Introduction

Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic,
meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). It can have harmful
effects on plants, aquatic animals and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by
emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which react with the water
molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids. Some governments have made
efforts since the 1970s to reduce the release of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide
into the atmosphere with positive results. Nitrogen oxides can also be produced
naturally by lightning strikes, and sulfur dioxide is produced by volcanic eruptions.
Acid rain has been shown to have adverse impacts on forests, freshwaters and
soils, killing insect and aquatic life-forms, causing paint to peel, corrosion of steel
structures such as bridges, and weathering of stone buildings and statues as well as
having impacts on human health.

Conceptual clarifications
Acid rain
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. "Acid rain" is a popular term referring to the
deposition of a mixture from wet (rain, snow, sleet, fog, cloudwater, and dew) and
dry (acidifying particles and gases) acidic components. Distilled water, once
carbon dioxide is removed, has a neutral pH of 7. Liquids with a pH less than 7 are
acidic, and those with a pH greater than 7 are alkaline. "Clean" or unpolluted rain
has an acidic pH, but usually no lower than 5.7, because carbon dioxide and water
in the air react together to form carbonic acid, a weak acid according to the
following reaction:
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H2O (l) + CO2 (g) ⇌ H2CO3 (aq)
Carbonic acid then can ionize in water forming low concentrations of hydronium
and carbonate ions:
H2O (l) + H2CO3 (aq) ⇌ HCO3− (aq) + H3O+ (aq)
However, unpolluted rain can also contain other chemicals which affect its pH
(acidity level). A common example is nitric acid produced by electric discharge in
the atmosphere such as lightning.[1] Acid deposition as an environmental issue
(discussed later in the article) would include additional acids other than H2CO3.

Human Sustainability

Human Sustainability generally refers to systems, behaviors and activities

aimed at helping to preserve a particular entity or resource. Human sustainability is
one category, which involves specific goals, strategies and methods implemented
to preserve and improve the quality of human life. Sociological, environmental and
resource-based factors contribute to human sustainability.

Causes of Acid Rain

This image illustrates the pathway for acid rain in our environment. 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. While a small
portion of the SO2 and NOX that cause acid rain is from natural sources such as
volcanoes, most of it comes from the burning of fossil fuels. The major sources of
SO2 and NOX in the atmosphere are:

 Burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity. Two thirds of SO2 and one
fourth of NOX in the atmosphere come from electric power generators.

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  Vehicles and heavy equipment.
 Manufacturing, oil refineries and other industries.
 Winds can blow SO2 and NOX over long distances and across borders
making acid rain a problem for everyone and not just those who live close to
these sources.
Forms of Acid Deposition

Wet Deposition

Wet deposition is what we most commonly think of as acid rain. The

sulfuric and nitric acids formed in the atmosphere fall to the ground mixed with
rain, snow, fog, or hail.

Dry Deposition

Acidic particles and gases can also deposit from the atmosphere in the
absence of moisture as dry deposition. The acidic particles and gases may deposit
to surfaces (water bodies, vegetation, buildings) quickly or may react during
atmospheric transport to form larger particles that can be harmful to human health.
When the accumulated acids are washed off a surface by the next rain, this acidic
water flows over and through the ground, and can harm plants and wildlife, such as
insects and fish. The amount of acidity in the atmosphere that deposits to earth
through dry deposition depends on the amount of rainfall an area receives. For
example, in desert areas the ratio of dry to wet deposition is higher than an area
that receives several inches of rain each year.

Acid rain and human sustainability

The effects of acid rain is a major concern in the area of human

sustainability Acid rain itself is not harmful to humans, ie, the skin contact with
contaminated water or snow does not pose a health risk. However, the gases that

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cause this rain (nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide), are harmful.
These gases contain particles of sulfate and nitrate and are carried by the wind and
inhaled by people causing respiratory diseases. Acid rain has been shown to have
adverse impacts on forests, freshwaters and soils, killing insect and aquatic life-
forms as well as causing damage to buildings and having impacts on human health.

Acid rain has significant effects on the world environment and public health
and thus affects human sustainability in the following areas

Effect on Aquatic Environment: Acid rain either falls directly on aquatic bodies
or gets run off the forests, roads and fields to flow into streams, rivers and lakes.
Over a period of time, acids get accumulated in the water and lower the overall pH
of the water body. The aquatic plants and animals need a particular pH level of
about 4.8 to survive. If the pH level falls below that the conditions become hostile
for the survival of aquatic life. Acid rain tendency of altering pH and aluminum
concentrations greatly affects pH concentration levels in surface water, thereby
affecting fish as well as other aquatic life-forms. At pH levels below 5, most fish
eggs cannot hatch. Lower pHs can also kill adult fish. Acid rain runoff from
catchment areas into rivers and lakes has also reduced biodiversity as rivers and
lakes become more acidic. Species including fish, plant and insect types in some
lakes, rivers and brooks have been reduced and some even completely eliminated
owing to excess acid rain flowing into the waters.

Effect on Forests: It makes trees vulnerable to disease, extreme weather, and

insects by destroying their leaves, damaging the bark and arresting their growth.
Forest damage due to acid rain is most evident in Eastern Europe – especially
Germany, Poland and Switzerland.

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Effect on Soil: Acid rain highly impacts on soil chemistry and biology. It means,
soil microbes and biological activity as well as soil chemical compositions such as
soil pH are damaged or reversed due to the effects of acid rain. The soil needs to
maintain an optimum pH level for the continuity of biological activity. When acid
rains seep into the soil, it means higher soil pH, which damages or reverses soil
biological and chemical activities. Hence, sensitive soil microorganisms that
cannot adapt to changes in pH are killed. High soil acidity also denatures enzymes
for the soil microbes. On the same breadth, hydrogen ions of acid rain leach away
vital minerals and nutrients such as calcium and magnesium.

Vegetation Cover and Plantations: The damaging effects of acid rain on soil and
high levels of dry depositions have endlessly damaged high altitude forests and
vegetation cover since they are mostly encircled by acidic fogs and clouds.
Besides, the widespread effects of acid rain on ecological harmony have lead to
stunted growth and even death of some forests and vegetation cover.

Effect on Architecture and Buildings: Acid rain on buildings, especially those

constructed with limestone, react with the minerals and corrode them away. This
leaves the building weak and susceptible to decay. Modern buildings, cars,
airplanes, steel bridges and pipes are all affected by acid rain. Irreplaceable damage
can be caused to the old heritage buildings.

Effect on Public Health: When in atmosphere, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide
gases and their particulate matter derivatives like sulfates and nitrates, degrades
visibility and can cause accidents, leading to injuries and deaths. Human health is
not directly affected by acid rain because acid rain water is too dilute to cause
serious health problems. However, the dry depositions also known as gaseous
particulates in the air which in this case are nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide can

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cause serious health problems when inhaled. Intensified levels of acid depositions
in dry form in the air can cause lung and heart problems such as bronchitis and
asthma.

Other Effects: Acid rain leads to weathering of buildings, corrosion of metals, and
peeling of paints on surfaces. Buildings and structures made of marble and
limestone are the ones especially damaged by acid rain due to the reactivity of the
acids in the rain and the calcium compounds in the structures. The effects are
commonly seen on statues, old grave stones, historic monuments, and damaged
buildings. Acid rain also corrodes metals like steel, bronze, copper, and iron.

Prevention methods

Many coal-firing power stations use flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) to

remove sulfur-containing gases from their stack gases. For a typical coal-fired
power station, FGD will remove 95% or more of the SO2 in the flue gases. An
example of FGD is the wet scrubber which is commonly used. A wet scrubber is
basically a reaction tower equipped with a fan that extracts hot smoke stack gases
from a power plant into 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. That is, 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 landfill. 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.

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 Conclusion

Achieving sustainability will enable the Earth to continue supporting human

life. In ecology, sustainability (from sustain and ability) is the property of
biological systems to remain diverse and productive indefinitely. Long-lived and
healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems. In
more general terms, sustainability is the endurance of systems and processes. The
organizing principle for sustainability is sustainable development, which includes
the four interconnected domains: ecology, economics, politics and culture.
Sustainability science is the study of sustainable development and environmental
science. Sustainability can also be defined as a socio-ecological process
characterized by the pursuit of a common ideal. An ideal is by definition
unattainable in a given time and space. However, by persistently and dynamically
approaching it, the process results in a sustainable system. Healthy ecosystems and
environments are necessary to the survival of humans and other organisms. Ways
of reducing negative human impact are environmentally-friendly chemical
engineering, environmental resources management and environmental protection.
Information is gained from green computing, green chemistry, earth science,
environmental science and conservation biology. Ecological economics studies the
fields of academic research that aim to address human economies and natural
ecosystems. Acid rain is particularly harmful to vegetation as the acid in the rain
changes the pH of the soil and leeches away important minerals. The amount of
acid rain that an ecosystem can tolerate is known as its critical load. After the
sulphuric and nitric acids have formed in the atmosphere, they can travel long
distances with the wind before being deposited and thus a great challenge to human
sustainability.

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