ScienceMaster - JumpStart - Acid Rain Page 1 of 5

"Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone

Today is
else and thinking something different." - Albert Szent-
March 8, 2006
Gyorgyi

JumpStart - Earth Science

Environmental Effects of Acid Rain*

Air Pollution Creates Acid Rain

Scientists have discovered that air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels is the
major cause of acid rain. Acidic deposition, or acid rain as it is commonly known,
occurs when emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) react
in the atmosphere with water, oxygen, and oxidants to form various acidic
compounds. This mixture forms a mild solution of sulfuric acid and nitric acid.
Sunlight increases the rate of most of these reactions.

These compounds then fall to the earth in either wet form (such as rain, snow, and
fog or dry form (such as gas and particles). About half of the acidity in the
atmosphere falls back to earth through dry deposition as gases and dry particles.
The wind blows these acidic particles and gases onto buildings, cars, homes, and
trees. In some instances, these gases and particles can eat away the things on
which they settle. Dry deposited gases and particles are sometimes washed from
trees and other surfaces by rainstorms. When that happens, the runoff water adds
those acids to the acid rain, making the combination more acidic than the falling
rain alone. The combination of acid rain plus dry deposited acid is called acid
deposition. Prevailing winds transport the compounds, sometimes hundreds of
miles, across state and national borders.

Electric utility plants account or about 70 percent of annual SO2 emissions and 30
percent of NOx emissions in the United States. Mobile sources (tranportation) also
contribute significantly to NOx emissions. Overall, over 20 million tons of SO2 and
NOx are emitted into the atmosphere each year.

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Acid rain causes acidification of lakes and streams and contributes to damage of
trees at high elevations (for example, red spruce trees above 2,000 feet in
elevation). In addition, acid rain accelerates the decay of building materials and
paints, including irreplaceable buildings, statues,and sculptures that are part of our
nation's cultural heritage. Prior to falling to the earth, SO2 and NOx gases and
their particulate matter derivatives, sulfates and nitrates, contribute to visibility
degradation and impact public health.

Implementation of the Acid Rain Program under the 1990 Clean Air Act
Amendments will confer significant benefits on the nation. By reducing SO2 and
NOx, many acidified lakes and streams will improve substantially so that they can
once again support fish life. Visibility will improve, allowing for increased
enjoyment of scenic vistas across our country, particularly in National Parks. Stress
to our forests that populate the ridges of mountains from Maine to Georgia will be
reduced. Deterioration of our historic buildings and monuments will be slowed.
Finally, reductions in SO2 and NOx will reduce sulfates, nitrates, and ground level
ozone (smog), leading to improvements in public health.

Surface Waters

Acid rain primarily affects sensitive bodies

of water, that is, those that rest atop soil
with a limited ability to neutralize acidic
compounds (called "buffering capacity").
Many lakes and streams examined in a
National Surface Water Survey (NSWS)
suffer from chronic acidity, a condition in
which water has a constant low pH level.
The survey investigated the effects of
acidic deposition in over 1,000 lakes larger
than 10 acres and in thousands of miles of
streams believed to be sensitive to
acidification. Of the lakes and streams surveyed in the NSWS, acid rain has been
determined to cause acidity in 75 percent of the acidic lakes and about 50 percent
of the acidic streams. Several regions in the U.S. were identified as containing
many of the surface waters sensitive to acidification. They include, but are not
limited to, the Adirondacks, the mid-Appalachian highlands, the upper Midwest and
the high elevation West.

In some sensitive lakes and streams, acidification has completely eradicated fish
species, such as the brook trout, leaving these bodies of water barren. In fact,
hundreds of the lakes in the Adirondacks surveyed in the NSWS have acidity levels
indicative of chemical conditions unsuitable for the survival of sensitive fish
species.

Emissions from U.S. sources also contribute to acidic deposition in eastern Canada,
where the soil is very similar to the soil of the Adirondack Mountains, and the lakes
are consequently extremely vulnerable to chronic acidification problems. The
Canadian government has estimated that 14,000 lakes in eastern Canada are
acidic.

Streams flowing over soil with low buffering capacity are equally as susceptible to
damage from acid rain as lakes are. Approximately 580 of the streams in the Mid-
Atlantic Coastal Plain are acidic primarily due to acidic deposition. The New Jersey
Pine Barrens area endures the highest rate of acidic streams in the nation with
over 90 percent of the streams acidic. Over 1,350 of the streams in the Mid-
Atlantic Highlands (mid-Appalachia) are acidic, primarily due to acidic deposition.
Many streams in that area have already experienced trout losses due to the rising
acidity.

Acidification is also a problem in surface water populations that were not surveyed
in federal research projects. For example, although lakes smaller than 10 acres
were not included in the NSWS, there are from one to four times as many of these
small lakes as there are larger lakes. In the Adirondacks, the percentage of acidic

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lakes is significantly higher when it includes smaller lakes (26 percent) than when
it includes only the target size lakes (14 percent).

The acidification problem in both the United States and Canada grows in
magnitude if "episodic acidification" (brief periods of low pH levels from snowmelt
or heavy downpours) is taken into account. Lakes and streams throughout the
United States, including high elevation western lakes, are sensitive to episodic
acidification. In the Mid-Appalachians, the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, and the
Adirondack Mountains, many additional lakes and streams become temporarily
acidic during storms and snowmelt. Episodic acidification can cause large scale
"fish kills."

For example, approximately 70 percent of

sensitive lakes in the Adirondacks are at risk
of episodic acidification. This amount is over
three times the amount of chronically acidic
lakes. In the mid-Appalachians,
approximately 30 percent of sensitive
streams are likely to become acidic during
an episode. This level is seven times the
number of chronically acidic streams in that
area.
Courtesy H.Burge, USFWS
Acid rain control will produce significant
benefits in terms of lowered surface water acidity. If acidic deposition levels were
to remain constant over the next 50 years (the time frame used for projection
models), the acidification rate of lakes in the Adirondacks that are larger than 10
acres would rise by 50 percent or more. Scientists predict, however, that the
decrease in SO2 emissions required by the Acid Rain Program will significantly
reduce acidification due to atmospheric sulfur. Without the reductions in SO2
emissions, the proportions of acidic aquatic systems in sensitive ecosystems would
remain high or dramatically worsen.

The impact of nitrogen on surface waters is also critical. Nitrogen plays a

significant role in episodic acidification and new research recognizes the
importance of nitrogen in long-term chronic acidification as well. Furthermore, the
adverse impact of atmospheric nitrogen deposition on estuaries and other large
water bodies may be significant. For example, 30 to 40 percent of the nitrogen in
the Chesapeake Bay comes from atmospheric deposition. Nitrogen is an important
factor in causing eutrophication (oxygen depletion) of water bodies.

Forests

Acid rain has been implicated in

contributing to forest degradation,
especially in high-elevation spruce
trees that populate the ridges of the
Appalachian Mountains from Maine to
Georgia, including national park areas
such as the Shenandoah and Great
Smoky Mountain national parks.
Acidic deposition seems to impair the
trees' growth in several ways; for
example, acidic cloud water at high
elevations may increase the
susceptibility of the red spruce to
winter injury.

There also is a concern about the impact of acid rain on forest soils. There is good
reason to believe that long-term changes in the chemistry of some sensitive soils
may have already occurred as a result of acid rain. As acid rain moves through the
soils, it can strip away vital plant nutrients through chemical reactions, thus posing
a potential threat to future forest productivity.

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Visibility

Sulfur dioxide emissions lead to the formation of sulfate particles in the

atmosphere. Sulfate particles account for more than 50 percent of the visibility
reduction in the eastern part of the United States, affecting our enjoyment of
national parks, such as the Shenandoah and the Great Smoky Mountains. The Acid
Rain Program is expected to improve the visual range in the eastern U.S. by 30
percent. Based on a study of the value national park visitors place on visibility, the
visual range improvements expected at national parks of the eastern United States
due to the Acid Rain Program's SO2 reductions will be worth a billion dollars by the
year 2010. In the western part of the United States, nitrogen and carbon also play
roles, but sulfur has been implicated as an important source of visibility
impairment in many of the Colorado River Plateau national parks, including the
Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, and Bryce Canyon.

Materials

Acid rain and the dry deposition of

acidic particles are known to
contribute to the corrosion of
metals and deterioration of stone
and paint on buildings, cultural
objects, and cars. The corrosion
seriously depreciates the objects'
value to society. Dry deposition of
acidic compounds can also dirty
buildings and other structures,
leading to increased maintenance
costs. To reduce damage to
automotive paint caused by acid
rain and acidic dry deposition, Marble surfaces exposed to rain develop a rough "sugary"
some manufacturers use acid- texture because the calcite grains are loosened as the
resistant paints, at an average cost edges dissolve in the rain water. Column capital volute,
Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C.
of $5 for each new vehicle (or a
total of $61 million per year for all
new cars and trucks sold in the U.S.) The Acid Rain Program will reduce damage to
materials by limiting SO2 emissions. The benefits of the Acid Rain Program are
measured, in part, by the costs now paid to repair or prevent damage--the costs of
repairing buildings, using acid-resistant paints on new vehicles, plus the value that
society places on the details of a statue lost forever to acid rain.

Health

Based on health concerns, SO2 has historically been regulated under the Clean Air
Act. Sulfur dioxide interacts in the atmosphere to form sulfate aerosols, which may
be transported long distances through the air. Most sulfate aerosols are particles
that can be inhaled. In the eastern United States, sulfate aerosols make up about
25 percent of the inhalable particles. According to recent studies at Harvard and
New York Universities, higher levels of sulfate aerosols are associated with
increased morbidity (sickness) and mortality from lung disorders, such as asthma
and bronchitis. By lowering sulfate aerosol levels, the Acid Rain Program will
reduce the incidence and the severity of asthma and bronchitis. When fully
implemented by the year 2010, the public health benefits of the Acid Rain Program
will be significant, due to decreased mortality, hospital admissions, and emergency
room visits.

Decreases in nitrogen oxide emissions are also expected to have a beneficial

impact on health effects by reducing the nitrate component of inhalable
particulates and reducing the nitrogen oxides available to react with volatile
organic compounds and form ozone. Ozone impacts on human health include a
number of morbidity and mortality risks associated with lung disorders.

Clean Air for Better Life

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By reducing SO2 emissions by such a significant amount, the Clean Air Act
promises to confer numerous benefits on the nation. Scientists project that the 10
million-ton reduction in SO2 emissions should significantly decrease or slow down
the acidification of water bodies and will reduce stress to forests. In addition,
visibility will be significantly improved due to the reductions, and the lifespan of
building materials and structures of cultural importance should lengthen. Finally,
the reductions in emissions will help to protect public health.

*Material on this web page courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
Last modification: Last Modified April 1999
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