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TITLE
INTRODUCTION WHAT IS ACID RAIN? WET DEPOSITION DRY DEPOSITION HISTORY OF ACID RAIN CAUSES OF ACID RAIN HOW DO WE MEASURE ACID RAIN? EFFECTS OF ACID RAIN FORESTS LAKES AND RIVERS AUTOMOTIVE COATINGS MAN MADE OBJECTS HUMANS CASE STUDY- THE TAJ MAHAL ISSUE ACTION CASE STUDY- ACID RAIN LIMITS GLOBAL WARMING COMPLETE PICTURE FEEDBACK EFFECT HOW TO REDUCE ACID RAIN? REDUCE EMISSIONS FIND ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF ENERGY CONSERVING RESOURCES TAKE ACTION AS INDIVIDUALS RESTORING THE DAMAGE CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY
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ACID RAIN
1. INTRODUCTION
Rain provides the water that is necessary for the survival of living things. All living things need water to live, even people. Without rain, almost the only life on Earth would be in the oceans. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides suitable conditions for many types of ecosystem, as well as water for hydroelectric power plants and crop irrigation. But in many places in the world, rain has become a menace. Acid rain is a classic example of an environmental threat that originates in one place and causes problems in another, often very far away. It effects large parts of our planet, and is particularly damaging lakes, streams, and forests and the plants and animals that live in these ecosystems.
The picture below informs us about the regions affected by acid rain.
Acid rain was not considered a serious environmental problem until the 1970s. During that decade, scientists observed the increase in acidity of some lakes and streams. At the same time, research into long range transport of atmospheric pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, indicated a possible link to distant sources of pollution. Many power plants use coal with a relatively high concentration of sulfur as fuel. Scientists realized that sulfur dioxide emitted from many of these plants could be transported to the Northeast. In the 1984s it became a big problem around the world. The United Nations made an agreement with USA and 24 other nations to control the nitrogen and sulphur emissions to prevent air pollution and acid rain. In the 1990s, the Clean Air Act set rules to cut down 10 million tons of emissions by January 1, 2000.
Though human causes are primarily responsible for acid rain, natural causes exist as well. Fires, volcanic eruptions, bacterial decomposition, and lightening also greatly increase the amount of nitrogen oxide on the planet. However, even the gigantic explosion of Mt. St. Helens released only about what one coal power plant emits in a year.
Once the tiny pollutant molecules have entered the atmosphere, they can travel for thousands of miles. Eventually, the particles will combine with other compounds to produce new, often harmful, chemicals. Acid rain comes down to the earth in the form of rain, snow, hail, fog, frost, or dew. Once it reaches the ground, the acidity in the substance can harm and even destroy both natural ecosystems and man-made products. Thus, Increasing air pollution due to human activities, has led to a rise in the atmospheric concentrations of nitrogen oxides (NOX) and sulfur oxides (SOSX).During rainfall, these Oxides react with molecules of water and form nitric acid (HNO3) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4) respectively. Both these acids are strong in nature and thus make rainfall acidic.
6.1 FORESTS
It is thought that acid rain causes trees to grow slower or even to die but scientists have found that the 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 neutralise 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 effect trees in several different ways, it may: 1. Dissolve and wash away the nutrients and minerals in the soil which help the trees to grow such as potassium, calcium and magnesium. 2. Cause the release of harmful substances such as aluminium into the soil and waterways which further affects wildlife. 3. 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 tree which means that they can be easily attacked by diseases and insects or injured by bad weather. It is not just trees that are affected by acid rain, other plants may also suffer.
This change in the pH level also impairs some of the fish's ability to maintain their calcium levels. It in turn affects the reproduction processes of the fish. Lack of calcium also causes deformed bones and weakened spines in fish. Lakes, rivers and marshes each have their own fragile ecosystem with many different species of plants and animals all depending on each other to survive. If a species of fish disappears, the animals which feed on it will gradually disappear too. If the extinct fish used to feed on a particular species of large insect, that insect population will start to grow, this in turn will affect the smaller insects or plankton on which the larger insect feeds.
caused by other forms of environmental fallout, by the improper application of paint or by deficient paint formulations.
Whilst dry deposition contributes to the corrosion of materials, in most areas with substantial rainfall it is the effect of wet deposition on building surfaces which is more damaging. Building stone can be damaged when calcium carbonate in stone dissolves in acid rain to form a crust of calcium sulphate or gypsum. The sulphated layers are more readily washed away by rainfall or removed by the action of frost and other weather conditions, resulting in more stone being exposed. This permanent alteration of stone surfaces by the action of acid deposition is known as sulphation. The miraculous and historical monuments built by long years of efforts are losing their faces. The Parthenons of Athens, the Coliseum and arch of Titus in Rome and the San Marco basilica in Venice are fast deteriorating and are slowly dissolving or flaking out mainly due to acid rain. The disease is popularly known as Stone leprosy or Stone Cancer.
6.5 HUMANS
Most of all, acid rain affects human health adversely. It can harm us through atmospheric and soil pollution. Acid rain leads to the formation of toxic compounds by reacting with naturally occurring chemical compounds. Once these toxic compounds are formed, they can seep into the drinking water, and also enter the food chain. This contaminated food can damage the nerves in children, or result in severe brain damage, or even death. Scientists suspect that aluminum, one of the metals affected by acid rain, is associated with Alzheimer's disease. The emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide cause problems like irritation of throat, nose and the eyes, headache, asthma, and dry cough. One of the serious side effects of acid rain on human is respiratory problems.
7.1 ISSUE
It has been reported that the Taj Mahal has been deteriorating due to acid rain, mostly due to sulphur dioxide. This is due to the Mathura refinery, iron foundries, glass factories and brick kilns. Automobiles and generators in Agra are also releasing acid rain causing gases. The acid is corroding the marble of the Taj Mahal. On repeated occasions, sulphur dioxide emissions from industries have reached levels ten times above the prescribed standard level. Combined with oxygen and moisture, sulphur dioxide settles on the surface of the tomb and corrodes the marble, forming a fungus that experts refer to as marble cancer. Taj Mahal is made of calcium carbonate (CaCo3) which is white marble .When acids like H2SO4 and HNO3 come in contact with it, it forms a yellowish salt. This salt over time will turn black. This is termed as marble cancer. Acid rain has a corroding effect on the gleaming white marble. The white marble has yellowed and blackened in places. It is inside the Taj that the decay is more apparent. Yellow pallor pervades the entire monument. In places ugly brown and black spots magnify the yellow hue Fungal deterioration is worst in the inner chamber where the original graves of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal lie.
7.2 ACTION
Blaming pollution and regulatory negligence for the Tajs decay, Mahesh Chandra Mehta, a prominent environmental lawyer, filed a case before the Supreme Court of India in 1984. He pointed out that the white marble had blackened in places, while inside, the monument was being eaten by fungus
Mehta pleaded with the court to order the various industries to take anti-pollution measures or to close. He also stressed that pollution was affecting the health of workers and people living in Agras residential areas, It was not until 1996 that the Supreme Court finally ruled that the industries in the area were actively contributing to air pollution and ordered major industrial units to install pollution control devices. Not even a one per cent chance can be taken when human life apart the preservation of a prestigious monument like the Taj is involved, stated the court order. The court ordered 292 coal-based industries to switch to natural gas or else to relocate outside the protected zone by April 30, 1997. Coke, the fuel commonly used in the cupola furnaces in foundries, is known to cause high levels of air pollution. Factories that opted for relocation would be obliged to re-employ workers under favourable terms and to give them a one-year bonus. And if their plant were to close down, workers would be entitled to six years worth of wages in compensation. As a result, the oil refinery and a number of Agras foundries installed expensive pollution control devices. Sterling Machine Tools (SMT), the biggest factory in Agra, obtained a gas connection from the Gas Authority of India.
The Supreme Court of India ordered the closure of oil refineries and foundries releasing sulfur dioxide. The Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) is an area of around 10,400 square kilometres around the Taj Mahal. Within this area steps are taken to reduce pollution so that the Taj does not suffer. Some of these steps are: 1. Relocation of the polluting industries in the Taj trapezium. 2. Cars are not allowed to be parked around 500 metres of the Taj. 3. Industries must switch to natural gas or install pollution control devices. Besides the Taj Mahal, the zone includes two other world heritage monuments, the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.
The new study shows that sulphur in acid rain may have benefits, limiting global warming by counteracting the natural production of methane gases by microbes in wetland areas. Methane is thought to account for 22% of the human-enhanced greenhouse effect. And microbes in wetland areas are its biggest producers. They feed off substrates such as hydrogen and acetate in peat and emit methane into the atmosphere. Global warming itself will only fuel the production of methane as heating up the microbes causes them to produce even more methane. But the new model suggests that sulphur pollution from industry mitigates this. This is because sulphur-eating bacteria also found in wetland regions outcompete the methane-emitting microbes for substrates. Experiments have shown that sulphur deposits can reduce methane production in small regions by up to 30 per cent by activating the sulphur-eating bacteria.
2. 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. 3. Governments need to spend more money on pollution control even if it does mean an increase in the price of electricity. 4. Sulphur can also be 'washed' out of smoke by spraying a mixture of water and powdered limestone into the smokestack. 5. Cars are now fitted with catalytic converters which remove three dangerous chemicals from exhaust gases.
CONCLUSION The ozone hole and acid rain were once considered the big-gest environmental concerns. Today, however, they don't hold prominence in the list of potential environmental disasters. WHAT HAPPENED TO IT? A new study on acid rain concludes that, while some affected areas have seen improvement, the impact of emissions may be much more complicated than previously understood. And, it may take as long as 100 years before many forests, lakes and streams recover. Use of catalytic converters in cars and the switch to cleaner forms of coal and natural gas have helped bring down acidity levels throughout Europe and America and parts of Asia and will soon be virtually eliminated. Whereas in India it has been found that potential neutralizer of the acidic components of rain water in Indian region is Calcium which is mainly naturally derived from the soil. As the soil of the most part of Indian land is Calcareous, it contains abundance of calcium. So, the Indian soil has as yet put a check on the acidification of rain water, but how long? There have been many reports of acid rain in India in the past and that too have been only the episodic. Reported acid precipitations in India includes the acid rain in Chembur and Colaba industrial areas of Mumbai, in the vicinity of Singrauli Super thermal Power Plant ( average pH value 5.3), at a rural site of Bhubaneswar (median pH value 5.0) and the Silent Valley (pH=5.3). Latest reports on acid rain are at Kalyan (pH=5.28), Chembur (pH=4.8), Sinhagad (pH=5.2), Delhi (pH<5.6) and very recently at Panipat (pH<5.6) of National Capital Region of Delhi. Although the pH value of rainwater at Pune has been reported to lie in the alkaline range, its value has shown decreasing trend from value of 7.5 to 6.2. The main reason is attributed to the decrease in the level of calcium ion and increase in sulphate and nitrate ions. Rain fall in Agra and Delhi regions have also shown decrease in pH value with the passage of time. Acid Rain studies are being carried out by IITM since last three decades. The pH values are higher (pH>7.0) in north & north-west parts of India. They are slightly lower (6.0 pH 7.0) in north-eastern & southern parts of India. The higher pH is due to neutralization of acidic ions (SO4 & NO3) by soil originated cations (Ca, K & Mg) as well as by NH4. However, the pH values are acidic (pH 5.56) at some industrial, rural & remote locations which could be either due to anthropogenic emissions (Kalyan & Singrauli), acidic soil (Goraur & Mohanbari) or due to thick cover of vegetation that prevents soil erosion (Trivandrum, Silent Valley & Tungnath). This work is being carried out at IITM, Pune by a team of scientist led by Dr. P.S.P. Rao. Could it come back? Absolutely. The international shipping industry continues to rely on high-sulfur fuels, but the worst offender by far is China. As long as we will burn fossil fuels, acidic liquid will fall from the sky. The only way to resolve this problem is to cut back the emissions.