)Acid rain and dry acid deposition damages buildings, automobiles, and other structures made of stone or metal. The acid corrodes the materials causing extensive damage and ruins historic buildings. For example, the Parthenon in Greece and the Taj Mahal in India have been affected by acid rain.
6)Although surface water polluted by acid rain does not directly harm people, the toxic substances leached from soil can pollute the water supply. Fish caught in these waters may be harmful for human consumption. Acid, along with other chemicals in the air, produces urban smog, which causes respiratory problems.
Control Measures for Acid Rain
Improvement in technologies and switching to clean combustion technologies are highly essential. Coal with lower sulphur content is desirable to use in thermal plants. Replacement of coal by natural gas would also reduce the problem substantially. Installing scrubbers to reduce smoke stack emissions, though expensive, would be economical compared to the losses due to damage done to lakes, forests, monuments, food production and so on. Billions of dollars are spent in repairing the damage to buildings in Europe annually.
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