Health in Zimbabwe sulfur dioxide is tremendously detrimental to the life of organisms. Not to mention, as sulfur dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere, it forms into acid precipitation as it reacts with water, nitrogen oxides and other sulfur oxides. This is an ecological consequence that arises from the burning of fossil fuels, which is performed in many countries and many industries for the formation of energy, power plants, and automobiles. Acid precipitation can lead to asthma, bronchitis, lung inflammation, emphysema, and other lung and heart diseases. In 2007, the number of cars per 1000 person was 114, as compared to 17 cars
Sulfur dioxide bleach for papers and delicate materials such as clothes. This bleaching effect normally does not last very long. Oxygen in the atmosphere reoxidizes the reduced dyes, restoring the color. In municipal wastewater treatment, sulfur dioxide is used to treat chlorinated wastewater prior to release. Sulfur dioxide reduces free and combined chlorine to chloride. Sulfur dioxide is fairly soluble in water, and by both IR and Raman spectroscopy; the hypothetical sulfurous acid, HSO, is not present to any extent. However, such solutions do show spectra of the hydrogen sulfite ion, HSO, by reaction with water, and it is in fact the