ACID RAIN
Acid Rain Is Still An Environmental Issue by Claire Jones, LVI
Acid rain remains one of the industrialist world’s most persistent problems. The issue of acid rain seems to take less prominence today compared with other global issues like ozone depletion and climatic change. Many people make the naive assumption that the issue is being dealt with been through international conventions like the European Community (EC) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE) . How wrong can we be ! Although acid rain appears to be deemed a localised issue is being addressed in Europe and North America, there are serious problems with acid rain in Asia and the evidence is that they are likely to become equally serious in Africa and South America.
What Causes Acid Rain?
The main pollutants that cause acid rain are SO2 and NOx. SO2 is emitted mostly by power stations and industrial and commercial installations when the burn oil and coal. Metal smelters also produce it when they burn iron or other metallic ores. NOx is produced by vehicle emissions and power stations. Also in tropical countries burning biomass (or vegetation) produces it. Ammonia has also been identified as a major contributor or acidification through a bacterial process called nitrification.