Acid Rain Effects – Buildings. Acids have a corrosive effect on limestone or marble buildings or sculptures. It is well established that either wet or dry deposition of sulfur dioxide significantly increases the rate of corrosion on limestone, sandstone, and marble.

Acid rain can ruin buildings and statues by stripping away the material and corroding metal that makes up these structures. Architects chose limestone, marble, steel and brass as durable materials intended to resist the elements.

Acid rain can damage buildings, historic monuments, and statues, especially those made of rocks, such as limestone and marble, that contain large amounts of calcium carbonate. Acids in the rain react with the calcium compounds in the stones to create gypsum, which then flakes off.

Monuments that have already been affected by acid rain include the Taj Mahal and the Lotus Temple. Both are losing their shiny luster.

When sulfurous, sulfuric, and nitric acids in polluted air and rain react with the calcite in marble and limestone, the calcite dissolves. In exposed areas of buildings and statues, we see roughened surfaces, removal of material, and loss of carved details.

Acid rain may have slipped from the headlines, but many parts of Germany still dump limestone on their forests to neutralize the long-term damage it’s caused. And it’s a controversial tactic.

Acid rain has destroyed nearly half of Germany’s Black Forest. German government has passed laws to reduce emissions from cars and factories. (Factories are switching to cleaner fuels and building taller smokestacks that scrub the smoke before it enters the air). Government is encouraging public transportation.