Furthermore, once trees and other plants no longer receive adequate nutrients and are exposed to toxic metals, they become more susceptible to pests, disease and fungi. Lower pH values and the mobilization of toxic metals by increased acidity in lakes and streams also have a profoundly negative impact on animals. Aluminum may cause fish to secrete mucus in their gills and asphyxiate in large numbers. Acidified groundwater also tends to leach more copper and lead from plumbing pipes. As an example, in Sweden, copper and lead from acidified drinking water has cause liver and kidney damage in children.
Acid also dissolves marble and limestone statues.
Acid Rain Initial efforts to reduce the effects of acid rain involved the building of taller smokestacks on coal-fired power plants and factories. Supposedly, the taller smokestacks would force the SO 2 and NO x higher into the atmosphere, where it would more effectively disperse into the environment rather than falling as acid rain into nearby lakes and streams. In reality, after the installation of taller smokestacks, the acid deposition continued, only further away from the emission sites. As an example, SO 2 emissions from the Ohio River valley routinely move into southern Canada and New England. Because of atmospheric circulation, most acid deposition occurs within about 1000 km of its source.