Assignment No.

01

Acid Rain and Its Effect on Environment

Acid Rain and Its Effect on Environment

Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it possesses 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 carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids. Governments have made efforts since the 1970s to reduce the release of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere with positive results. Nitrogen oxides can also be produced naturally by lightning strikes and sulfur dioxide is produced by volcanic eruptions. The chemicals in acid rain can cause paint to peel, corrosion of steel structures such as bridges, and erosion of stone statues.

1. Definition
"Acid rain" is a popular term referring to the deposition of wet (rain, snow, sleet, fog, cloud water, 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 a slightly acidic pH of over 5.7, Figure 1 Formation of Acid Rain because carbon dioxide and water in the air react together to form carbonic acid, but unpolluted rain also contains other chemicals. A common example is nitric acid produced by electric discharge in the atmosphere such as lightning. Carbonic acid is formed by the reaction: 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)

Acid deposition as an environmental issue would include additional acids to H2CO3.

2. Causes of Acid Rain

Acid rain is caused by natural processes and human activities. Chemicals which contribute to acid rain formation naturally are produced by lightning and volcano activities. Acid rain is also formed naturally by forest fires. There are three main compounds that cause acidification of rain in the atmosphere: (i) Oxides and other compounds of Sulphur: y y y Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) Sulphur Trioxide (SO3) Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S)

(ii) Chlorine and Hydrochloric Acid (iii) Nitrogen Compounds: y Nitric Oxide y Nitrous Oxide y Nitrogen Dioxide y Nitric Acid

3. Measurement of Acid Rain

Acid rain is measured using a scale called "pH." The lower a substance's pH, the more acidic it is. Pure water has a pH of 7.0. Normal rain is slightly acidic because carbon dioxide dissolves into it, so it has a pH of about 5.5. As of the year 2000, the most acidic rain falling in the US has a pH of about 4.3. Acid rain's pH, and the chemicals that cause acid rain, are monitored by two networks, both supported by EPA. The National Atmospheric Deposition Program measures wet deposition, and its Web site features maps of rainfall pH (follow the link to the isopleth maps) and other important precipitation chemistry measurements. The Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNET) measures dry deposition. Its web site features information about the data it collects, the measuring sites, and the kinds of equipment it uses.

4. Effects of Acid Rain on Environment

Acid rain can be carried great distances in the atmosphere, not just between countries but also from continent to continent. The acid can also take the form of snow, mists and dry dusts. The rain sometimes falls many miles from the source of pollution but wherever it falls it can have a serious effect on soil, trees, buildings and water. In the 1970s the effects of acid rain were seen at their worst. Forests all over the world were dying and in Scandinavia the fish were dying; lakes

looked crystal clear but contained no living creatures or plant life. Many of Britain's freshwater fish were threatened; their eggs were damaged and deformed fish were hatched. This in turn affected fish-eating birds and animals. 4.1. Effects on Aquatic Life: The main impact of fresh water acidification is a reduction in diversity and populations of fresh water species. The effect on soil and rock will depend upon the in situ capacity called buffering capacity to neutralize the acids. The soil organisms are killed in acid rain where soils have limited buffering capacity. The acidic leaf litter in forest areas adds to the nutrient leaching effects of acid rain. This scavenging from cloud increases the amount of pollution deposited. Trees are quite effective in intercepting the air borne pollutants than other types of upland vegetation. In the areas of high acid deposition and poor buffering in the lakes, a pH less than 5 has become common. At pH 5, fish life and frogs begin to disappear. By PH 4, 5, virtually all aquatic life has gone. Acid rain releases metals particularly Aluminum-from the soil, which can build up in lake water to levels that are toxic to fish and other organisms. A decline in fish and amphibian population will affect the food chain of birds and mammals that depend on them for food. 4.2. Effects on Forests: It is thought that acid rain can cause trees to grow more slowly or even to die but scientists have found that he same amount of acid rain seems to have more effect in some areas than it does in others. As acid rain falls on a forest it trickles through the leaves of the trees and runs down into the soil below. Some of it finds its way into streams and then into rivers and lakes. Some types of soil can help to neutralize the acid - they have what is called a "buffering capacity". Other soils are already slightly acidic so these are particularly susceptible to the effects of acid rain. Acid rain can affect trees in several different ways.

Figure 2 Trees affected by Acid Rain

It may: y Dissolve and wash away the nutrients and minerals in the soil which help the trees to grow such as potassium, calcium and magnesium. y Cause the release of harmful substances such as aluminium into the soil and waterways which further affects wildlife. y Wear away the waxy protective coating of leaves, damaging them and preventing them from being able to photosynthesise properly. A combination of these effects weakens the trees which mean that they can be more easily attacked by diseases and insects or injured by bad weather. It is not just trees that are affected by acid rain either, other plants may also suffer. 4.3. Effects on Buildings and Monuments: All historic buildings suffer damage and decay with time. Natural weathering causes some of this but there is no doubt that air pollution, particularly SO2, also plays an important part. SO2 penetrated porous stones such as limestone and is converted to calcium sulphate, which causes gradual crumbling. Most building damage happens in urban areas where there are many SO2 emitters (domestic chimneys, factories and heating plant). The introduction of the Clean Air Acts and the replacement of coal fires by gas and electricity has greatly reduced sulphur dioxide levels in urban areas. Other materials badly affected by pollutant gases include marble, stained glass, most metals and paint. Poorly set or fractured concrete may also allow sulphates to penetrate and corrode the steel reinforcement inside.

Figure 3 Monuments affected by Acid Rain

4.4. Effects on Human Health: Acid rain affects us in many different ways. One major way is our health. Breathing and lung problems in children and adults who have asthma and in children have been linked to acid air pollution. Everything that we eat, drink, and breathe has at one time come in contact with acid deposits. This could threaten our health by making us become sick. The following health problems occur each year in the U.S. and Canada due to acid rain: y 550 premature deaths y y 1,520 emergency room visits 210,070 asthma symptom days

5. Control of Acid Rain

Lakes and rivers can have powdered limestone added to them to neutralize the water - this is called "liming". Liming, however, is expensive and its effects are only temporary - it needs to be continued until the acid rain stops. The people of Norway and Sweden have successfully used liming to help restore lakes and streams in their countries. A major liming program has been taking place in Wales where 12,000 km of its waterways were acidified. In 2003 liming of the river Wye led to a return of the salmon which had completely disappeared in 1985. However, other parts of Wales have taken longer to recover and there are still no signs of life. Recently a more positive side of acid rain has been noted as it can be very effective at reducing the natural production of methane, a greenhouse gas approximately 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, especially in wetland areas. 5.1. Reduce Emissions:

y Burning fossil fuels is still one of the cheapest ways to produce electricity so
people are now researching new ways to burn fuel which don't produce so much pollution.

y Governments need to spend more money on pollution control even if it

does mean an increase in the price of electricity.

y Sulphur can also be 'washed' out of smoke by spraying a mixture of water

and powdered limestone into the smokestack.

y Cars are now fitted with catalytic converters which remove three dangerous
chemicals from exhaust gases.

5.2. Use of Alternative Sources of Energy:

y Governments need to invest in researching different ways to produce

energy.

y Two other sources that are currently used are hydroelectric and nuclear
power. These are 'clean' as far as acid rain goes but what other impact do they have on our environment?

y Other sources could be solar energy or windmills but how reliable would
these be in places where it is not very windy or sunny?

y All energy sources have different benefits and costs and all theses have to
be weighed up before any government decides which of them it is going to use. 5.3. Conserving resources:

y Greater subsidies of public transport by the government to encourage

people to use public transport rather than always travelling by car.

y Every individual can make an effort to save energy by switching off lights
when they are not being used and using energy-saving appliances - when less electricity is being used, pollution from power plants decreases.

y Walking, cycling and sharing cars all reduce the pollution from vehicles.

REFERENCES:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. www.geography.about.com http://geography.about.com/od/globalproblemsandissues/a/acidrain.html http://archive.cyark.org/top-5-endangered-heritage-sites-acid-rain-blog http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_rain http://harenvironment.gov.in/html