<Dd> CaCO (s) + H SO (aq) ⇌ CaSO (s) + CO (g) + H O (l) </Dd> <P> The effects of this are commonly seen on old gravestones, where acid rain can cause the inscriptions to become completely illegible . Acid rain also increases the corrosion rate of metals, in particular iron, steel, copper and bronze . </P> <P> Places significantly impacted by acid rain around the globe include most of eastern Europe from Poland northward into Scandinavia, the eastern third of the United States, and southeastern Canada . Other affected areas include the southeastern coast of China and Taiwan . </P> <P> Many coal - firing power stations use flue - gas desulfurization (FGD) to remove sulfur - containing gases from their stack gases . For a typical coal - fired power station, FGD will remove 95% or more of the SO in the flue gases . An example of FGD is the wet scrubber which is commonly used . A wet scrubber is basically a reaction tower equipped with a fan that extracts hot smoke stack gases from a power plant into the tower . Lime or limestone in slurry form is also injected into the tower to mix with the stack gases and combine with the sulfur dioxide present . The calcium carbonate of the limestone produces pH - neutral calcium sulfate that is physically removed from the scrubber . That is, the scrubber turns sulfur pollution into industrial sulfates . </P>

The highest levels of acid precipitation in europe are in