Case study

on acid
rain
By: Nimra
butt
9G3

Introduction
Acid rain is a widespread term used to describe all forms of
acid precipitation (rain, snow, hail, fog, etc.). Atmospheric
pollutants, particularly oxides of sulphur and nitrogen, can
cause precipitation to become more acidic when
converted to sulphuric and nitric acids, hence the term acid
rain. Acid deposition, acid rain and acid precipitation all
relate to the chemistry of air pollution and moisture in the
atmosphere. Scientists generally use the term acid
deposition but all three terms relate to the same issue. Acid
rain is basically rain that has a higher than normal acid level
(low pH).
Acid rain became particularly prominent as a media issue
during the 1980s. However, during the 1970s many countries
started to notice changes in fish populations in lakes and
damage to certain trees. By the late 1970s concern led to
international efforts to identify the causes and effects
of long-range (transboundary) transport of air pollutants,
and thus during the 1980s much research was conducted in
Europe and North America. Legislation during the 1980s and
1990s has led to reductions in sulphur dioxide emissions in
many countries but reductions in emissions of nitrogen
oxides have been much less.
Although media attention has shifted towards other
environmental issues such as global warming, acid rain
continues to be a problem at the beginning of the
21st century.

LESHAN GIANT BUDDHA,

MOUNT EMEI (China,
Buddhist)
Towering above the sheer river gorges of Chinas
Sichuan province, Mount Emei, one of the Four
Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China, represents the
main seat of Chinese Buddhism. It is home to the
country's first Buddhist temple, built in the 1st century
C.E., and contains numerous other temples,
monasteries and religious shrines, including the 8th
century Leshan Giant Buddha. This Tang Dynasty-era
masterpiece is the world's largest Buddhist statue,
reaching an awe-inspiring 71 meters in height and is
28 meters in width. Carved out of a face of a
sandstone cliff facing Mount Emei, the Leshan Giant
Buddha is surrounded by spectacularly lush and
breathtaking subtropical and subalpine forests, and
rests atop the confluence of three major rivers, the
Minjiang, Dadu, and Qingyi. This site is a place of
invaluable religious, artistic and natural significance.
The Leshan Buddha has fallen victim to pollution
emanating from unbridled development in the
region. In this case, the culprit has been determined

to be the growing numbers of coal fired power plants

located near the Giant Buddha, specifically, the
toxic gases that their smokestacks spew into the air;
these eventually return to the earth as acid rain. Over
time, the Buddha's nose has turned black and the
curls of his hair have begun to fall from his head. The
local government has shut down several factories
and power plants in close proximity to the Leshan
Giant Buddha, which has stopped the blackening of
his face from soot; however, acid rain continues to
compromise the structural integrity of this
masterpiece. The Leshan Giant Buddha, which was
designed carefully to survive millennia of floods and
earthquakes, is now at high risk of rapid deterioration
from the unbridled pace of industrial development in
western China.

Some more Countries

affected by acid rain
Countries that are mostly affected by acid rain
include; United States and Canada mostly
because of high numbers of factories, power
plants and large numbers of automotive plants.
In Europe, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic,
Sweden, Norway and Finland are affected
because of British and European factories. In
Asia, India and China are mostly affected
mainly because of the large numbers of
factories.

Causes of acid
rain
Natural sources such as erupting volcanoes, rotting
vegetation and sea sprays produce sulphur dioxide and
fires, bacterial decomposition and lightening generate
nitrogen dioxide. The chemicals released by natural sources
get mixed up with water and oxygen and are disperse over
large areas because of wind patterns.

Man-made sources include emission of sulphur dioxide

and nitrogen oxides due to combustion of fossil fuels.
Roughly two-thirds of all sulphur dioxide and one-fourth of all
nitrogen oxides come from generation of electricity through
burning of fossil fuels such as coal. These gases react in the
atmosphere with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to
form various acidic compounds such as sulphuric acid,
ammonium nitrate, and nitric acid. The existing winds blow
these acidic compounds over large areas across borders
and they fall back to the ground in the form of acid rain or
other forms of precipitation. Upon reaching the earth, it
flows across the surface, absorbs into the soil and enters into
lakes and rivers and finally gets mixed up with sea water.

The gases i.e. i.e. sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides
(NOx) are primarily gases occurring from electric power
generation by burning coal and responsible for acid rain.
Burning coal. Oil and natural gas in power stations
makes electricity, giving off sulphur dioxide gas.
Burning petrol and oil in vehicle engines gives off
nitrogen oxides as gases.
These gases mix with water vapour and rainwater in the
atmosphere producing weak solutions of sulphuric and
nitric acids which fall as acid rain.

Problems:
Acid rain can travel long distances.
Often it doesnt fall where the gas is produced. High chimneys
disperse (spread) the gases and winds blow them great distances
before they dissolve and fall to Earth as rain.
E.g.: gases produced in England and Western Europe can result in
acid rain in Scotland and Scandinavia.

Impacts of acid
rain
Acid rain is an extremely destructive form of pollution, and
the environment suffers from its effects. Forests, trees, lakes,
animals, and plants suffer from acid rain. :

Trees -The needles and leaves of the trees turn brown and
fall off. Trees can also suffer from stunted growth; and have
damaged bark and leaves, which makes them vulnerable
to weather, disease, and insects. All of this happens partly
because of direct contact between trees and acid rain, but
it also happens when trees absorb soil that has come into
contact with acid rain. The soil poisons the tree with toxic
substances that the rain has deposited into it.

Lakes- are also damaged by acid rain. Fish die off, and
that removes the main source of food for birds. Acid rain
can even kill fish before they are born when the eggs are
laid and come into contact with the acid. Fish usually die
only when the acid level of a lake is high; when the acid
level is lower, they can become sick, suffer stunted growth,
or lose their ability to reproduce. Also, birds can die from
eating "toxic" fish and insects.

Buildings -Acid rain dissolves the stonework and mortar of

buildings (especially those made out of sandstone or
limestone).It reacts with the minerals in the stone to form a
powdery substance that can be washed away by rain.

Transport-Currently, both the railway industry and the

aeroplane industry have to spend a lot of money to repair
the corrosive damage done by acid rain. Also, bridges have
collapsed in the past due to acid rain corrosion.

Humans -Humans can become seriously ill, and can even

die from the effects of acid rain. One of the major problems
that acid rain can cause in a human being is respiratory
problems. Many can find it difficult to breathe, especially
people who have asthma. Asthma, along with dry coughs,
headaches, and throat irritations can be caused by the
sulphur dioxides and nitrogen oxides from acid rain.

Solutions
- 1. Sulphur dioxide can be removed from power
stations chimneys but this process is expensive.
- 2. Reduce the amount of electricity we use
- Turn TVs off at the mains, dont leave on standby.
- Turn off lights when a room is not in use.
- 3. Use renewable energy like wind power, solar
panels, tidal power, HEP schemes and geothermal
energy.
- 4. Fit catalytic converters to vehicle exhausts which
remove the nitrogen oxides.
- 5. Limit the number of vehicles on the roads and
increase public transport.