Effects
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Because of certain atmospheric processes, sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) react with moisture to produce acidic acids, causing acid rain that is a problem in many industrial areas. The rain brought by acidic clouds can result in surface water in lakes and soil acidity. In water, any decrease in pH may be disastrous, affecting fish and amphibians and causing many living species to disappear from the water. Acid rain leads to a reduction in necessary nutrients in the soil, for example calcium and magnesium and makes dangerous metals like aluminum more mobile which is harmful for plant roots and growth. If acid deposition continues for a long time, the growth of trees in the forest becomes stunted, their leaves are damaged and they become more open to diseases and severe weather. In addition, acid rain speeds up the destruction of the natural environment and helps bring about a loss in biodiversity in the areas it affects.
Acid rain also has indirect effects on people’s health and different parts of the infrastructure. Acid rain alone does not lead to breathing problems, yet SO₂ and NOₓ, the same pollutants that cause it, are known to irritate the lungs and help form fine particulate matter (PM2.5). These leading to diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and even heart-related complications. Because of acid rain, buildings, bridges and sculptures made of limestone and marble undergo additional corrosion more rapidly. As a result, infrastructure needs to be maintained more often, lasts for less time and important cultural heritage is lost forever. Because of increased pollution and more infrastructure in cities and industrial zones, their negative influence is much worse.
In areas like arsenic calcium residue fields, acid rain is especially dangerous by making the toxic substances less stable. According to this study, the low pH in acid rain helps arsenic leach from calcium–arsenic waste and this happens mostly when rainfall is regular and particles are tiny. The surrounding soil and groundwater can get polluted by the leachate, threatening both health and farming. Also, amorphous calcium arsenate dissolves and releases mobile arsenic when it reacts with low pH (acidic environment) and CO₂ present in the air. It increases not only the amount of risk faced by the environment but also makes it more difficult to further contain and manage the hazardous wastes. So, where acid rain is a concern, it is very important to supervise and handle industrial waste to protect the surroundings and public health in the long term.