Acid Rain

Although the term acid rain was coined in the early 1850s, around the time of the Industrial
Revolution, it did not become a rallying cry for environmental reform until the late 1960s.
The devastating effects of this precipitation on the world's water supply, fish populations,
and plant life can be traced back scientifically to the use of fossil fuels in factories. Public
5demonstrations held in the early 1970s helped bring about major changes in pollution and
emission standards. Although the problem still exists worldwide, many companies have
taken steps to minimize its root causes.

Acid rain is precipitation that contains traces of pollutants, primarily sulfur dioxide

and nitrogen oxide gases created as fossil fuels like coal or oil burn. Around the time of the
10Industrial Revolution, large factories began to use coal to power their machinery. As the
coal burned, it released large amounts of sulfur and nitrogen gases into the air through
smokestack exhaust. These gases would often reach the upper levels of the atmosphere
and drift into areas where natural rainclouds regularly formed.

Particles of these highly acidic sulfur and nitrogen gases bond with the natural rain and fall
15to the ground during storms. Natural rainfall should have a pH level around 5.6, which is
mildly acidic but not considered harmful. When sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide mixes
with this rainwater, the pH level can quickly drop below 5.0. In certain areas located near
large factories, the level occasionally approaches the acidity of pure vinegar. This is acid
rain.

20Acid rain does not always occur in the same area as the pollutants that cause it. Once the
acidic pollutants leave the smokestack, they are caught up in the natural jet streams and
weather fronts of the atmosphere. The sulfur and nitrogen gases might travel for a great
distance before encountering rain-producing clouds.

25In many cases, this precipitation is often more of a problem for neighboring countries than
for those with the pollution-causing factories. Canada, for example, suffers effects of
pollutants produced by factories located in New York and New Jersey. Scandinavian
countries are plagued by acid rain originating from Russia and China.

The negative effects of acid rain can be seen everywhere. It can kill grasses and other
30protective ground cover, leading to more incidence of erosion and acidic soil levels. The
precipitation can strip away the waxy coating on leaves, leaving trees more vulnerable to
fungal damage and dehydration. Fish cannot survive or breed in water with a pH value
below five, which means that this pollution can kill off an entire population of fish.

It can also cause damage to exposed metal and concrete supports, grave markers and
35historical monuments, and damaged structures can be very costly to repair.

Following the stricter guidelines imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
many factories in the United States have voluntarily installed special scrubbers to filter
their emissions. These scrubbers use limestone and other basic chemicals to attract the
sulfur particles before they leave the smokestack. In some cases, the resulting compound
40is sold to other companies as a form of gypsum, which is used to create drywall panels.
Some nitrogen oxide still reaches the atmosphere, but it does not affect the pH level of
rainfall as much as the sulfur dioxide once did.