Acid rain in Western Europe and northeastern United States — a technical appraisal

The literature through March 1984 on acid deposition in western Europe and the northeastern United States has been reviewed in terms of five critical questions: (1) Is acid rain a problem and, if so, how big? (2) Is the acidity of rain increasing? (3) Does a given amount of rain acidity in the form of nitric acid have the same effect as an equal amount in the form of sulfuric acid? (4) What is the automotive contribution to rain acidity? (5) Is the real issue acid rain or should acidic dry deposition be considered as well? The report summarizes the current state of knowledge with respect to these questions and compares probable answers in western Europe and the U.S.