The Unsorted BBS Collection/thegreatunsorted.tar/thegreatunsorted/texts/term_papers/acid.txt

Text File | 1994-07-22 | 13KB | 238 lines

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          ARRoGANT                CoURiERS      WiTH     ESSaYS

Grade Level:       Type of Work           Subject/Topic is on:
 [ ]6-8                 [ ]Class Notes    [An essay on the causes  ]
 [x]9-10                [ ]Cliff Notes    [and effects of acid rain]
 [ ]11-12               [x]Essay/Report   [9 pgs.                  ]
 [ ]College             [ ]Misc           [                        ]

 Dizzed: 07/94  # of Words:2000   School: ?              State: ?
─────────>─────────>─────────>Chop Here>─────────>─────────>─────────>─────────

INTRODUCTION: Acid rain is a great problem in  our world. It causes
fish and plants to die in our waters. As well it causes harm to our
own race as well, because we eat these fish, drink this water and
eat these plants. It is a problem that we must all face together
and try to get rid of. However acid rain on it's own is not the
biggest problem. It cause many other problems such as aluminum
poisoning. Acid Rain is deadly.

  WHAT IS ACID RAIN?
     Acid rain is all the rain, snow, mist etc that falls from
  the sky onto our planet that contains an unnatural acidic. It
  is not to be confused with uncontaminated rain that falls, for
  that rain is naturally slightly acidic. It is caused by today's
  industry. When products are manufactured many chemicals are
  used to create it. However because of the difficulty and cost
  of properly disposing of these products they are often emitted
  into the atmosphere with little or no treatment.
     The term was first considered to be important about 20
  years ago when scientists in Sweden and Norway first believed
  that acidic rain may be causing great ecological damage to the
  planet. The problem was that by the time that the scientist
  found the problem it was already very large. Detecting an acid
  lake is often quite difficult. A lake does not become acid
  over night. It happens over a period of many years, some times
  decades. The changes are usually to gradual for them to be
  noticed early.
     At the beginning of the 20th century most rivers/lakes
  like the river Tovdal in Norway had not yet begun to die.
  However by 1926 local inspectors were noticing that many of the
  lakes were beginning to show signs of death. Fish were found
  dead along the banks of many rivers. As the winters ice began
  to melt off more and more hundreds upon hundreds more dead fish
  (trout in particular) were being found. It was at this time
  that scientist began to search for the reason. As the
  scientists continued to work they found many piles of dead
  fish, up to 5000 in one pile, further up the river. Divers were
  sent in to examine the bottom of the rivers. What they found
  were many more dead fish. Many live and dead specimens were
  taken back to labs across Norway. When the live specimens were
  examined they were found to have very little sodium in their
  blood. This is typical a typical symptom of acid poisoning. The
  acid had entered the gills of the fish and poisoned them so
  that they were unable to extract salt from the water to
  maintain their bodies sodium levels.
     Many scientist said that this acid poising was due to the
  fact that it was just after the winter and that all the snow
  and ice was running down into the streams and lakes. They
  believed that the snow had been exposed to many natural
  phenomena that gave the snow it's high acid content. Other
  scientists were not sure that this theory was correct because
  at the time that the snow was added to the lakes and streams
  the Ph levels would change from around 5.2 to 4.6. They
  believed that such a high jump could not be attributed to
  natural causes. They believed that it was due to air pollution.
  They were right. Since the beginning of the Industrial
  revolution in England pollution had been affecting all the
  trees,soil and rivers in Europe and North America.
     However until recently the loses of fish was contained to
  the southern parts of Europe. Because of the constant onslaught
  of acid rain lakes and rivers began to lose their ability to
  counter act their affects. Much of the alkaline elements; such
  as calcium and limestone; in the soil had been
  washed away. It is these lakes that we must be worried about
  for they will soon become extinct.
     A fact that may please fishermen is that in lakes/rivers
  they tend to catch older and larger fish. This may please them
  in the short run however they will soon have to change lakes
  for the fish supply will die quickly in these lakes. The
  problem is that acid causes difficulties the fish's
  reproductive system. Often fish born in acid lakes do not
  survive for they are born with birth defects such as twisted
  and deformed spinal columns. This is a sign that they are
  unable to extract enough calcium from the water to fully
  develop their bone. These young soon die. With no competition
  the older,stronger can grow easily. However there food is
  contaminated as well by the acid in the water. Soon they have
  not enough food for themselves and turn to cannibalism. With
  only an older population left there is no one left to
  regenerate themselves. Soon the lake dies.
     By the late 1970s many Norwegian scientists began to
  suspect that it was not only the acid in the water that was
  causing the deaths. They had proved that most fish could
  survive in a stream that had up to a 1 unit difference in PH.
  After many experiments and research they found that their
  missing link was aluminum.
     Aluminum is one of the most common metals on earth. It is
  stored in a combined form with other elements in the earth.
  When it is combined it cannot dissolve into the water and harm
  the fish and plants. However the acid from acid rain can easily
  dissolve the bond between these elements. The Aluminum is then
  dissolved into a more soluble state by the acid. Other metals
  such as Copper (Cu), iron (Fe) etc can cause such effects upon
  the fish as well however it is the aluminum that is the most
  common.
  For example: CuO + H2SO4  ----------> CuSO4 + H2O
   In this form it is easily absorbed into the water. When it
  comes in contact with fish it causes irritation to the gills.
  In response the fish creates a film of mucus in the gills to
  stop this irritation until the irritant is gone. However the
  aluminum does not go always and the fish continues to build up
  more and more mucus to counteract it. Eventually there is so
  much mucus that it clogs the gills. When this happens the fish
  can no longer breath. It dies and then sinks to the bottom of
  the lake. Scientists now see acid, aluminum and shortages of
  calcium as the three determining factors in the extinction of
  fish.
     As well there is the problem of chlorine. In many parts of
  the world it is commonly found in the soil. If it enters the
  fish's environment it can be deadly. It affects many of the
  fish's organisms and causes it to die. As well it interferes in
  the photosynthesis process in plants.
     NaOH + HCl ----> NaCl + H2O
  The carbon in the water can become very dangerous for fish and
  plants in the water if the following reaction happens:
     CaCO3 + 2HCl ---> CaCl2 + H2CO3 then
     H2CO3 ---> H2O + CO2
  The salt created by this reaction can kill. It interferes
  directly with the fish's nervous system.
     Acid lakes are deceivingly beautiful. The are crystal
  clear and have a luscious carpet of green algae on the bottom.
  The reason that these lakes are so clear is because many of the
  decomposers are dead. They cannot break down that material such
  as leaves and dead animals. These materials eventually sink to
  the bottom instead of going through the natural process of
  decomposition. In acid lakes decomposition is very slow. "The
  whole metabolism of the lake is slowed down."
     During this same period of time the Canadian department of
  fisheries spent eight years dumping sulfuric acid (H2SO4) into
  an Ontario lake to see the effects of the decrease in the PH
  over a number of years. At the PH of 5.9 the first organisms
  began to disappear. They were shrimps. They started out at a
  population of about seven million, but at the pH of 5.9 they
  were totally wiped out. Within a year the minnow died because
  it could no longer reproduce it's self.
     At this time the pH was of 5.8. New trout were failing to
  be produced because many smaller organisms that served as food
  to it had been wiped out earlier. With not enough food the
  older fish did not have the energy to reproduce. Upon reaching
  the pH of 5.1 it was noted that the trout became cannibals. It
  is believed this is due to the fact that the minnow was nearly
  extinct.
     At a pH of 5.6 the external skeletons of crayfish softened
  and they were soon infected with parasites, and there eggs were
  destroyed by fungi. When the pH went down to 5.1 they were
  almost gone. By the end of the experiment none of the major
  species had survived the trials of the acid. The next
  experiment conducted by the scientists was to try and bring the
  lake back to life. They cut in half the amount of acid that
  they dumped to simulate a large scale cleanup. Soon again the
  cuckers and minnows began to reproduce again. The lake
  eventually did come back; to a certain extent; back to life.
  THE NEW THEORY:
     A scientist in Norway had a problem believing that it was
  the acid rain on it's own that was affecting the lakes in such
  a deadly way. This scientist was Dr Rosenqvist.


  "Why is it that during heavy rain, the swollen rivers can be up
  to fifteen times more acid than the rain? It cannot be the rain
  alone that is doing it, can it?" Many scientist shunned him
  for this however they could not come up with a better answer.
  Soon the scientists were forced to accept this theory.
     Sulfuric acid is composed of two parts, know as ions. The
  hydrogen ion is what make a substance acid. The other ion is
  sulphate. When there are more hydrogen ions then a substance is
  acid. It is this sulphate ion that we are interested in. When
  the rain causes rivers to overboard onto the banks the river
  water passes through the soil. Since the industrial revolution
  in britain there has been an increasing amount of sulphur in
  the soil. In the river there is not enough sulphur for the acid
  to react in great quantities. However in the soil there is a
  great collection of sulphur to aid the reaction. When it joins
  the water the pH becomes much lower. This is the most deadly
  effect of acid rain on our water!!! The water itself does not
  contain enough sulphur to kill off it's population of fish and
  plants. But with the sulphur in the soil it does.

                              CONCLUSION:

  Acid rain is a big problem. It causes the death of our lakes,
  our rivers, our wild life and most importantly us. As well it
  causes other problems that are very serious as well such as the
  release of aluminium and lead into our water supplies. We are
  suffering because of it. In Scotland there are many birth
  defects being attributed to it. We must cut down the releases
  of chemicals that cause it. But it will take time, even if we
  were to stop today we would have the problem for years to come
  because of the build up in the soil. Let's hope we can do
  something.














                             BIBLIOGRAPHY

  Penguin Publishing House, 1987 , Pearce Fred Acid Rain. What is
  it and what is it doing to us?

  New York Publishers, 1989, William Stone Acid Rain. Fiend or
  Foe?

  Lucent books, Inc. 1990, Steward Gail Acid Rain.