Influence of industrial enterprises on the atmosphere Atmospheric pollution. Impurities Global environmental problem. Industries polluting the atmosphere
The change in the gas composition of the atmosphere is the result of a combination of natural phenomena in nature and human activities. But which of these processes prevails at the present time? In order to find out, we first clarify what pollutes the air. Its relatively constant composition has been subject to significant fluctuations over recent years. Let's take a look at the main problems of emissions control and air cleanliness using the example of this work in cities.
Does the composition of the atmosphere change?
Standing next to a smoldering garbage heap is the same as being on the most gassed street in a metropolis. The danger of carbon monoxide is that it binds blood hemoglobin. The resulting carboxyhemoglobin can no longer deliver oxygen to the cells. Other substances that pollute the atmospheric air can cause disruption of the bronchi and lungs, poisoning, exacerbation of chronic diseases. For example, when carbon monoxide is inhaled, the heart works with an increased load, since not enough oxygen is supplied to the tissues. In this case, cardiovascular disease may worsen. An even greater danger is the combination of carbon monoxide with pollutants in industrial and transport emissions.
Pollutant concentration standards
Harmful emissions come from metallurgical, coal, oil and gas processing plants, energy facilities, construction and utilities industries. Radioactive contamination from explosions at Chernobyl nuclear power plant and nuclear power plants in Japan have spread in global scale. There is an increase in the content of carbon oxides, sulfur, nitrogen, freons, radioactive and other hazardous emissions in different parts of our planet. Sometimes toxins are found far away from the place where the enterprises that pollute the air are located. The situation that has arisen is an alarming and difficult to solve global problem of mankind.
Back in 1973, the relevant committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed criteria for assessing the quality of atmospheric air in cities. Experts have found that the state of human health is 15-20% dependent on environmental conditions. Based on many studies in the 20th century, acceptable levels of the main pollutants that are harmless to the population were determined. For example, the average annual concentration of suspended particles in the air should be 40 µg/m 3 . The content of sulfur oxides should not exceed 60 µg/m 3 per year. For carbon monoxide, the corresponding average- 10 mg / m 3 for 8 hours.
What are Maximum Permissible Concentrations (MACs)?
The Decree of the Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation approved the hygienic standard for the content of almost 600 harmful compounds in the atmosphere of settlements. pollutants in the air, compliance with which indicates the absence of adverse effects on people and sanitary conditions. The standard specifies the hazard classes of compounds, the magnitude of their content in the air (mg / m 3). These indicators are updated when new data on the toxicity of individual substances become available. But that's not all. The document contains a list of 38 substances for which a ban on release has been introduced due to their high biological activity.
How is state control in the field of atmospheric air protection carried out?
Anthropogenic changes in the composition of the air lead to negative consequences in the economy, deteriorating health and shortening the life expectancy of people. The problems of increasing the entry of harmful compounds into the atmosphere are of concern to both governments, state and municipal authorities, and the public, ordinary people.
The legislation of many countries provides for before the start of construction, reconstruction, modernization of almost all economic facilities. Rationing of pollutants in the air is being carried out, measures are being taken to protect the atmosphere. The issues of reducing the anthropogenic load on the environment, reducing emissions and discharges of pollutants are being addressed. Russia adopted federal laws on protection environment, atmospheric air, other legislative and regulatory legal acts regulating activities in the environmental sphere. State environmental control is carried out, pollutants are limited, and emissions are regulated.
What is PVD?
Enterprises that pollute the air should make an inventory of the sources of harmful compounds entering the air. Usually, this work finds its logical continuation when determining the need for obtaining this document is related to the regulation of the technogenic load on atmospheric air. On the basis of the information included in the MPE, the company receives a permit to release pollutants into the atmosphere. Data on regulatory emissions are used to calculate payments for negative environmental impact.
If there is no volume of MPE and a permit, then for emissions from pollution sources located on the territory of an industrial facility or another industry, enterprises pay 2, 5, 10 times more. Rationing of pollutants in the air leads to a reduction in the negative impact on the atmosphere. There is an economic incentive to carry out measures to protect nature from the ingress of foreign compounds into it.
Pollution charges from businesses are accumulated by local and federal authorities authorities in specially created budget environmental funds. Financial resources are spent on environmental activities.
How is the air cleaned and protected at industrial and other facilities?
Purification of polluted air is carried out different methods. Filters are installed on the pipes of boiler houses and processing enterprises, there are dust and gas trapping installations. Through the use of thermal decomposition and oxidation, some toxic substances are converted into harmless compounds. Capture of harmful gases in emissions is carried out by condensation methods, sorbents are used to absorb impurities, catalysts for purification.
Prospects for activities in the field of air protection are associated with work to reduce the release of pollutants into the atmosphere. It is necessary to develop laboratory control of harmful emissions in cities, on busy highways. Work should be continued on the introduction of systems for trapping solid particles from gaseous mixtures at enterprises. Looking for cheap modern devices for purification of emissions from toxic aerosols and gases. In the field of state control, an increase in the number of posts for checking and adjusting the toxicity of car exhaust gases is required. Energy industry enterprises and vehicles should be switched to less harmful, from the point of view of the environment, types of fuel (for example, natural gas, biofuels). When they are burned, less solid and liquid pollutants are released.
What role do green spaces play in air purification?
It is difficult to overestimate the contribution of plants to the replenishment of oxygen reserves on Earth, to the capture of pollution. Forests are called "green gold", "lungs of the planet" for the ability of leaves to photosynthesis. This process consists in the absorption of carbon dioxide and water, the formation of oxygen and starch in the light. Plants emit phytoncides into the air - substances that have a detrimental effect on pathogenic microbes.
Increasing the area of green spaces in cities is one of the most important environmental measures. Trees, shrubs, herbs and flowers are planted in the courtyards of houses, in parks, squares and along roads. Landscaping the territory of schools and hospitals, industrial enterprises.
Scientists have found that plants such as poplar, linden, and sunflower absorb dust and harmful gaseous substances from the emissions of enterprises and transport exhausts best of all. Coniferous plantations emit the most phytoncides. The air in pine, fir, juniper forests is very clean and healing.
There are two main sources of air pollution: natural and anthropogenic.
The natural source is volcanoes, dust storms, weathering, forest fires, decomposition processes of plants and animals.
Anthropogenic, mainly divided into three main sources of air pollution: industry, household boilers, transport. The share of each of these sources in total air pollution varies greatly from place to place.
It is now generally accepted that industrial production pollutes the air the most. Sources of pollution are thermal power plants, which, together with smoke, emit sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide into the air; metallurgical enterprises, especially non-ferrous metallurgy, which emit nitrogen oxides, hydrogen sulfide, chlorine, fluorine, ammonia, phosphorus compounds, particles and compounds of mercury and arsenic into the air; chemical and cement plants. Harmful gases enter the air as a result of fuel combustion for industrial needs, home heating, transport, combustion and processing of household and industrial waste.
According to scientists (1990), every year in the world as a result of human activities, 25.5 billion tons of carbon oxides, 190 million tons of sulfur oxides, 65 million tons of nitrogen oxides, 1.4 million tons of nitrogen oxides enter the atmosphere. chlorofluorocarbons (freons), organic lead compounds, hydrocarbons, including carcinogenic (causing cancer) Protection of the atmosphere from industrial pollution. / Ed. S. Calvert and G. Englund. - M.: "Metallurgy", 1991., p. 7..
The most common atmospheric pollutants enter it mainly in two forms: either in the form of suspended particles (aerosols) or in the form of gases. By mass, the lion's share - 80-90 percent - of all emissions into the atmosphere due to human activities are gaseous emissions. There are 3 main sources of gaseous pollution: combustion of combustible materials, industrial production processes and natural sources.
Consider the main harmful impurities of anthropogenic origin Grushko Ya.M. Harmful organic compounds in industrial emissions into the atmosphere. - Leningrad.: "Chemistry", 1991., p. 15-27..
- - Carbon monoxide. It is obtained by incomplete combustion of carbonaceous substances. It enters the air as a result of burning solid waste, with exhaust gases and emissions from industrial enterprises. At least 1250 million tons of this gas enters the atmosphere every year. Carbon monoxide is a compound that actively reacts with the constituent parts of the atmosphere and contributes to an increase in the temperature on the planet and the creation of a greenhouse effect.
- - Sulfur dioxide. It is emitted during the combustion of sulfur-containing fuel or the processing of sulfurous ores (up to 170 million tons per year). Part of the sulfur compounds is released during the combustion of organic residues in mining dumps. In the United States alone, the total amount of sulfur dioxide emitted into the atmosphere amounted to 65% of the global emission.
- - Sulfuric anhydride. It is formed during the oxidation of sulfur dioxide. The end product of the reaction is an aerosol or solution of sulfuric acid in rainwater, which acidifies the soil and exacerbates human respiratory diseases. The precipitation of an aerosol of sulfuric acid from smoke flares chemical enterprises are observed at low cloud cover and high air humidity. Leaf blades of plants growing at a distance of less than 11 km. from such enterprises, are usually densely dotted with small necrotic spots formed in places where droplets of sulfuric acid have settled. Pyrometallurgical enterprises of non-ferrous and ferrous metallurgy, as well as thermal power plants annually emit tens of millions of tons of sulfuric anhydride into the atmosphere.
- - Hydrogen sulfide and carbon disulfide. They enter the atmosphere separately or together with other sulfur compounds. The main sources of emissions are enterprises for the manufacture of artificial fiber, sugar, coke, oil refineries, and oil fields. In the atmosphere, when interacting with other pollutants, they undergo slow oxidation to sulfuric anhydride.
- - Nitrogen oxides. The main sources of emissions are enterprises producing nitrogen fertilizers, nitric acid and nitrates, aniline dyes, nitro compounds, viscose silk, celluloid. The amount of nitrogen oxides entering the atmosphere is 20 million tons per year.
- - Fluorine compounds. Sources of pollution are enterprises producing aluminum, enamels, glass, ceramics, steel, and phosphate fertilizers. Fluorine-containing substances enter the atmosphere in the form of gaseous compounds - hydrogen fluoride or dust of sodium and calcium fluoride. The compounds are characterized by a toxic effect. Fluorine derivatives are strong insecticides.
- - Compounds of chlorine. They enter the atmosphere from chemical enterprises producing hydrochloric acid, chlorine-containing pesticides, organic dyes, hydrolytic alcohol, bleach, soda. In the atmosphere, they are found as an admixture of chlorine molecules and hydrochloric acid vapors. The toxicity of chlorine is determined by the type of compounds and their concentration. In the metallurgical industry, during the smelting of pig iron and its processing into steel, various heavy metals and toxic gases are released into the atmosphere. So, in terms of 1 ton of pig iron, in addition to 12.7 kg. sulfur dioxide and 14.5 kg of dust particles, which determine the amount of compounds of arsenic, phosphorus, antimony, lead, mercury vapor and rare metals, tar substances and hydrogen cyanide.
In addition to gaseous pollutants, a large amount of particulate matter enters the atmosphere. These are dust, soot and soot. Contamination of the natural environment with heavy metals poses a great danger. Lead, cadmium, mercury, copper, nickel, zinc, chromium, vanadium have become almost constant components of the air in industrial centers.
Aerosols are solid or liquid particles suspended in the air. The solid components of aerosols in some cases are especially dangerous for organisms, and in humans they cause specific diseases. In the atmosphere, aerosol pollution is perceived in the form of smoke, fog, mist or haze. A significant part of aerosols is formed in the atmosphere when solid and liquid particles interact with each other or with water vapor. The average size aerosol particles is 1-5 microns. About 1 cubic meter enters the Earth's atmosphere every year. km of dust particles of artificial origin. A large number of dust particles are also formed during the production activities of people. Information on some sources of man-made dust is given in Appendix 3.
The main sources of artificial aerosol air pollution are thermal power plants, which consume high-ash coal, enrichment plants, metallurgical, cement, magnesite and carbon black plants. Aerosol particles from these sources are distinguished by a wide variety of chemical composition. Most often, compounds of silicon, calcium and carbon are found in their composition, less often - oxides of metals: iron, magnesium, manganese, zinc, copper, nickel, lead, antimony, bismuth, selenium, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, molybdenum, as well as asbestos.
Permanent sources of aerosol pollution are industrial dumps - artificial mounds of redeposited material, mainly overburden, formed during mining or from waste from processing industries, thermal power plants.
The source of dust and poisonous gases is mass blasting. So, as a result of one medium-sized explosion (250-300 tons of explosives), about 2 thousand cubic meters are released into the atmosphere. m. of conditional carbon monoxide and more than 150 tons of dust.
The production of cement and other building materials is also a source of air pollution with dust. The main technological processes of these industries are grinding and chemical treatment semi-finished products and products obtained in hot gas streams is always accompanied by emissions of dust and other harmful substances into the atmosphere.
The main air pollutants today are carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide(Appendix 2).
But, of course, we must not forget about freons, or chlorofluorocarbons. Most scientists consider them to be the reason for the formation of the so-called ozone holes in the atmosphere. Freons are widely used in production and in everyday life as refrigerants, foaming agents, solvents, as well as in aerosol packages. Namely, with a decrease in the ozone content in the upper atmosphere, doctors attribute an increase in the number of skin cancers. It is known that atmospheric ozone is formed as a result of complex photochemical reactions under the influence of ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Although its content is small, its importance for the biosphere is enormous. Ozone absorbing ultraviolet radiation, protects all life on earth from death. Freons, getting into the atmosphere, under the influence of solar radiation, decompose into a number of compounds, of which chlorine oxide most intensively destroys ozone.
The concept of "resources of the atmosphere"
Atmospheric air as a resource. Atmospheric air is a natural mixture of gases of the surface layer of the atmosphere outside residential, industrial and other premises, which has developed during the evolution of our planet. It is one of the main vital important elements nature.
Atmospheric air performs a number of complex environmental functions, namely:
1) regulates the thermal regime of the Earth, promotes the redistribution of heat around the globe;
2) serves as an indispensable source of oxygen necessary for the existence of all life on Earth. When characterizing the special importance of air in human life, it is emphasized that a person can live without air for only a few minutes;
3) is a conductor of solar energy, serves as protection against harmful cosmic radiation, forms the basis of climatic and weather conditions on Earth;
4) is intensively exploited as a transport communication;
5) saves everything living on Earth from destructive ultraviolet, X-ray and cosmic rays;
6) protects the Earth from various celestial bodies. The vast majority of meteorites do not exceed the size of a pea. With great speed (from 11 to 64 km / s), they crash into the atmosphere of the planet under the influence of earth's gravity, heat up due to friction against the air, and at a height of about 60-70 km they mostly burn out;
7) determines the light regime of the Earth, breaks Sun rays into millions of small rays, scatters them and creates that uniform illumination to which a person is accustomed;
8) is the medium where sounds propagate. Without air, silence would reign on Earth;
9) has the ability to self-purify. It occurs when aerosols are washed out of the atmosphere by precipitation, turbulent mixing in the surface air layer, and the deposition of polluted substances on the earth's surface.
Atmospheric air and the atmosphere as a whole have many other environmental and socially beneficial properties. For example, atmospheric air is widely used as a natural resource in the national economy. Mineral nitrogen fertilizers, nitric acid and its salts are produced from atmospheric nitrogen. Argon and nitrogen are used in metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical industries (for a number of technological processes). Oxygen and hydrogen are also obtained from atmospheric air.
Atmospheric air pollution by industrial enterprises
Pollution in ecology is understood as an unfavorable change in the environment, which is wholly or partly the result of human activity, directly or indirectly changes the distribution of incoming energy, radiation levels, physical and chemical properties of the environment and the conditions for the existence of living organisms. These changes can affect a person directly or through water and food. They can also affect a person, worsening the properties of the things he uses, the conditions of rest and work.
Intensive air pollution began in the 19th century due to the rapid development of industry, which began to use coal as the main fuel, and rapid growth cities. The role of coal in air pollution in Europe has long been known. However, in the 19th century, it was the cheapest and most affordable type of fuel in Western Europe, including Great Britain.
But coal is not the only source of air pollution. Now a huge amount of harmful substances is emitted into the atmosphere every year, and, despite the significant efforts made in the world to reduce the degree of atmospheric pollution, it is located in the developed capitalist countries. At the same time, the researchers note that if there are now 10 times more harmful impurities in the atmosphere over the countryside than over the ocean, then over the city there are 150 times more of them.
Impact on the atmosphere of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises. The enterprises of the metallurgical industry saturate the atmosphere with dust, sulfur dioxide and other harmful gases released during various technological production processes.
Ferrous metallurgy, the production of cast iron and its processing into steel, naturally occurs with the accompanying emissions of various harmful gases into the atmosphere.
Air pollution with gases during the formation of coals is accompanied by the preparation of the charge and its loading into coke ovens. Wet quenching is also accompanied by the release into the atmosphere of substances that are part of the water used.
During the production of metallic aluminum by electrolysis, a huge amount of gaseous and dusty compounds containing fluorine and other elements are released into the environment. When smelting one ton of steel, 0.04 tons of solid particles, 0.03 tons of sulfur oxides and up to 0.05 tons of carbon monoxide enter the atmosphere. Non-ferrous metallurgy plants discharge into the atmosphere compounds of manganese, lead, phosphorus, arsenic, mercury vapor, vapor-gas mixtures consisting of phenol, formaldehyde, benzene, ammonia and other toxic substances. .
Impact on the atmosphere of petrochemical industry enterprises. Enterprises of the oil refining and petrochemical industries have a significant Negative influence on the state of the environment and, above all, on the atmospheric air, which is due to their activities and the combustion of oil refining products (motor, boiler fuels, and other products).
In terms of air pollution, oil refining and petrochemistry rank fourth among other industries. The composition of fuel combustion products includes such pollutants as oxides of nitrogen, sulfur and carbon, carbon black, hydrocarbons, hydrogen sulfide.
During the processing of hydrocarbon systems, more than 1500 tons/year of harmful substances are emitted into the atmosphere. Of these, hydrocarbons - 78.8%; sulfur oxides - 15.5%; nitrogen oxides - 1.8%; carbon oxides - 17.46%; solids - 9.3%. Emissions of solid substances, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides account for up to 98% of total emissions from industrial enterprises. As analysis of the state of the atmosphere shows, it is the emissions of these substances in most industrial cities that create an increased background of pollution.
The most environmentally hazardous are the industries associated with the distillation of hydrocarbon systems - oil and heavy oil residues, the purification of oils using aromatic substances, the production of elemental sulfur, and treatment facilities.
Impact on the atmosphere of agricultural enterprises. Atmospheric air pollution by agricultural enterprises is carried out mainly through emissions of polluting gaseous and particulate matter. ventilation units providing normal living conditions for animals and humans in production facilities for keeping livestock and poultry. Additional pollution comes from boilers as a result of the processing and release of combustion products of fuel into the atmosphere, from exhaust gases from motor and tractor equipment, from fumes from manure storage tanks, as well as from spreading manure, fertilizers and other chemicals. It is impossible not to take into account the dust generated during the harvesting of field crops, loading, unloading, drying and finalizing bulk agricultural products.
The fuel and energy complex (thermal power plants, combined heat and power plants, boiler plants) emits smoke into the atmospheric air, which is formed during the combustion of solid and liquid fuel. Air emissions from fuel-burning installations contain products of complete combustion - sulfur oxides and ash, products of incomplete combustion - mainly carbon monoxide, soot and hydrocarbons. The total volume of all emissions is very significant. For example, a thermal power plant that consumes 50 thousand tons of coal containing approximately 1% sulfur every month emits 33 tons of sulfuric anhydride into the atmosphere every day, which can turn (under certain meteorological conditions) into 50 tons of sulfuric acid. In one day, such a power plant produces up to 230 tons of ash, which is partially (about 40-50 tons per day) released into the environment within a radius of up to 5 km. Emissions from thermal power plants that burn oil contain almost no ash, but emit three times more sulfuric anhydride.
Air pollution from the oil-producing, oil-refining and petrochemical industries contains a large amount of hydrocarbons, hydrogen sulfide and foul-smelling gases. The emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere at oil refineries occurs mainly due to insufficient sealing of equipment. For example, atmospheric air pollution with hydrocarbons and hydrogen sulfide is noted from metal tanks of raw material parks for unstable oil, intermediate and commodity parks for light oil products.
Industrial enterprises as sources of environmental pollution
The industrial wastes of enterprises of the metallurgical, chemical, petrochemical, machine-building and other industries pollute the environment, which emit into the atmosphere a huge amount of ash, sulfur dioxide and other harmful gases emitted during various technological production processes. These enterprises pollute reservoirs and groundwater, affect vegetation and animal world. What characterizes these industries in terms of environmental protection? Ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy are the most polluting industries and rank first in terms of emissions of toxic substances. The share of metallurgy accounts for about 40% of the total Russian gross emissions of harmful substances, including about 26% for solids and about 34% for gaseous substances. Ferrous metallurgy enterprises are the main environmental pollutants in the cities and regions in which they are located. Dust emission per 1 ton of cast iron produced is 4.5 kg, sulfur dioxide - 2.7 kg and manganese - 0.6 ... 0.1 kg. Together with blast-furnace gas, compounds of arsenic, phosphorus, antimony, lead, as well as mercury vapor, hydrogen cyanide and tarry substances are emitted into the atmosphere. Permissible rate sulfur dioxide emissions during ore agglomeration 190 kg per 1 ton of ore. At the enterprises of the industry, there continues to be a large volume of discharges of polluted wastewater into water bodies, which contain chemicals: sulfates, chlorides, iron compounds, heavy metals. These discharges are so large that they turn rivers and reservoirs in their places into "extremely dirty". Ferrous metallurgy enterprises discharge 12% of polluted wastewater, which is more than a quarter of all toxic waste of Russian industry. The volume of polluted water discharges increased by 8% compared to previous years. Novolipetsk, Magnitogorsk, Zlatoust, Satka metallurgical plants became the largest industry sources of water pollution. Ferrous metallurgy enterprises affect the state of groundwater through filter tanks. Thus, the Novolipetsk Iron and Steel Works has become a source of groundwater pollution with rhodonides (up to 957 MPC), cyanides (up to 308 MPC), oil products and phenols. It should also be noted that this industry is a source of soil pollution. According to aerospace survey data, the soil cover contamination zone can be traced at a distance of up to 60 km from the pollution source. The main reasons for significant emissions and discharges of pollutants, as experts explain, is the incomplete equipment of enterprises with treatment plants or their inoperative state (for various reasons). Only half of the wastewater is treated to the norm, and the neutralization of gaseous substances is only about 60% of the total emission. At the enterprises of non-ferrous metallurgy, despite the decline in production, the reduction of harmful environmental pollutants did not occur. As noted above, non-ferrous metallurgy continues to be the leader in environmental pollution in Russia. Suffice it to mention only the Norilsk Nickel Concern, the main supplier of non-ferrous and precious metals, which, along with metal production, supplies about 12% of the gross pollutant emissions of the entire Russian industry into the atmosphere. In addition, there are enterprises "Yuzhuralnickel" (Orsk); Sredneuralsky copper smelter (Revda); Achinsk Alumina Refinery (Achinsk); Krasnoyarsk aluminum plant; Mednogorsk copper-sulfur plant. Atmospheric pollution by these enterprises is mainly characterized by emissions of SO2 (more than 80% of the total emissions into the atmosphere), CO (10.5%) and dust (10.45%). Emissions to the atmosphere influence the formation of chemical fluxes over long distances. At non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises, there are large volumes of wastewater that are contaminated with mineral substances, fluorine reagents containing cyanides, petroleum products, xanthates, heavy metal salts (copper, lead, zinc, nickel), as well as arsenic, fluorine, antimony, sulfates, chlorides, etc. Heavy metals were found in the soil cover where the enterprises are located, exceeding the MPC by 2 ... 5 times or more. For example, around Rudnaya Pristan (Primorsky Territory), where a lead plant is located, soils with a radius of 5 km are contaminated with lead - 300 MPC and manganese - 2 MPC. There is no need to give examples of other cities. And now let's raise the question, what is the zone of pollution of the air basin and the earth's surface from the center of pollutant emissions. Here is an impressive example of research carried out by the Russian Ecological Fund on the degree of impact of pollution by non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises on ecosystems. On fig. 2.3 shows the zones of destroyed ecosystems from the center of harmful emissions. As can be seen from the figure, the configuration of the pollution field is close to circular; it can be in the form of an ellipse and other geometric shapes, depending on the wind rose. According to the integral coefficient of conservation (IC,%) obtained (experimentally), the following zones of ecosystem disturbance were established: - complete destruction of ecosystems (technogenic wasteland); - severe destruction of the ecosystem. The average life expectancy of needles (coniferous forest) is 1...3 years instead of 11...13 years. There is no regeneration of coniferous forest; - partial disturbance of ecosystems. Precipitation of sulfate ion during the day is 3...7 kg/km2, non-ferrous metals - tens of grams per 1 km2. The resumption of life in the coniferous forest is very weak; - the initial stage of destruction of ecosystems. The maximum concentrations of S02 are 0.4...0.5 kg/km2. Non-ferrous metal concentrations exceed background values; - the initial stage of degradation of ecosystems. There are almost no visible signs of damage to vegetation, however, in the needles of spruces, a background state of heavy metals is observed, which exceeds the norm by 5...10 times.
Rice. 2.3. Preservation of ecosystems depending on the distance to the center of harmful emissions Studies show that as a result of the uncontrolled activities of the metallurgical plant, the natural large areas. Destroyed and damaged forests on an area of about 15 thousand hectares, and signs initial stage destruction of forest ecosystems was recorded on 400 thousand hectares. The analysis of the pollution of this territory made it possible to establish the rate of destruction of the ecosystem, which amounted to 1 ... 1.5 km / year. What will happen next with such indicators? All Live nature at a distance of up to 30 km from the plant (according to the wind rose) it can completely degrade within 20...25 years. Heavy metals have bad influence not only on water bodies, but also on ordinary mushrooms, berries and other plants, the toxicity of which reaches 25 MPC, and they become completely unsuitable for human consumption. Pollution of water bodies located near the plant is more than 100 MPC. In residential areas of the city, the concentration of SO2, nitrogen oxides and heavy metals exceeds the maximum permissible level by 2... 4 times. Hence the morbidity of the population with diseases of the endocrine system, blood, sensory organs and skin. This fact is also curious. In the vicinity of the plant, the first colony of moles was found at a distance of 16 km from the center of emissions, voles were captured no closer than 7...8 km. Moreover, at these distances, animals do not live permanently, but only temporarily enter. This means that with an increase in anthropogenic load, biogeocenosis, as it were, is simplified primarily due to the loss or sharp reduction of consumers. Thus, the cycle of carbon (and other elements) becomes two-term: producers - reducers. At the enterprises of the chemical and petrochemical industries, the very nature of the raw materials speaks of their negative impact to the environment because we are talking on the production of plastics, synthetic dyes, synthetic rubber, carbon black. According to the report, in 2000 alone, these industries emitted more than 427,000 tons of pollutants into the atmosphere, while the volume of toxic waste increased and amounted to more than 13 million tons. This is 11% of the volume of toxic waste generated per year in Russian industry. Chemical and petrochemical industries emit a variety of toxic substances (CO, SO2, solids, nitrogen oxides), most of which are dangerous to the human body. This affects the hydrochemical state water bodies. So, for example, the waters of the Belaya River (upstream from the city of Sterlitamak, Bashkiria) belong to the III class of harmfulness (or simply dirty). Almost the same thing happens with the waters of the Oka River after discharges from the factories of Dzerzhinsk (Nizhny Novgorod region), which contain elements of methanol, cyanide, and formaldehyde. There are many such examples. They pollute not only surface water, but also underground, which makes it impossible to use aquifers for drinking water supply. Pollution of groundwater with heavy metals, methanol, phenol exceeds the MPC up to hundreds of thousands of times. Around the enterprises of the chemical industry (more precisely, cities), the soil is also polluted, as a rule, within a radius of up to 5 ... 6 km. About 80% of 2.9 km3 of wastewater is polluted, which indicates an extremely inefficient operation of treatment facilities. The composition of wastewater includes sulfates, chlorides, phosphorus and nitrogen compounds, petroleum products, as well as specific substances such as formaldehyde, methanol, benzene, hydrogen sulfide, carbon disulfide, heavy metal compounds, mercury, arsenic, etc. The building materials industry covers a wide range of enterprises not only cement plants, but also factories for the manufacture of reinforced concrete products, various ceramic and polymer products, plants for the production of asphalt mix, concrete and mortar. The technological processes of these industries are mainly associated with the grinding and heat treatment of charge (at cement plants), the unloading of cement and the preparation of semi-finished products. In the process of obtaining products and materials, dust and various gases enter the atmospheric air, and untreated sewage enters the sewer networks. Asphalt-mixing plants of various capacities currently operating in Russia emit from 70 to 300 tons of suspended chemicals per year into the atmosphere. Installations emit carcinogens into the air. Purification equipment, according to the report on environmental protection, does not work on any of them or does not meet the technical condition. Atmospheric pollution The atmosphere is the air envelope of the Earth. The quality of the atmosphere is understood as the totality of its properties that determine the degree of impact of physical, chemical and biological factors on people, flora and fauna, as well as on materials, structures and the environment as a whole. Atmospheric pollution is understood as the introduction of impurities into it that are not contained in natural air or change the ratio between the ingredients of the natural composition of air. The population of the Earth and the rate of its growth are the predetermining factors for increasing the intensity of pollution of all geospheres of the Earth, including the atmosphere, since with their increase, the volumes and rates of everything that is extracted, produced, consumed and sent to waste increase. Main air pollutants: Carbon monoxide Nitrogen oxides Sulfur dioxide Hydrocarbons Aldehydes Heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, Cr) Ammonia Atmospheric dust
Impurities Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas also known as carbon monoxide". It is formed as a result of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels (coal, gas, oil) in conditions of lack of oxygen and at low temperatures. At the same time, 65% of all emissions come from transport, 21% - from small consumers and the household sector, and 14% - from industry. When inhaled, carbon monoxide, due to the double bond present in its molecule, forms strong complex compounds with human blood hemoglobin and thereby blocks the flow of oxygen into the blood. Carbon dioxide (CO2) - or carbon dioxide, is a colorless gas with a sour smell and taste, a product of the complete oxidation of carbon. It is one of the greenhouse gases.
Impurities The greatest air pollution is observed in cities where common pollutants are dust, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, etc. In some cities, due to the peculiarities industrial production the air contains specific harmful substances, such as sulfuric and hydrochloric acid, styrene, benzapyrene, soot, manganese, chromium, lead, methyl methacrylate. In total, there are several hundred different air pollutants in cities.
Impurities Sulfur dioxide (SO2) (sulfur dioxide, sulfur dioxide) is a colorless gas with a pungent odor. It is formed during the combustion of sulfur-containing fossil fuels, mainly coal, as well as during the processing of sulfur ores. It is primarily involved in the formation of acid rain. The global SO2 emission is estimated at 190 million tons per year. Prolonged exposure to sulfur dioxide on a person first leads to a loss of taste, shortness of breath, and then to inflammation or edema of the lungs, interruptions in cardiac activity, impaired blood circulation and respiratory arrest. Nitrogen oxides (nitrogen oxide and nitrogen dioxide) are gaseous substances: nitrogen monoxide NO and nitrogen dioxide NO2 are combined by one general formula NOx. In all combustion processes, nitrogen oxides are formed, mostly in the form of an oxide. The higher the combustion temperature, the more intense the formation of nitrogen oxides. Another source of nitrogen oxides are enterprises producing nitrogen fertilizers, nitric acid and nitrates, aniline dyes, and nitro compounds. The amount of nitrogen oxides entering the atmosphere is 65 million tons per year. Of the total amount of nitrogen oxides emitted into the atmosphere, transport accounts for 55%, energy - 28%, industrial enterprises - 14%, small consumers and the household sector - 3%.
Impurities Ozone (O3) is a gas with a characteristic odor, a stronger oxidizing agent than oxygen. It is considered one of the most toxic of all common air pollutants. In the lower atmospheric layer, ozone is formed as a result of photochemical processes involving nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic compounds. Hydrocarbons are chemical compounds of carbon and hydrogen. These include thousands of different air pollutants found in unburned gasoline, dry cleaning fluids, industrial solvents, and more. Lead (Pb) is a silvery gray metal that is toxic in any known form. Widely used for paint, ammunition, printing alloy, etc. about 60% of the world's lead production is consumed annually for the production of acid batteries. However, the main source (about 80%) of air pollution with lead compounds is the exhaust gases of vehicles that use leaded gasoline. Industrial dusts, depending on the mechanism of their formation, are divided into the following 4 classes: mechanical dust - is formed as a result of grinding the product during the technological process; sublimates - are formed as a result of volumetric condensation of vapors of substances during cooling of a gas passed through a process apparatus, installation or unit; fly ash - the non-combustible fuel residue contained in the flue gas in suspension, is formed from its mineral impurities during combustion; Industrial soot is a solid highly dispersed carbon, which is part of an industrial emission, and is formed during incomplete combustion or thermal decomposition of hydrocarbons. The main sources of anthropogenic aerosol air pollution are thermal power plants (TPP) that consume coal. Burning hard coal, cement production and iron smelting give a total emission of dust into the atmosphere equal to 170 million tons per year.
Atmospheric pollution Impurities enter the atmosphere in the form of gases, vapors, liquid and solid particles. Gases and vapors form mixtures with air, and liquid and solid particles form aerosols (dispersed systems), which are divided into dust (particle sizes over 1 µm), smoke (particle sizes less than 1 µm) and fog (liquid particle sizes less than 10 µm). ). Dust, in turn, can be coarse (particle size over 50 µm), medium-dispersed (50-10 µm) and fine (less than 10 µm). Depending on the size, liquid particles are divided into superfine mist (up to 0.5 µm), fine mist (0.5-3.0 µm), coarse mist (3-10 µm) and spray (over 10 µm). Aerosols are often polydisperse; contain particles different size. The second source of radioactive impurities is the nuclear industry. Impurities enter the environment during the extraction and enrichment of fossil raw materials, their use in reactors, and the processing of nuclear fuel in installations. TO permanent sources aerosol pollution include industrial dumps - artificial mounds of redeposited material, mainly overburden, formed during mining or from waste from processing industries, thermal power plants. The production of cement and other building materials is also a source of air pollution with dust. The combustion of hard coal, the production of cement and the smelting of pig iron give a total emission of dust into the atmosphere equal to 170 million tons/year. A significant part of aerosols is formed in the atmosphere when solid and liquid particles interact with each other or with water vapor. Among the dangerous anthropogenic factors that contribute to a serious deterioration in the quality of the atmosphere, one should include its pollution with radioactive dust. The residence time of small particles in the lower layer of the troposphere is on average several days, and in the upper one day. As for the particles that have entered the stratosphere, they can stay in it for up to a year, and sometimes more.
Atmospheric pollution The main sources of anthropogenic aerosol air pollution are thermal power plants (TPP) that consume high-ash coal, processing plants, metallurgical, cement, magnesite and other plants. Aerosol particles from these sources are characterized by great chemical diversity. Most often, compounds of silicon, calcium and carbon are found in their composition, less often - oxides of metals: iron, magnesium, manganese, zinc, copper, nickel, lead, antimony, bismuth, selenium, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, molybdenum, and asbestos. An even greater variety is characteristic of organic dust, including aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, acid salts. It is formed during the combustion of residual petroleum products, during the pyrolysis process at oil refineries, petrochemical and other similar enterprises.
IMPACT OF ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION ON HUMANS All air pollutants have a negative impact on human health to a greater or lesser extent. These substances enter the human body mainly through the respiratory system. The respiratory organs are directly affected by pollution, since about 50% of impurity particles with a radius of 0. µm that penetrate into the lungs are deposited in them. Statistical analysis made it possible to fairly reliably establish the relationship between the level of air pollution and diseases such as upper respiratory tract damage, heart failure, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, emphysema, and eye diseases. A sharp increase in the concentration of impurities, which persists for several days, increases the mortality of the elderly from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. In December 1930, in the valley of the river Meuse (Belgium), severe air pollution was noted for 3 days; as a result, hundreds of people fell ill and 60 people died - more than 10 times the average death rate. In January 1931, in the area of Manchester (Great Britain), for 9 days, there was a strong smoke in the air, which caused the death of 592 people. Cases of severe pollution of the atmosphere of London, accompanied by numerous deaths, were widely known. In 1873 there were 268 unforeseen deaths in London. Heavy smoke combined with fog between 5 and 8 December 1852 resulted in the deaths of over 4,000 residents of Greater London. In January 1956, about 1,000 Londoners died as a result of prolonged smoke. Most of those who died unexpectedly suffered from bronchitis, emphysema, or cardiovascular disease.
EFFECT OF ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION ON HUMANS Nitrogen oxides and some other substances Nitrogen oxides (primarily poisonous nitrogen dioxide NO2), which combine with ultraviolet solar radiation with hydrocarbons (oleophins are the most reactive), form peroxylacetyl nitrate (PAN) and other photochemical oxidants, including peroxybenzoyl nitrate (PBN), ozone (O3), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), nitrogen dioxide. These oxidizing agents are the main components of photochemical smog, the frequency of which is high in heavily polluted cities located at low latitudes of the northern and southern hemispheres (Los Angeles, where smog is observed for about 200 days a year, Chicago, New York and other US cities; a number of cities Japan, Turkey, France, Spain, Italy, Africa and South America).
IMPACT OF ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION ON HUMANS Let us name some other air pollutants that have a harmful effect on humans. It has been established that people who professionally deal with asbestos have an increased likelihood of cancer of the bronchi and diaphragms that separate the chest and abdominal cavity. Beryllium has a harmful effect (up to the occurrence oncological diseases) on the respiratory tract, as well as on the skin and eyes. Mercury vapor causes disruption of the central upper system and kidneys. Since mercury can accumulate in the human body, eventually exposure to it leads to a disorder mental capacity. In cities, due to ever-increasing air pollution, the number of patients suffering from diseases such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema, various allergic diseases and lung cancer is steadily increasing. In the UK, 10% of deaths are due to chronic bronchitis, with 21; of the population aged years suffers from this disease. In Japan, in a number of cities, up to 60% of the inhabitants suffer from chronic bronchitis, the symptoms of which are a dry cough with frequent expectoration, subsequent progressive difficulty in breathing and heart failure (in this regard, it should be noted that the so-called Japanese economic miracle of the 50s and 60s years was accompanied heavy pollution the natural environment of one of the most beautiful regions of the world and the serious damage caused to the health of the population of this country). IN recent decades The incidence of bronchial and lung cancers, caused by carcinogenic hydrocarbons, is growing at a alarming rate. Influence of radioactive substances on the flora and fauna Spreading along the food chain (from plants to animals), radioactive substances with food enter the human body and can accumulate in such quantities that can harm human health.
EFFECT OF ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION ON HUMANS Radiation of radioactive substances has the following effects on the body: weaken the irradiated body, slow down growth, reduce resistance to infections and the body's immunity; reduce life expectancy, reduce natural growth rates due to temporary or complete sterilization; different ways affect genes, the consequences of which appear in the second or third generations; have a cumulative (cumulative) effect, causing irreversible effects. The severity of the consequences of irradiation depends on the amount of energy (radiation) absorbed by the body and emitted by the radioactive substance. The unit of this energy is 1 row - this is the dose of radiation at which 1 g of living matter absorbs 10-5 J of energy. It has been established that at a dose exceeding 1000 rad, a person dies; at a dose of 7000 and 200 glad death occurs in 90 and 10% of cases, respectively; in the case of a dose of 100 rad, a person survives, but the likelihood of cancer is significantly increased, as well as the likelihood of complete sterilization.
IMPACT OF ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION ON HUMANS It is not surprising that people have adapted well to the natural radioactivity of the environment. Moreover, groups of people are known living in areas with high radioactivity, much higher than the average for the globe (for example, in one of the regions of Brazil, residents receive about 1600 mrad per year, which is times more than the usual radiation dose). On average, the dose of ionizing radiation received per year by each inhabitant of the planet varies between 50 and 200 mrad, and the share of natural radioactivity (cosmic rays) accounts for about 25 billion radioactivity of rocks - approximately mrad. It should also take into account the doses that a person receives from artificial sources of radiation. In the UK, for example, a person receives about 100 mrad each year during fluoroscopic examinations. TV radiation - about 10 mrad. Nuclear industry waste and radioactive fallout - about 3 mrad.
Conclusion At the end of the 20th century, world civilization entered a stage of its development when the problems of survival and self-preservation of mankind, the preservation of the natural environment and the rational use of natural resources came to the fore. The current stage of human development has exposed the problems caused by the growth of the Earth's population, the contradictions between traditional management and the increasing rate of use of natural resources, pollution of the biosphere by industrial waste and handicapped biosphere to their neutralization. These contradictions hinder the further scientific and technological progress of mankind, become a threat to its existence. Only in the second half of the 20th century, thanks to the development of ecology and the spread of environmental knowledge among the population, it became obvious that humanity is an indispensable part of the biosphere, that the conquest of nature, the uncontrolled use of its resources and environmental pollution is a dead end in the development of civilization and in the evolution of man himself. That's why essential condition human development - careful attitude to nature, comprehensive care for rational use and restoration of its resources, preservation of a favorable environment. However, many do not understand the close relationship between human economic activity and the state of the natural environment. Broad environmental education should help people to acquire such environmental knowledge and ethical norms and values, attitudes and lifestyles that are necessary for the sustainable development of nature and society.
