This type of pollution is also called

mechanical

One of the most insidious types of environmental pollution is mechanical pollution. It would seem that there is nothing irreversible and dangerous in it: this is the entry of dust into the atmosphere, and the silting of water bodies with soils, and waste dumps. In fact, the danger is not so much the phenomenon of mechanical pollution as its scale. It is precisely because of these huge scale in recent years, various environmental problems have increasingly arisen, the elimination of which sometimes requires huge financial expenses.

biological

Experts divide this type of pollution into bacterial and organic.

In the first case, pathogenic microorganisms are to blame, which contribute to the spread of many diseases, but the sources of organic pollution of the environment can be water pollution, waste disposal, and neglect of sewerage cleaning measures.

Bacterial contamination is the most dangerous for a person, since many pathogens of serious infectious diseases appear in this case.

geological

Geological pollution is mainly caused by the actions of the person himself: as a result of some types of activity, landslides or landslides, flooding, subsidence may form. earth's surface, drainage of territories. The main reasons why this happens:

• mining;
• construction;
• vibration impact of transport;
• impact on the soil of waste and sewer waters.

Chemical

This is another serious type of pollution that occurs due to the release of various pollutants, and such pollutants can be the most different substances, from heavy metals to synthetic and organic compounds.

main sources chemical pollution- industrial enterprises and various industries, transport, agriculture.

Pollution fee

In line with federal law“On Environmental Protection” from enterprises, institutions, foreign citizens, a fee, an environmental fee is charged. If the fee is not paid, then a fine is imposed, which can reach up to 100,000 rubles. This is written in the law. Rosprirodnadzor controls the introduction of the environmental fee.

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I would like to add and clarify at the expense of ionizing radiation. The most dangerous of course is gamma radiation. These rays have a huge destructive force and penetrating power. A person can protect himself from them only in a deep bunker with concrete walls ten meters thick. The source of such radiation is, most often, nuclear reactor. For comparison, it is fashionable to protect yourself from beta rays with a thin sheet of metal or a piece of thick clothing, and an ordinary thin sheet of paper will save you from alpha radiation!

Global environmental pollutants

global pollutants called those that pollute almost all environmental objects: air, water, soil, food. They are also called "supertoxicants".

Pesticides- plant protection products (from lat. pestis - infection, cide - kill). They have the ability to progressively accumulate in the links of food chains. They have toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects. A significant increase in cancerous tumors was found in women Central Asia, engaged in the collection of cotton by hand, the plantations of which were plentifully treated with pesticides.

Dioxins. The threat they pose to the existence of mankind is called a "slowly developing catastrophe." The danger of contamination of the biosphere with dioxins is on a par with radioactive contamination, both in terms of their scale and their destructive effect. The danger of dioxins is due to their following properties: 1) the highest toxicity, even in low concentrations (these are supertoxicants, which are cellular poisons that affect all living things; 2) the ubiquity (ubiquity) of their distribution in environmental objects (soil, air, water, food products) ; 3) extremely high resistance to decomposition, the ability to persist in the environment for decades, migrate into food chains and, in the end, enter the human body, causing whole line toxic effects. More than 400 thousand tons of dioxins circulate in the environment. In the biosphere, they are quickly absorbed by plants, sorbed by soil and various materials, where they practically do not change. The half-life of dioxins in nature exceeds 10 years. Sources of dioxins: the production of chlorinated phenols, the synthesis of herbicides, the exhaust gases of vehicles running on gasoline with lead additives, the combustion of motor oils, the pulp and paper industry, the fire and breakdown of electrical equipment in which PVC is used; sludge burning Wastewater, PVC products, waste incineration, drinking water chlorination. Sources of severe pollution : industrial accidents, violations of industrial waste disposal rules, intensive use chemical substances for military purposes. Dioxins are called "hormones of degradation" or "hormones of premature aging". At the same time, there is no “threshold of action” for them, that is, even one molecule is capable of initiating abnormal cellular activity and causing a chain of reactions that disrupt the functions of the body. Dioxin is a total poison, because even in relatively small doses it affects almost all forms of living matter - from bacteria to warm-blooded ones. Summary of the effects of dioxins on human health: malignant neoplasms; toxic effects on the reproductive system of men and women; effect on the fetus; skin diseases; metabolic and hormonal disorders; damage to the central and peripheral nervous system; liver damage; disorders of the immune system and in the respiratory system. Ways to prevent health disorders associated with exposure to dioxins: inventory and monitoring industrial zones; a real ban on production cycles associated with the release or use of dioxins; careful chemical-analytical control of potentially hazardous industries; correct disposal of waste.

Nitrates and nitrites. Environmental pollution with these compounds is associated with their widespread use as fertilizers in agriculture (saltpeter). For plants, an excess of nitrates does not pose a significant danger, but when they enter the body of warm-blooded animals with food, they turn into much more toxic nitrites that interact with amines and amides (products of the interaction of ammonia with radicals or metals). As a result, the formation of nitroso compounds - nitrosamines and nitrosamides - is possible. The accumulation of nitrates in the human body with prolonged use of such plant foods causes severe violations metabolism, allergies, nervous disorders. In the blood, nitrates convert the ferrous iron of hemoglobin into ferric iron, which disrupts the transfer of oxygen from the lungs to the tissues. As for nitroso compounds, in some cases they are capable of causing malignant neoplasms, stomach cancer, and leukemia. The intake of nitrates in the body at a dose of more than 5 mg per 1 kg of body weight is already dangerous. The daily dose of nitrates entering the body with food should not exceed 320 mg, and nitrites - 9 mg.

Lead is currently the most common of the toxic heavy metals, as it is part of gasoline. Other sources of lead in the environment are leaded gasoline, solders for food preservation, lead batteries, paints (white lead).

The leading syndrome of intoxication is blood damage (anemia). Changes in the nervous system (neurosaturnism): asthenic syndrome, polyneuropathy and encephalopathy varying degrees expressiveness. Gastrointestinal tract: gastritis, lead intestinal colic, impaired liver function, up to toxic hepatitis. Endocrine system: menstrual dysfunction and decreased sexual potency, increased thyroid function. Examples. 1. Admiral Sir John Franklin and the death of his expedition. Food products in tinplate cans packed in lead foil contained high concentrations of lead, which passed into the contents of the cans and then entered the body with food. 2. Research conducted in Koryaksky national district in 1992, found high levels of lead in the blood of children. The reason is significant specific gravity consumption of canned foods from cans containing lead in solder.

Mercury enters the environment through improper disposal of products made with the use of mercury (fluorescent lamps, measuring instruments, etc.), as well as in the composition of some pesticides. This is a liquid metal that evaporates not only at room temperature, but even zero. It is easily transported over long distances and again turns into a liquid substance when the temperature drops. In rooms, it accumulates in cracks, under the floor, in the voids of walls, furniture, is adsorbed by wood, paper, fabric, plaster and then, evaporating, accumulates in the air. Mercury has the ability to be deposited in various organs (liver, kidneys, spleen, brain, heart). Acute poisoning: metallic taste in the mouth, headache, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, hemorrhagic syndrome, severe stomatitis, mercury pneumonia. Chronic poisoning: initial stage- vegetative-vascular dystonia, neurosis-like syndrome, sleep disturbance, memory loss, finger tremor, hyperthyroidism, menstrual irregularities, early menopause, gum pathology; severe stage - severe psychovegetative syndrome (severe asthenia, persistent headache, persistent sleep disturbances, irritability, aggression and depression, self-doubt), large-scale hand tremor, heart pain, fluctuations in blood pressure, numbness of the extremities, vital fear, severe encephalopathy, intestinal dyskinesia , gastritis, the phenomenon of irritation of the kidneys, a decrease in hemoglobin in the blood. Examples: 1. Acute poisoning of hundreds of workers while gilding domes with gold leaf St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg; 2. Chronic poisoning of employees of the bank, created in the building of the former Admiralty, in which navigation equipment was being repaired.

Cadmium. Heavy metal Cadmium is generally one of the most dangerous environmental toxicants (it is much more toxic than lead). It is contained in fuel oil and diesel fuel (and is released when it is burned!), It is used as an additive to alloys, when applying electroplating coatings (cadmium plating of base metals), to obtain cadmium pigments needed in the production of varnishes, enamels and ceramics, as stabilizers for plastics (e.g. PVC), in electric batteries, etc. As a result of all this, as well as when burning cadmium-containing plastic waste, cadmium enters the air, water and soil. We get the most cadmium from plant foods. The fact is that cadmium passes extremely easily from soil to plants: the latter absorb up to 70% of cadmium from the soil and only 30% from the air. In this regard, fungi pose a particularly great danger, which can often accumulate cadmium in exclusively high concentrations. Cadmium is dangerous in any form - accepted oral dose of 30-40 mg may already be fatal . Therefore, even drinking lemonade from vessels containing cadmium is fraught with danger. Due to the fact that once the absorbed amount of cadmium is excreted from the human body very slowly (0.1% per day), it can easily occur chronic poisoning. The earliest symptoms of it are damage to the kidneys (protein in the urine), muscles of the heart, nervous system, dysfunction of the genital organs, and lungs. Later, there are sharp bone pains in the back and legs. In addition, the carcinogenic effect of cadmium is assumed.

Radionuclides - These are the isotopes of elements that emit radiation, capable of knocking electrons out of atoms and attaching them to other atoms to form pairs of positive and negative ions. Such radiation is called ionizing. Radionuclides enter the environment with industrial waste or radioactive emissions nuclear energy. Radioactive waste is unsuitable for use liquid and solid materials and objects containing radionuclides, or by-product biologically and / or technically harmful substances containing the resulting technical activities radionuclides. A great contribution to the radiation pollution of the environment was made by tests atomic weapons and accidents at nuclear power facilities that resulted in fallout containing radionuclides. To non-stochastic somatic effects include lesions whose probability and severity increase with increasing radiation dose; there is a dose threshold at which they occur. For example: local non-malignant skin lesion (radiation burn), eye cataract (clouding of the lens), damage to germ cells (short-term or permanent sterilization), etc. Stochastic effects are considered those for which only the probability of occurrence depends on the dose, and not the severity and there is no threshold. The main stochastic effects are carcinogenic and genetic. Since these effects are of a probabilistic nature and have a long latent (hidden) period, measured in tens of years after irradiation, they are difficult to detect. It is well known that the most serious consequence of human exposure is cancer, which manifests itself many years after exposure (10-20 years).

atmospheric air

Atmospheric air - it 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 the Earth. Inhaling every minute from 5 to 100 liters of air, a person consumes up to 12-15 kg, and this far exceeds the average daily need for food and water. The aerogenic route of entry of toxic substances into the human body is the most dangerous, since in this case the chemical elements are absorbed by the body more intensively. Anthropogenic emissions into the atmosphere. Atmospheric air is polluted by the introduction or formation of pollutants in it in concentrations exceeding quality standards or levels of natural content. Currently, the total emissions into the atmosphere are 360 ​​tons of poisonous substances per 1 cubic meter. km. Only 15% of Russian citizens live in areas with an acceptable level of air pollution. Dust is a constant component of pollution atmospheric air. Organic and organic impurities contained in dust particles inorganic compounds determine its toxic effect. Atmospheric dusting disrupts the global cycles of water, CO2 and O2. Dust constantly irritates the respiratory organs and mucous membranes, causing acute and chronic diseases. Most significant influence the composition of the atmosphere is exerted by enterprises of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, the chemical and petrochemical industry, the construction industry, energy enterprises, pulp and paper industry, vehicles, boiler houses. As a result of fuel combustion, more than 20 billion tons of carbon dioxide and more than 700 million tons of other vapor and gaseous compounds and particulate matter enter the atmosphere.

World car fleet consumes more than 500 million tons of fuel annually and emits about 200 million tons into the atmosphere harmful substances with carcinogenic, mutagenic, embryotoxic effects. Among them are oxides of nitrogen, carbon, lead and carcinogens (benzo\a\pyrene, acrolein, etc.). In the countryside objects that pollute the environment are livestock and poultry farms, enterprises that service equipment. Ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and other foul-smelling gases are emitted into the atmospheric air. Mineral fertilizers and pesticides that are not rationally used in crop production also pollute the environment.

global implications air pollution are:

The greenhouse effect - a consequence of the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Even seven years ago, they called the upper limit, by which by the end of the last century the temperature would rise - by only 2-3 degrees. But the increase was 5.8 degrees! And if we compare the rates of warming recorded in the first half of the 20th century with those recorded at its end, it becomes obvious that they have increased catastrophically. The consequences of such a warming, the members of the UN commission said, could destroy humanity.

Acid rain. More than 50% of SO2 in the Earth's atmosphere is of anthropogenic origin. When any fossil fuel is burned, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen are released. Getting energy, alas, is accompanied by acidification of the environment. Millions of tons of sulfur and nitrogen dioxide released into the atmosphere turn rainfall into weak solution acids. Consequences: fish disappear in reservoirs, forests die, soil productivity decreases, productivity drops, architectural monuments are destroyed (durable marble, a mixture of calcium oxides, turns into CaSO4 gypsum).

Smog(mixture of smoke and fog). Fog itself is not dangerous. It becomes detrimental to the body in case of excessive pollution. toxic substances. The main danger is sulfur dioxide at a concentration of 5-10 g/m3. and higher. London became famous for its dense fog, which gave color to detective stories but shortened the lives of many citizens.

Ozone screen of the Earth. Ozone - triatomic oxygen molecules - is scattered above the Earth at an altitude of 15 to 50 km. Stratospheric ozone layer protect people and wildlife from the cruel ultraviolet and soft x-ray radiation in the ultraviolet solar spectrum. Every percent of ozone lost globally causes up to 150,000 additional cases of cataract blindness and a 2.6% increase in skin cancers. UVR suppresses the body's immune system.

Natural ways to purify atmospheric air: leaching of aerosols from the atmosphere by precipitation; sedimentation of ions under the influence electric field Earth and due to gravity; the deposition of pollutants on trees when they meet the streams that carry them; dilution of pollutants due to turbulent movement of air flows. This ability of nature has long been exploited by man thoughtlessly and predatory. However, the pollution process is rapidly progressing, and natural self-cleaning systems can no longer withstand such an onslaught. Emissions harmful to humans and nature can move into air currents over vast distances. For example, it has been established that harmful emissions industrial enterprises Germany and Great Britain are transported over distances of more than 1000 km and fall on the territory of the Scandinavian countries, and from the northeastern states of the USA - on the territory of Canada.

Atmospheric air and health. Scientists believe that every year thousands of deaths in cities around the world are related to air pollution. Atmospheric pollution is responsible for up to 30% of the general diseases of the population of industrial centers.

Polluted air primarily affects the upper respiratory tract and lungs: catarrh of the upper respiratory tract, acute and chronic bronchitis, bronchitis with an asthmatic component. In all countries, respiratory diseases account for more cases than all other diseases combined. Catarrh of the upper respiratory tract is still the most common disease. Dust, especially its respirable fraction (less than 10 microns), which penetrates into the alveoli, causes chronic respiratory diseases and the development of early pneumosclerosis (replacement of lung connective tissue). Data have been obtained on the effect of air pollution on mortality from coronary heart disease. A connection between atmospheric air pollution and the growth of diseases of a genetic nature has been found, while the level of congenital malformations in industrial cities depends not only on the intensity of pollution, but also on the nature of atmospheric emissions. In contaminated areas, adverse pregnancies and childbirth are more common. Air pollution also contributes to diseases such as lung cancer. A relationship has been established between the content of particulate matter in the air and the incidence of stomach and prostate cancer.

The main objects of pollution are the atmosphere and water. All other elements of the environment (land, forest, plants, etc.) are, as a rule, polluted indirectly. To ensure control, environmental impact standards and quality standards are established. It is assumed that pollution levels within the standards are within the assimilation potential of the ecosystem. Since the 90s. for each enterprise, a standard is established for the permissible selection of various substances per unit of time - usually a year. For the atmosphere, these are the maximum allowable emissions (MAE). For water - maximum allowable discharges (MPD) both into open water bodies and into sewers. Establishment of temporary standards that exceed the maximum allowable. They were called temporary because they had to act for a certain time, during which enterprises were obliged to implement programs to achieve regulatory indicators. Such standards are called provisionally agreed emissions or discharges (SV, VSS). They were usually established for one year, and then often extended. The calculation of maximum allowable emissions (discharges) was carried out in such a way that as a result of pollution, such dimensions would be ensured that would not lead to violation of the standards for the content of harmful substances in units of volumes of the atmosphere or water. Such standards are called maximum allowable concentrations (MACs). They are set for each substance. MPCs are maximally single, measured during the day, and average daily, from which the average annual concentrations are subsequently calculated. The processes of calculating MPE (MPD) and MPC are interconnected. First, the source is set to the initial value of the emissions, which are added to the background pollution, taking into account dispersion. The concentration of the traceable substance is then measured at the control points. If the concentration at control points is equal to MPC, then initial value MPE (PDS) is approved as standard. If the MAC is exceeded, then the initial value of the MAC is reduced until the standard concentration is reached. If it is less than permissible, then the limit emission standard can be increased. All emissions that go beyond the MPE (MPD) or VER (VSS), if any, are considered above the norm or above the limit. The calculation of maximum allowable emissions (discharges) has a very specific economic meaning. It is these standards that underlie the pollution charges of enterprises applied in our country. Disadvantages of practical implementation, the ideas of establishing standards for the quality of the environment and the impact on it: - are not established for all substances emitted into the environment, - they do not take into account the synergistic effect when two or more substances, interacting with each other, give a total result that is excellent on the sum of the addition of their independent effects; - it has not yet been fully proven that the established standards for limiting concentrations really reflect the threshold beyond which there is no harmful effects on the environment; - many enterprises currently have such a weak control technique that it is possible to speak about the accuracy of measurements of emissions of harmful substances only rather conditionally. Among the main pollutants, there are: - - primary pollutants (gaseous, liquid or solid substances, in the form of which emissions from pollution sources enter the environment). - secondary pollutants (in the process of emissions, primary substances interact with each other, as well as with elements of nature and form new substances (synergistic effect)).

As a result of human activity in the biosphere, substances and physical agents that are not typical for it, generated by objects of the technosphere, began to appear.

These include:

Air emissions chemical compounds, aerosols, various mixtures;

Dumps in aquatic environment all kinds of industrial and municipal waste, oil products;

Clogging of fields, meadows, forests, rivers, lakes with garbage, pesticides, mineral fertilizers, heavy metals;

Increased levels of noise, vibration, electromagnetic radiation, radiation, heat.

Tens of thousands of substances and agents are known to pollute the biosphere. Harmful substances created by man and unusual for the biosphere are called xenobiotics(xeno - alien). For example, xenobiotics are pesticides, plastics, phenols.

A special group is waste- substances, materials, objects that have lost their value for the owner. Waste may consist of household and industrial waste and unnecessary things. Waste must be collected, disposed of, processed, stored in accordance with established rules. All the above substances and physical agents are united by the concept of a pollutant.

pollutant is any chemical, energy impact, waste, etc., that goes beyond the safe level for humans and causes undesirable changes in the environment.

The main feature of a pollutant should be considered its danger to the biosphere, i.e. for people, animals and plants. The value of the composition of the environment for a person is determined by the volume of daily consumption - about 10 kg of air, 2 liters of water and 1 kg of solid food. The data below indirectly testify to the global scale of pollution of the atmosphere, water and soil.

Approximately 80,000 types of new chemicals are currently being produced worldwide, with more than 1,000 new compounds being added each year. In addition, 250 million tons are used annually throughout the world. organic matter, a significant part of which, as they are used, uncontrollably enters the environment. All this negatively affects the environment and human health.

To develop preventive measures and means of protection against pollutants, it is necessary to know their physical, chemical, sanitary-hygienic, toxic and other properties.

In particular, it is necessary to have the following data on pollutants: the nature of the pollutant, chemical activity, origin, use, impact on humans and all living organisms, prevalence in nature, solubility, organoleptic properties, MPC, MPC, toxicity indicators, dispersion (dust), indicators explosion and fire hazard, undesirable resistance, permeability, prevention, protection, first aid. In order to effectively resist environmental pollution, it is necessary to have a list of all pollutants entering the environment.

The properties of pollutants that affect the safety of the environment and that can affect the lives of people, animals and plants are combined in the pollutant passport.

Pollutant passport- this is a list of properties and information about the pollutant that must be available in order to develop habitat protection systems, which are understood as organizational, hygienic, technical and other measures, methods and means aimed at protecting biological objects from dangerous and harmful effects of the pollutant.

Potentially hazardous chemical and biological pollutants are subject to state registration.

An approximate form of these documents on the example of a specific substance - benzene - is given in Appendix 1.

The behavior of a pollutant in the environment characterizes pollution.

Pollution- this is the process of interaction of a pollutant with environmental objects, including other pollutants.

To assess pollution, you need to know:

Nature of receipt and accumulation in the environment;

Environments of primary accumulation of the pollutant (water, air, soil);

Scale of distribution (local, regional, global);

The nature of the interaction with other pollutants (additive, antagonistic, synergistic);

Chains of transformation; circulation in nature, the speed of distribution in different environments;

Number of people exposed to a given pollutant; other spatial and temporal parameters of pollution.

Additive Interaction of Pollutants is the summation of individual effects.

Antagonistic impact- this is the case mutual influence several impacts when they act in opposite directions and weaken the total impact.

Synergistic impact- this is such an interaction of several substances-pollutants, in which the total effect exceeds the sum of individual effects (emergence effect).

Sources of pollution are objects that generate pollutants. One and the same object can simultaneously create several types of pollutants. For example, a car emits noise, vibration and pollutes the atmosphere. toxic gases. Sources of pollution can be technological processes, operations, materials, equipment, mechanisms, machines and other objects.

The development of habitat protection systems is impossible without knowledge of the characteristics of the pollution source.

In particular, it is necessary to know the technological processes and equipment that are a source of pollution, the possibility of reducing harmful emissions in the production process and replacing unwanted emissions with environmentally compatible ones; the amount of pollutant and its physico-chemical parameters at the time of emission.

Objects of pollution- These are objects of the environment, components of the biosphere, natural systems that are exposed to pollution. Objects of pollution can be divided into primary and secondary (subsequent).

Objects of pollution are divided into 4 groups (Figure 2.1):

plant air

water animals

the soil

Rice. 2.1. Classification of pollution objects

More on the topic 14.2. Sources and objects of environmental pollution:

1. § 5. International legal protection of the environment from pollution by radioactive waste
2. Audit of compliance of the enterprise's activities with the norms on environmental and economic responsibility for environmental pollution