What is acid rain?

Rainwater is naturally slightly acidic. When power stations burn coal they release sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere. These chemicals sometimes fall back to the ground (dry deposition). On other occasions they combine with water vapour in the air and form dilute acids in the rainwater (wet deposition).

What damage is acid rain doing in Canada?

• Fourteen thousand lakes are now so acidic that plants, animals, fish and birds are all dying.
• Trees in eastern Canada are dying. The tops of trees like spruce, fir and pine turn yellow, their growth slows down, sometimes the bark splits and finally the tree dies.
• 84% of agricultural land in eastern Canada is polluted by acid rain.
• 80% of Canadians live in areas where acid rain levels are above acceptable levels. Acid rain has also been linked to respiratory diseases in children.
• Buildings are being affected, especially those made of marble, granite and limestone. Some estimates suggest that buildings in Canada are losing 4% of their weight every year.
  
  

Why is acid rain doing such a lot of damage in eastern Canada?

Large amounts of the acid rain which falls on Canada actually come from the USA. The prevailing north easterly winds blow the acid rain away from the industrial areas of the north east USA to eastern Canada.

What is being done to solve the problem?

The governments of both the USA and Canada are trying to solve the problems caused by acid rain in a number of ways.

• Spraying trees with water to wash off the acid rain. Unfortunately this is not very effective.
• Canada is now replacing coal fired power stations with gas fired ones.
• Lime is added to lakes, rivers and soil in an attempt to neutralise the acid. This costs a lot of money and is very time consuming.
• Some power stations have fitted equipment to remove sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions. This is very effective but also very expensive.