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Article: Acid Rain
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Public Health
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ACID RAIN
"Acid rain" is the common term for a complex process more appropriately referred to as acid deposition. It includes the deposition of acidic compounds onto the ground and onto surface waters when it rains (wet deposition), and at other times as well (dry deposition). The acid compounds include both acidic gases, such as sulfur dioxide (SO
2
) and nitrogen dioxide (NO
2
), and acidic particles, such as sulfate and nitrate compounds. Acid deposition is believed to have adversely affected lakes and forests in the northeastern United States, Canada, and Europe, and to have caused material damage as well.
The primary anthropogenic source of airborne acidity is the burning of fossil ...