Acid rain history

The most desirable data are those obtained for the material of interest in the intended conditions of exposure. Such data are not readily available in the literature. Published data on atmospheric corrosion should be used with caution since atmospheric conditions are changing with time, as for example acid rain as a variable factor. Accelerated testing, including electrochemical tests, should have a good link with the natural and practical conditions. Published data should be consulted because they are generally useful. Some published data are mentioned here as examples since they are useful in selecting materials or discussion of case histories ... 

Simple laboratory tests may not be adequate to reproduce field results. The reason for this was demonstrated in the lab with an artificial solution containing road salt and acid rain constituents. Allowing such a solution to evaporate drives off the volatile nitric acid component and hydrochloric acid formed when calcium sulfate precipitates. Hence the history of a poultice is important in determining the aggressiveness of a particular environment. 

While there are differences, of course, between the problems posed by acid rain and those related to other pollutants with welfare effects, such as ozone (for example, the political/economic constraints posed by the coal switching problem), there are several critical similarities. Without attempting to review each and every acid rain proposal or to review the history of the acid rain legislation, there are broad characteristics of the alternative proposals which bear on materials damages in general. 

The issue of chemical emissions and their effect on the environment is not limited to recent history. As shown below, acid rain was first documented in the 1600s. The chronology below lists some important events in the identification, monitoring, and steps to reduce emissions for acid rain and global warming [9]. 

Write an article about the effect of acid rain on a specific aspect of a local environment such as a lake or a forest. Give some history of the problem and indicate when local residents first realized a problem exists. What, if any, corrective measures have been taken to correct the problem Is the environmental damage reversible ... 

This brief history of the acid rain policies of three transition countries demonstrates that the rules set by international regimes tend to be reshaped by different domestic circumstances. When there is a high correspondence between domestic priorities and international norms as in the Czech Republic, there is high level of implementation and even anticipatory over-compliance with international standards. The interplay between domestic and... 

The history of the science of acid rain is discussed in Cowling (1982) and Munton (1981). Among the important early studies in the 1970s on acid rain... 

Aluminum is the third most abundant element on Earth (after oxygen and silicon), but it is tightly locked into insoluble minerals such as kaolinite (Al2(0H)4Si205) and bauxite (AlOOH). Acid rain from human activities is a recent change in the history of Earth, and it is introducing soluble forms of aluminum (and lead and mercury) into the environment." Below pH 5, aluminum is mobilized from minerals and its concentration in lake water rises rapidly. At a concentration of 130 fxg/L, aluminum kills fish. In humans, high concentrations... 

Initially, effects to freshwater systems attributed, at least in part, to acid deposition were reported from Sweden, Norway and Canada. Now, however, effects are reported for both freshwater and terrestrial components of ecosystems in a large number of nations. Acid deposition may be considered an additional stress factor for terrestrial systems. Materials of technical, economic and cultural importance are also at risk from acid deposition. The immediate importance of these problems tends to indicate that the phenomenon of acid deposition is of recent origin, however, the subject has a relatively long history. As early as 1852 R. A. Smith collected and analysed rainwater in north west England, neologised the term acid rain and described its effects upon terrestrial ecosystems and materials. At this time, sulphur was the major pollutant and the effects of acid deposition were most clearly experienced at the meso scale. 

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