Editing Acid rain (section)

===Technical solutions===
Many coal-firing [[power station]]s 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<sub>2</sub> 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.

In some areas the sulfates are sold to chemical companies as [[gypsum]] when the purity of calcium sulfate is high. In others, they are placed in [[landfill]]. The effects of acid rain can last for generations, as the effects of pH level change can stimulate the continued leaching of undesirable chemicals into otherwise pristine water sources, killing off vulnerable insect and fish species and blocking efforts to [[Restoration ecology|restore]] native life.

[[Fluidized bed combustion]] also reduces the amount of sulfur emitted by power production.

[[Vehicle emissions control]] reduces emissions of nitrogen oxides from motor vehicles.