Acid Rain

Definition
Acid rain, or acid deposition, is a broad term that includes any form of precipitation with acidic
components, such as sulfuric or nitric acid that fall to the ground from the atmosphere in wet or
dry forms. This can include rain, snow, fog, hail or even dust that is acidic.

History

Acid rain was first observed by Robert Angus Smith in Manchester, England. In 1852,
he reported the relationship between acid rain and atmospheric pollution. It was,
however, not until the late 1960s that scientists began widely observing and studying
the phenomenon. Harold Harvey of Canada was among the first to research a "dead"
lake. In the United States, public awareness of the problem was heightened in the
1990s, after the New York Times promulgated reports from the Hubbard Brook
Experimental Forest in New Hampshire of the myriad deleterious environmental
effects resulting from acid rain.

Since the Industrial Revolution, emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides to the
atmosphere have increased. Industrial and energy-generating facilities that burn
fossil fuels, primarily coal, are the principal sources of increased sulfur oxides. [2]

Composition
Acid rain results when sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) are
emitted into the atmosphere and transported by wind and air currents. The
SO2 and NOX react with water, oxygen and other chemicals to form sulfuric
and nitric acids. These then mix with water and other materials before
falling to the ground.

PH
Normal rain has a pH of about 5.6; it is slightly acidic because carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolves
into it forming weak carbonic acid. Acid rain usually has a pH between 4.2 and 4.4.

Cause
Sulfur and nitrogen compounds are the principal causes of acid rain. Many of them are
generated by human activity, such as electricity generation, factories, and motor vehicles.
Coal power plants are among the most polluting. The gases can be carried hundreds of
kilometers in the atmosphere before they are converted to acids and deposited.
Factories used to have short chimneys to release smoke, but because they polluted
the air in their nearby localities, factories now have tall smokestacks. The problem
with this "solution" is that those pollutants get carried far off, releasing gases into
regional atmospheric circulation and contributing to the spread of acid rain. Often
deposition occurs at considerable distances downwind of the emissions, with
mountainous regions tending to receive the most (because of their higher rainfall).
An example of this effect is the low pH of rain (compared to the local emissions) that
falls in Scandinavia

Acid deposition

Wet deposition

Wet deposition of acids occurs when any form of precipitation (rain, snow, and so
forth) removes acids from the atmosphere and delivers it to the Earth's surface. This
can result from the deposition of acids produced in the raindrops (see aqueous
phase chemistry above) or by the precipitation removing the acids either in clouds or
below clouds. Wet removal of both gases and aerosol are both of importance for wet
deposition.

Dry deposition

Acid deposition also occurs via dry deposition in the absence of precipitation. This
can be responsible for as much as 20-60 percent of total acid deposition. This occurs
when particles and gases stick to the ground, plants, or other surfaces.

Adverse Effects
Both the lower pH and higher aluminum concentrations in surface water that occur
as a result of acid rain can cause damage to fish and other aquatic animals. At pH
levels lower than 5, most fish eggs will not hatch, and lower pH levels can kill adult
fish. As lakes become more acidic, biodiversity is reduced. There has been some
debate on the extent to which man-made causes of lake acidity caused fish kills - for
example Edward Krug determined that acid rain was an environmental nuisance, not
a catastrophe, and even that acid rain might not be the cause of lake acidity.[4]

Soils

Soil biology can be seriously damaged by acid rain. Some tropical microbes can
quickly consume acids[5] but other microbes are unable to tolerate low pH levels and
are killed. The enzymes of these microbes are denatured (changed in shape so they
no longer function) by the acid. Acid rain also removes minerals and nutrients from
the soil that trees need to grow.[6]

Forests and other vegetation

Acid rain can slow the growth of forests, cause leaves and needles to turn brown and
fall off and die. In extreme cases, trees or whole acres of forest can die. The death of
trees is not usually a direct result of acid rain, but it often weakens trees and makes
them more susceptible to other threats. Damage to soils (noted above) can also
cause problems. High altitude forests are especially vulnerable as they are often
surrounded by clouds and fog which are more acidic than rain.

Other plants can also be damaged by acid rain but the effect on food crops is
minimized by the application of fertilizers to replace lost nutrients. In cultivated
areas, limestone may also be added to increase the ability of the soil to keep the pH
stable, but this tactic is largely unusable in the case of wilderness lands. Acid Rain
depletes minerals from the soil and then it stunts the growth of the plant.

Human health

Some scientists have suggested direct links to human health, but none have been
proven. However, fine particles, a large fraction of which are formed from the same
gases as acid rain (sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide), have been shown to cause
problems with heart and lung function.[6]

Other adverse effects

Acid rain can also cause damage to certain building materials and historical monuments. This
is because the sulfuric acid in the rain chemically reacts with the calcium compounds in the
stones (limestone, sandstone, marble, and granite) to create gypsum, which then flakes off.
This is also commonly seen on old gravestones where the acid rain can cause the inscription
to become completely illegible. Acid rain also causes an increased rate of oxidation for iron,
causing damage to metal structures and monuments. [6]

Prevention methods
Technological solutions
In the United States and various other countries, many coal-burning power plants use flue
gas desulfurization (FGD) to remove sulfur-containing gases from their stack gases. An
example of FGD is the wet scrubber, which is basically a reaction tower equipped with a fan
that passes hot smoke stack gases through the tower. Lime or limestone in slurry form is also
injected into the tower to mix with the stack gases and combine with the sulfur dioxide
present. The calcium carbonate of the limestone produces pH-neutral calcium sulfate that is
physically removed from the scrubber. In other words, the scrubber turns sulfur pollution
into industrial sulfates.

In some areas, the sulfates are sold to chemical companies as gypsum when the purity of
calcium sulfate is high. In others, they are placed in landfills. However, the effects of acid rain
can last for generations, as the effects of pH level change can stimulate the continued
leaching of undesirable chemicals into otherwise pristine water sources, killing off vulnerable
insect and fish species and blocking efforts to restore native life.