Ac id Rai n

Bautista, Justin Kevin S.

Introduction
 Air Pollution
- “any alteration of the physical, chemical and
biological properties of the atmosphere, or
any discharge thereto of any liquid, gaseous
or solid substances that will or is likely to
create or to render the air resources of the
country harmful, detrimental, or injurious to
public health, safety or welfare or which will
adversely affect their utilization for domestic,
commercial, industrial, agricultural,
recreational, or other legitimate purposes.”
(Republic Act No. 3931)
Definition
 Acid Rain
 Broad term referring to a mixture of wet and
dry deposition (deposited material) from the
atmosphere containing higher than normal
amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids
 The more accurate term is "acid precipitation."
 results from both natural sources, such as
volcanoes and decaying vegetation, and man-
made sources, primarily emissions of sulfur
dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx)
resulting from fossil fuel combustion.
 Did you know?
 Clean or unpolluted rain is also
ACIDIC
 Carbon dioxide and water in the air
react together to form carbonic
acid, a weak acid
H2O (l) + CO2 (g) → H2CO3 (aq)
Definition

 SO2
 Toxic colorless gas produced by
volcanoes and in various industrial
processes.

 NO2
 produced during combustion, especially
combustion at high temperatures.
Definition
 Wet Deposition
 If the acid chemicals in the
air are blown into areas
where the weather is wet,
the acids can fall to the
ground in the form of rain,
snow, fog, or mist
 Dry Deposition
 The acid chemicals may be
incorporated into dust or
smoke and fall into the
ground when the weather is
dry and will stick to the
ground, buildings, homes,
cars and trees.
 About 20-60% of the acidity
in the atmosphere falls
back to earth through dry
History
 Since the Industrial Revolution, emissions
of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides to
the atmosphere have increased
 Acid rain was first found in Manchester,
England
 In 1852, Robert Angus Smith found the
relationship between acid rain and
atmospheric pollution.
 Though acid rain was discovered in 1852,
it wasn't until the late 1960s that
scientists began widely observing and
studying the phenomenon.
History (con’t.)
 Canadian Harold Harvey was among the
first to research a "dead" lake.
 Public awareness of acid rain in the U.S
increased 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 demonstrated to
result from it.
 Measurement of Acid Rain
 pH Scale
 Used to measure
the amount of acid
in liquid-like water
 The smaller the
number on the pH
scale, the more
acidic the
substance is
Measurement of Acid Rain
 National Atmospheric
Deposition Program
 Measures wet deposition and
developed maps of rainfall pH and
other important precipitation chemistry
measurements.
 Clean Air Status and Trends
Network (CASTNET)
 Measures dry deposition
Effects of Acid Rain
 Acid rain causes acidification of lakes
and streams and contributes to the
damage of trees at high elevations and
many sensitive forest soils.
 Accelerates the decay of building
materials and paints, including
irreplaceable buildings, statues, and
sculptures that are part of a nation's
cultural heritage.
 Contribute to visibility degradation and
harm public health.
Effects on Surface
Waters and Aquatic
Animals
 Most lakes and streams have a pH
between 6 and 8
 primarily affects sensitive bodies of water,
which are located in watersheds whose
soils have a limited ability to neutralize
acidic compounds (called “buffering
capacity”)
 Lakes and streams become acidic (i.e., the
pH value goes down) when the water itself
and its surrounding soil cannot buffer the
acid rain enough to neutralize it.
Effects on Surface
Waters and Aquatic
Animals
 In areas where
buffering capacity
is low, acid rain
releases aluminum
from soils into
lakes and streams;
aluminum is highly
toxic to many
species of aquatic
organisms.
Effects on Surface
Waters and Aquatic
Animals
 The acidification problem grows in
magnitude if “episodic acidification” is
taken into account.
 Episodic acidification refers to brief
periods during which pH levels decrease
due to runoff from melting snow or heavy
downpours.
 Mass fish mortalities occur when episodic
acidification happens.
 More often, fish gradually disappear from
these waterways as their environment
slowly becomes intolerable.
Effects on Surface
Waters and Aquatic
Animals
 Even those species that appear to be
surviving may be suffering from acid
stress in a number of different ways. One
of the first signs of acid stress is the
failure of females to spawn.
 Other effects of acidified lakes on fish
include: decreased growth, inability
to regulate their own body chemistry,
reduced egg deposition, deformities
in young fish and increased susceptibility
to naturally occurring diseases.
 Effects on Surface
Waters and Aquatic
Animals
As water pH Effects
approaches

6.0 Crustaceans, insects, and some plankton

species begin to disappear.

5.0 Major changes in the makeup of the plankton

community occur.
Less desirable species of mosses and plankton
may begin to invade.
The progressive loss of some fish populations is
likely, with the more highly valued species being
generally the least tolerant of acidity.
Less than 5.0 The water is largely devoid of fish.
The bottom is covered with undecayed
material.
Mosses may dominate the nearshore areas.
Terrestrial animals, dependent on aquatic
ecosystems, are affected.
Effects on Surface
Waters and Aquatic
Animals
 The figure shows that
not all fish, shellfish,
or the insects that
they eat can tolerate
the same amount of
acid; for example,
frogs can tolerate
water that is more
acidic (i.e., has a lower
pH) than trout.
Effects on Forests
 Acid rain, acid fog and acid vapor damage
the surfaces of leaves and needles,
reduce a tree's ability to withstand cold,
and inhibit plant germination and
reproduction
 Tree vitality and regenerative capability
are reduced.
 Depletes supplies of important nutrients
(e.g. calcium and magnesium) from soils.
Effects on Forests
 Differences in soil buffering capacity are
again an important reason why some
areas that receive acid rain show a lot of
damage, while other areas that receive
about the same amount of acid rain do not
appear to be harmed at all
 The ability of forest soils to resist, or
buffer, acidity depends on the thickness
and composition of the soil, as well as the
type of bedrock beneath the forest floor.
Effects on Forests
 However, trees can be damaged by acid
rain even if the soil is well buffered
 Forests in high mountain regions often are
exposed to greater amounts of acid than
other forests because they tend to be
surrounded by acidic clouds and fog that
are more acidic than rainfall.
 Essential nutrients in their leaves and
needles are stripped away when leaves
are frequently bathed in this acid fog
 Effects on Forests
 This loss of nutrients in
their foliage makes trees
more susceptible to
damage by other
environmental factors,
particularly cold winter
weather.
 Acid rain can harm other
plants in the same way it
harms trees although
food crops are not
usually seriously affected
because farmers
frequently add fertilizers
to the soil to replace
nutrients that have
washed away.
Effects on Automobiles
 Over the past two decades, there have been
numerous reports of damage to automotive
paints and other coatings.
 The reported damage typically occurs on
horizontal surfaces and appears as
irregularly shaped, permanently etched
areas
 The damage can best be detected under
fluorescent lamps, can be most easily
observed on dark colored vehicles, and
appears to occur after evaporation of a
moisture droplet
 The damage is permanent
Effects on Materials
and Visibility
 Acid rain and the dry deposition of acidic
particles contribute to the corrosion of
metals (such as bronze) and the
deterioration of paint and stone (such as
marble and limestone).
 These effects significantly reduce the
societal value of buildings, bridges,
cultural objects (such as statues,
monuments, and tombstones), and cars
 Dry deposition of acidic compounds can
also dirty buildings and other structures,
 Effects on Materials
and Visibility
 Buildings and
monuments are
damaged since 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
Effects on Human
Health
 Acid rain looks, feels,
and tastes just like
clean rain
 Walking in acid rain, or
even swimming in an
acid lake, is no more
dangerous than
walking or swimming
in clean water.
However, the
pollutants that cause
acid rain—sulfur
dioxide (SO2) and
nitrogen oxides (NOx)
Effects on Human
Health
 These gases interact in the atmosphere to
form fine sulfate and nitrate particles that
can be transported long distances by
winds and inhaled deep into people's
lungs.
 Fine particles can also penetrate indoors.
 Many scientific studies have identified a
relationship between elevated levels of
fine particles and increased illness and
premature death from heart and lung
disorders, such as asthma and bronchitis.
 Who are most affected?
 Occasional pH readings of well below 2.4
(the acidity of vinegar) have been
reported in industrialized areas
 Industrial acid rain is a substantial
problem in China, Eastern Europe, Russia
and areas down-wind from them.
 These areas all burn sulfur-containing coal
to generate heat and electricity.
 The use of tall smokestacks to reduce
local pollution has contributed to the
spread of acid rain by releasing gases into
regional atmospheric circulation
Acid Rain Reduction
 It is critical that acid deposition be
reduced, not only in the United States and
Canada, but also throughout the world to
preserve the integrity of natural habitats,
as well as to reduce damage to man-made
structures.
 The US Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) has taken steps to limit the amount
of NOx and SO2 emitted into the
atmosphere because they are the main
contributors to acid deposition
Acid Rain Reduction
 Additionally, individuals and society as a
whole can participate in various efforts to
help reduce acid deposition:
 Understand acid deposition’s causes and
effects
 Clean up smokestacks and exhaust pipes
 Use alternative energy sources
 Restore a damaged environment
 Take action as individuals