Toxic Waste During the Industrial Revolution coal and other fossil fuels were used as a source of energy. They were burned and the gas given off was harmful to the atmosphere. Unknowingly factories burned fossil fuel causing what we call the greenhouse effect. Unfortunately, factories continue to burn these fuels. Toxic waste also causes acid rain. Acid rain is caused by oxides of sulfur, carbon, and nitrogen from burning fossil fuels combine with moisture in the air. In 1981 alone, 264 million tons of waste was produced in the United States, 5.5 million tons of it was considered hazardous. Five years later the