Filed Under: Environmental Issues | Westchester | Air | Open Space | Public Health | Water

Impact of Acid Rain

Acid rain is caused by the atmospheric buildup of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide that are emitted by fossil fuel-burning electric power plants. The pollutants are often carried hundreds of miles by the wind and fall to the earth as rain, fog, snow or dry particles. Acid rain damages forests and kills plant and animal life. New York is among the areas of the country hardest hit by acid rain, particularly in the Adirondack and Catskill regions. Researchers have found that more than 500 of the Adirondack lakes and ponds are now too acidic to support native plants and wildlife, and nearly half of the three thousand lakes and ponds in the region are at risk. The EPA estimates that by 2040 half of the Adirondack region’s 2,800 lakes and ponds will be dead.

Acid rain also degrades stone and copper in public buildings and monuments and can damage underground pipes and structural metal in roadways and bridges. Though acid rain has not been shown to have a perceptible impact on people, scientific studies have identified a relationship between elevated levels of fine sulfate and nitrate particles and increased illness and premature death from such heart and lung disorders as asthma and bronchitis.