Health Effects of Acid Rain: Are There Any?

Author:

Benarde Melvin A.1

Affiliation:

1. Environmental Studies Institute, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.

Abstract

THE SCIENTIFIC and medical literature was reviewed to determine the relationship between acid rain and human illness. Rain and a pH below 5.6 is referred to as acid rain. Although 'acid rain' or more properly acid deposition is a relatively new environmental issue, Robert Angus Smith described the condition in the highly industrialized city of Manchester, England, in 1872. While not precisely characterized, the mechanism of its formation appears to proceed from the photolytic transformation of sulfur and nitrogen oxides into sulfates and nitrates which in turn, in the presence of moisture, yield sulfuric and nitric acids. The oxides of sulfur and nitrogen are by-products of fossil fueled power plant, automobile exhausts, smelting and chemical processing. These oxides and acids have been associated with diminished fish populations, and malformations in a variety of estaurine species in Europe, the U.S. and Canada. Such destructive effects can signal potentially detrimental human health effects. Concern that acid rain may be a health hazard is widespread in our population. This review seeks to ascertain both the direct and indirect effects of acid precipitation by analyzing the salient scientific literature. An exhaustive search of the pertinent literature indicates that deleterious human health effects, if there are any, remain to be established. As a consequence of pollution abatement efforts the next 15 to 20 years should witness a reduction in acid levels. Accordingly, a worsening of current levels of chemical pollutants is not anticipated. Hence, a significant threat to public health via acid rain currently or in the the foreseeable future, should not be expected. Although acid rain' or more properly acid deposition, is a relatively new environmental issue in the United States, the term itself was advanced by Robert Angus Smith as early as 18721. Twenty years earlier in an article written for the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester (England) he remarked relative to that city's air that "we may therefore find easily three kinds of air, that with carbonate of ammonia in the fields at a distance, that with sulphate of ammonia in the suburbs, and that with sulphuric acid, or acid sulphate, in the town." He noted that it was the free sulfuric acid in Manchester's air which caused the fading of colors in textile as well as the rusting of metals2. Contemporary concern however was generated and focused by Oden's integration of both freshwater and atmospheric precipitation data reported in Sweden, and Schofields portentious observation of diminished fish populations in Adirondack Mountain lakes3,4,5. Currently there is an emerging scientific consensus that acid precipitation has destroyed life in some fresh water lakes and streams, particularly in northeastern United States and Canada, and has damaged buildings and other structures. Debate continues about the effects of acid rain on trees and plants and on human health. In August 1985, the U.S. EPA released a 1300 page document in which the studies of 50 environmental scientists were reported6. The following remark is contained in its summary: "acidic deposition (from precipitation) must contribute to acidification somewhere in the ecosystem. The deposition inputs may be over whelmed by the natural acidification process, however, and not cause measurable changes." Nevertheless, in January 1986, President Reagan's special representative on acid rain together with Canada's representative on the high-level acid rain panel, concluded in their report that acid rain is "a serious environmental problem". The scientific evidence, they find is "overwhelming"7. Whether acid rain is or is not a man-made pollutant, there is concern among the general public as to its potential for adverse health effects. Although these concerns are widespread, there has generally been little information available to concerned professionals, administrators, as well as the public regarding the actual risks to human health. The conclusion that exposure is tantamount to illness may be overdrawn. This review seeks to determine both the direct and indirect effects of acid precipitation on human health, by analyzing the salient scientific documents, published papers and summaries of national and international conferences.

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Reference63 articles.

1. Swedish Natural Science Research Council, Stockholm 1968.

Cited by 1 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

1. A short term survey of daily rainfall acidity in the U.K.;Atmospheric Environment (1967);1989-01

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3