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COURSE WORK

Anthropogenic impact on the atmosphere

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………...3

1 Air pollution…………………………………………....4

1.1 Natural pollution of the atmosphere…………………………………….…4

1.2 Anthropogenic pollution of the atmosphere…………………………………….4

2 The main sources of anthropogenic pollution of the atmosphere……….…….8

2.1 Air pollution by industrial waste………………………8

9

2.1.2 Atmospheric air pollution by emissions from ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy………………………………………………………………………………. .9

2.1.3 Atmospheric air pollution by chemical production emissions………………………………………………………………………….…….10

2.2 Air pollution by vehicle emissions……………………...12

3 Consequences of anthropogenic pollution of the atmosphere……………………...14

3.1 Consequences of local (local) air pollution……………14

3.2 Consequences of global air pollution…………………….….17

4 Protection of atmospheric air………………………………………………..24

4.1 Means of protection of the atmosphere…………………………………………………..24

4.1.1 Measures to combat vehicle emissions………………….28

4.1.2 Methods for cleaning industrial emissions into the atmosphere……………...30

4.2 The main directions of the protection of the atmosphere………………………………..31

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….…34

References………………………………………………………………35

Annex A………………………………………………………………………36

Annex B………………………………………………………………………37

Introduction

The issue of human impact on the atmosphere is in the center of attention of specialists and environmentalists around the world. And this is no coincidence, since the largest global environmental problems of our time - the "greenhouse effect", the violation of the ozone layer, acid rain, are associated precisely with anthropogenic pollution of the atmosphere.

Atmospheric air protection is a key problem in the improvement of the natural environment. Atmospheric air occupies a special position among other components of the biosphere. Its significance for all life on Earth cannot be overestimated. A person can go without food for five weeks, without water for five days, and without air for only five minutes. At the same time, the air must have a certain purity and any deviation from the norm is dangerous to health.

Atmospheric air also performs the most complex protective ecological function, protecting the Earth from the absolutely cold Cosmos and the flow of solar radiation. Global meteorological processes take place in the atmosphere, climate and weather are formed, a mass of meteorites is delayed.

The atmosphere has the ability to self-purify. It occurs when aerosols are washed out of the atmosphere by precipitation, turbulent mixing of the surface layer of air, deposition of polluted substances on the surface of the earth, etc. However, under modern conditions, the possibilities of natural systems for self-purification of the atmosphere are seriously undermined. Under the massive onslaught of anthropogenic pollution, very undesirable environmental consequences, including those of a global nature, began to appear in the atmosphere. For this reason, atmospheric air no longer fully fulfills its protective, thermoregulatory and life-supporting ecological functions.

Target term paper- to study the problems of anthropogenic pollution of the atmosphere and identify factors that affect the state of atmospheric air.

Objectives of the course work:

1. To study the sources of air pollution;
2. Reveal the environmental consequences of anthropogenic pollution of the atmosphere;

3. Characterize the impact atmospheric pollution on human health;

1. Consider ways to clean polluted air entering the atmosphere;
2. Familiarize yourself with the basic means of protecting the atmosphere.

1. Air pollution

1.1 Natural air pollution

Atmospheric air pollution should be understood as any change in its composition and properties that has negative impact on human and animal health, the state of plants and ecosystems.

Natural sources of pollution include: volcanic eruptions, dust storms, forest fires, space dust, sea salt particles, products of plant, animal and microbiological origin. The level of such pollution is considered as background, which changes little with time.

The main natural process of pollution of the surface atmosphere is the volcanic and fluid activity of the Earth. Major eruptions volcanoes lead to global and long-term pollution of the atmosphere, as evidenced by the chronicles and modern observational data. This is due to the fact that huge amounts of gases are instantly emitted into the high layers of the atmosphere, which are picked up at high altitude by air currents moving at high speed and quickly spread throughout the globe.
The duration of the polluted state of the atmosphere after large volcanic eruptions reaches several years.

Large forest fires significantly pollute the atmosphere. But most often they appear in dry years. The smoke from the forest spreads over thousands of kilometers. This leads to a significant decrease in the influx of solar radiation to the earth's surface.

Dust storms appear in connection with the transfer of particles of earth raised from the earth's surface by a powerful wind. Powerful winds - tornadoes and hurricanes - also lift large fragments of rocks into the air, but they do not stay in the air for a long time. During powerful dust storms, up to 50 million tons of dust rises into the atmospheric air.

Conventionally, natural air pollution is divided into continental and marine, as well as inorganic and organic. The sources of organic pollution include aeroplankton - bacteria, including pathogens, fungal spores, plant pollen (including poisonous ragweed pollen), etc.

On the share of natural factors at the end of the XX century. accounted for 75% of the total air pollution. The remaining 25% arose as a result of human activities.

1.2 Anthropogenic pollution of the atmosphere

Human influence on the atmosphere is becoming deeper and more multifaceted. This has become not only a scientific, but also a state problem.

According to the state of aggregation, emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere are classified into:

1) gaseous (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, etc.);

2) liquid (acids, alkalis, salt solutions, etc.);

3) solid (carcinogenic substances, lead and its compounds, organic and inorganic dust, soot, tarry substances, etc.).

Substances that pollute the atmosphere are also divided into primary and secondary. Primary — These are substances contained directly in the emissions of enterprises and coming with them from various sources. Secondary are transformation products of primary or secondary synthesis. They are often more dangerous than the primary substances.

In recent decades, anthropogenic factors of atmospheric pollution have begun to exceed natural ones in scale, acquiring a global character. They can have various effects on the atmosphere: direct - on the state of the atmosphere (heating, changes in humidity, etc.); impact on physicochemical characteristics atmosphere (change in composition, increase in the concentration of CO 2, aerosols, freons, etc.); impact on the properties of the underlying surface (albedo value change, "ocean-atmosphere" system, etc.)

Pollutants released into the air in the form of gases or aerosols by enterprises can:

1) settle under the action of gravity (coarse aerosols);

2) be physically captured by settling particles (sediments) and enter the lithosphere and hydrosphere;

3) be included in the biospheric circulation of the relevant substances (carbon dioxide, water vapor, oxides of sulfur and nitrogen, etc.);

4) change its state of aggregation (condense, evaporate, crystallize, etc.) or interact chemically with other air components, and then go one of the above ways;

5) stay in the atmosphere for a relatively long time, being carried by circulation flows to different layers of the tropo- and stratosphere and to different geographical regions of the planet until conditions are created for their physical or chemical transformation (for example, freons).

Anthropogenic air pollution is divided into:

1) Radioactive

2) Electromagnetic

3) Noise

4) Aerosol

1) The greatest danger is the radioactive contamination of the atmosphere as a result of human activities. At present, radioactive elements are quite widely used in various fields. Negligent attitude to the storage and transportation of these elements leads to serious radioactive contamination. Radioactive contamination of the atmosphere and the biosphere as a whole is associated, for example, with the testing of atomic weapons.

In the second half of the 20th century, nuclear power plants, icebreakers, and submarines with nuclear power plants began to be put into operation. During the normal operation of nuclear facilities and industry, environmental pollution with radioactive nuclides is an insignificantly small fraction of the natural background. A different situation develops in case of accidents at nuclear facilities.

Thus, during the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, only about 5% of nuclear fuel was released into the environment. But this led to the exposure of many people, large areas were so polluted that they became hazardous to health. This required the relocation of thousands of residents from the infected areas. An increase in radiation as a result of radioactive fallout was noted hundreds and thousands of kilometers from the accident site .

At present, the problem of warehousing and storage of radioactive waste from the military industry and nuclear power plants is becoming more and more acute. Every year they pose an increasing danger to the environment. Thus, the use of nuclear energy posed new serious problems for mankind.

2) Electromagnetic radiation of technogenic origin are sources of physical pollution of the environment. The increase in the level of electromagnetic pollution in recent years speaks of electromagnetic smog (similar to chemical smog). Electromagnetic pollution of the environment and chemical pollution have common features: both types assume more or less constant levels, and both smog can have an adverse effect on people, animals and plants.

3) Noises are among the atmospheric pollution harmful to humans. The irritating effect of sound (noise) on a person depends on its intensity, spectral composition and duration of exposure. Noises with continuous spectra are less irritating than noises with a narrow frequency interval. The greatest irritation is caused by noise in the frequency range of 3000-5000 Hz.

4) Aerosols are solid or liquid particles suspended in the air. The solid components of aerosols in some cases are especially dangerous for organisms, and cause specific diseases in humans. 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 of aerosol particles is 1-5 microns. About 1 cubic meter enters the Earth's atmosphere every year. km. dust particles of artificial origin. A large number of dust particles are also formed during the production activities of people.

The main sources of artificial aerosol air pollution are thermal power plants (TPPs), which consume high-ash coal, processing 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.

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.

Permanent sources of aerosol pollution are industrial dumps - artificial mounds of redeposited material, mainly overburden, formed during mining or from the waste of processing industries. 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. Production of cement and others building materials It is also a source of air pollution with dust.

Atmospheric pollutants include hydrocarbons - saturated and unsaturated, containing from 1 to 13 carbon atoms. They undergo various transformations, oxidation, polymerization, interacting with other atmospheric pollutants after being excited by solar radiation. As a result of these reactions, peroxide compounds, free radicals, compounds of hydrocarbons with oxides of nitrogen and sulfur are formed, often in the form of aerosol particles.

Under certain weather conditions, especially large accumulations of harmful gaseous and aerosol impurities can form in the surface air layer. This usually happens when there is an inversion in the air layer directly above the sources of gas and dust emission - the location of a layer of colder air under warm air, which prevents mixing of air masses and delays the transfer of impurities upward. As a result, harmful emissions are concentrated under the inversion layer, their content near the ground increases sharply, which becomes one of the reasons for the formation of a photochemical fog previously unknown in nature.

2 Main sources of anthropogenic pollution

atmosphere

2.1 Air pollution from industrial waste

The main anthropogenic air pollution is created by motor vehicles and a number of industries. According to the features of the structure and the nature of the impact on the atmosphere, pollutants are usually divided into mechanical and chemical.

Anthropogenic sources of pollution are caused by human activities. These should include:

1) Burning fossil fuels, which is accompanied by the release of 5 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year. As a result, over 100 years (1860 - 1960) the content of CO 2 increased by 18% (from 0.027 to 0.032%). Over the past three decades, the rate of these emissions has increased significantly.

2) The operation of thermal power plants, when acid rain is formed during the combustion of high-sulfur coals as a result of the release of sulfur dioxide and fuel oil.

3) Exhausts of modern turbojet aircraft with nitrogen oxides and gaseous fluorocarbons from aerosols, which can damage the ozone layer of the atmosphere (ozonosphere).

4) Production activity.

5) Pollution with suspended particles (when crushing, packing and loading, from boiler houses, power plants, mine shafts, quarries when burning garbage).

6) Emissions by enterprises of various gases.

7) Combustion of fuel in flare furnaces, resulting in the formation of the most massive pollutant - carbon monoxide.

8) Fuel combustion in boilers and vehicle engines, accompanied by the formation of nitrogen oxides, which cause smog.

9) Ventilation emissions (mine shafts).

10) Ventilation emissions with an excessive concentration of ozone from rooms with high-energy installations (accelerators, ultraviolet sources and nuclear reactors) at a maximum allowable concentration (MPC) in working rooms of 0.1 mg/m 3 . In large quantities, ozone is a highly toxic gas.

Each industry has a characteristic composition and mass of substances entering the atmosphere. This is determined primarily by the composition of the substances used in technological processes, and the ecological perfection of the latter. At present, the environmental indicators of thermal power engineering, metallurgy, petrochemical production and a number of other industries have been studied in sufficient detail. The indicators of mechanical engineering and instrumentation have been studied less, their distinctive features are: a wide network of industries, proximity to residential areas, a significant range of emitted substances, which may contain substances of the 1st and 2nd hazard class, such as mercury vapor, lead compounds, etc. (Appendix A)

According to scientists, every year in the world as a result of human activities a large amount of harmful substances enter the atmosphere. (Table 1)

Table 1. Release into the atmosphere of the main pollutants (pollutants) in the world and in Russia.

2.1.1 Air pollution from thermal and nuclear power plants

In the process of burning solid or liquid fuels, smoke is released into the atmosphere, containing products of complete (carbon dioxide and water vapor) and incomplete (oxides of carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, hydrocarbons, etc.) combustion. The volume of energy emissions is very high. Thus, a modern thermal power plant with a capacity of 2.4 million kW consumes up to 20 thousand tons of coal per day and emits 680 tons of SO 2 and SO 3 into the atmosphere per day, 120-140 tons of solid particles (ash, dust, soot), 200 tons of nitrogen oxides.

The conversion of installations to liquid fuel (fuel oil) reduces ash emissions, but practically does not reduce emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides. The most environmentally friendly gas fuel that pollutes the atmosphere three times less than fuel oil, and five times less than coal.

Sources of air pollution with toxic substances at nuclear power plants (NPPs) are radioactive iodine, radioactive inert gases and aerosols. A large source of energy pollution of the atmosphere - the heating system of dwellings (boiler plants) produces little nitrogen oxides, but many products of incomplete combustion. Due to the low height of the chimneys, toxic substances in high concentrations are dispersed near the boiler plants.

2.1.2 Air pollution from ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy

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 are emitted into the atmosphere, as well as in small quantities such dangerous pollutants as manganese, lead, phosphorus, arsenic, vapors mercury, etc. In the process of steelmaking, vapor-gas mixtures consisting of phenol, formaldehyde, benzene, ammonia and other toxic substances are emitted into the atmosphere.

Significant emissions of exhaust gases and dust containing toxic substances are observed at non-ferrous metallurgy plants during the processing of lead-zinc, copper, sulfide ores, in the production of aluminum, etc.

The iron and steel industry emits various gases into the air. Dust emission per 1 ton of pig iron is 4.5 kg, sulfur dioxide - 2.7 kg and manganese - 0.5 - 0.1 kg. Emissions from the blast-furnace process contain compounds of arsenic, phosphorus, antimony, lead, rare metals, mercury vapor, hydrogen cyanide and tarry substances. Sinter plants are a significant source of air pollution. During agglomeration, sulfur is burnt out from pyrites. Sulfide ores contain up to 10% sulfur, and after agglomeration, it remains less than 0.2 - 0.8%. The release of sulfur dioxide during agglomeration is 190 kg per 1 ton of ore.

Open-hearth and converter steelmaking processes emit when oxygen is supplied to the molten metal 25 - 52 g / m of dust per 1 ton of steel, up to 60 kg of carbon monoxide and up to 3 kg of sulfur dioxide. When coking 1 ton of coal, 300 - 320 m3 of coke oven gas is formed, which includes: hydrogen 50 - 62% (by volume); methane 20 - 34; carbon monoxide 4.5 - 4.7; carbon dioxide 1.8 - 4.0; nitrogen 5 - 10; hydrocarbons 2.0 - 2.6 and oxygen 0.2 - 0.5%. Most of these emissions are captured during production, but 6% enters the atmosphere. Sometimes, due to technological disruption of the operation mode of coke oven batteries, significant volumes of untreated gas are released into the atmosphere.

Non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises emit sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and dusts of oxides of various metals into the atmosphere. During the production of metallic aluminum by electrolysis, with exhaust gases from electrolysis baths, a significant amount of gaseous and dust-like fluorine compounds is released into the atmospheric air. In particular, when producing 1 ton of aluminum, depending on the type and power of the electrolytic cell, from 33 to 47 kg of fluorine is consumed, while about 65% of it enters the atmosphere. .

2.1.3 Atmospheric air pollution by chemical production emissions

Emissions from this industry, although small in volume (about 2% of all industrial emissions), nevertheless, due to their very high toxicity, significant diversity and concentration, pose a significant threat to humans and the entire biota. In various chemical industries, atmospheric air is polluted by sulfur oxides, fluorine compounds, ammonia, nitrous gases (a mixture of nitrogen oxides, chloride compounds, hydrogen sulfide, inorganic dust, etc.).

1) 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 250 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.

2) 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 sulfuric acid aerosol from smoke flares of chemical enterprises is observed at low cloudiness and high air humidity. 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.

3) 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.

4) 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.

5) Fluorine compounds. Sources of pollution are enterprises producing aluminum, enamels, glass, and ceramics. steel, 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.

6) Chlorine compounds. 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.

2.2 Air pollution from vehicle emissions

With full right we can consider the XX century. century of development of all types of transport. With exhaust gases, about 200 harmful impurities enter the air. When burning 1 liter of gasoline, 10 - 12 thousand liters of air are consumed, and with a run of 15 thousand km per year, each car burns 2 tons of fuel and about 26 - 30 tons of air, including 4.5 tons of oxygen, which is 50 times more human needs. At the same time, the car emits into the atmosphere (kg / year): carbon monoxide - 700, nitrogen dioxide - 40, unburned hydrocarbons - 230 and solids - 2 - 5. In addition, many lead compounds are emitted due to the use of mostly leaded gasoline .

Toxic emissions from internal combustion engines (ICE) are exhaust and crankcase gases, fuel vapors from the carburetor and fuel tank. The main share of toxic impurities enters the atmosphere with the exhaust gases of internal combustion engines. With crankcase gases and fuel vapors, approximately 45% of hydrocarbons from their total emission enter the atmosphere.

The amount of harmful substances entering the atmosphere as part of the exhaust gases depends on the general technical condition of the vehicles and, especially, on the engine - the source of the greatest pollution. So, if the carburetor adjustment is violated, carbon monoxide emissions increase by 4-5 times. The use of leaded gasoline, which has lead compounds in its composition, causes air pollution with very toxic lead compounds. About 70% of the lead added to gasoline with ethyl liquid enters the atmosphere with exhaust gases in the form of compounds, of which 30% settles on the ground immediately behind the cut of the car's exhaust pipe, 40% remains in the atmosphere. One medium-duty truck emits 2.5-3 kg of lead per year. The concentration of lead in the air depends on the lead content in gasoline.

Exhaust gases of gas turbine propulsion systems (GTPU) contain such toxic components as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, soot, aldehydes, etc. The content of toxic components in combustion products significantly depends on the engine operating mode. High concentrations of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons are typical for gas turbine engines at reduced modes (during idling, taxiing, approaching the airport, landing approach), while the content of nitrogen oxides increases significantly when operating at modes close to nominal (takeoff, climb, flight mode).

The total emission of toxic substances into the atmosphere by aircraft with gas turbine engines is constantly growing, which is due to an increase in fuel consumption up to 20 - 30 t / h and a steady increase in the number of aircraft in operation. The influence of GTDU on the ozone layer and the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is noted.

Gas turbine emissions have the greatest impact on living conditions at airports and areas adjacent to test stations. Comparative data on emissions of harmful substances at airports suggest that the revenues from gas turbine engines into the surface layer of the atmosphere are, in%: carbon monoxide - 55, nitrogen oxides - 77, hydrocarbons - 93 and aerosol - 97. The rest of the emissions emit ground vehicles with internal combustion engines.

Air pollution by vehicles with rocket propulsion systems occurs mainly during their operation before launch, during takeoff, during ground tests during their production or after repair, during storage and transportation of fuel. The composition of combustion products during the operation of such engines is determined by the composition of the fuel components, the combustion temperature, and the processes of dissociation and recombination of molecules. The amount of combustion products depends on the power (thrust) of propulsion systems. During the combustion of solid fuels, water vapor, carbon dioxide, chlorine, hydrochloric acid vapor, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and Al2O3 solid particles with an average size of 0.1 microns (sometimes up to 10 microns) are emitted from the combustion chamber.

When launched, rocket engines adversely affect not only the surface layer of the atmosphere, but also outer space, destroying the Earth's ozone layer. The scale of the destruction of the ozone layer is determined by the number of launches of rocket systems and the intensity of flights of supersonic aircraft.

In connection with the development of aviation and rocket technology, as well as the intensive use of aircraft and rocket engines in other sectors of the national economy, the total emission of harmful impurities into the atmosphere has increased significantly. However, these engines still account for no more than 5% of toxic substances entering the atmosphere from vehicles of all types.

3 Consequences of anthropogenic pollution of the atmosphere

3.1 Consequences of local (local) air pollution

Air pollution, which poses a more obvious and immediate threat to human health, is associated with the release of toxins into the atmosphere, which are produced in certain industrial processes. All air pollutants, to a greater or lesser extent, have a negative impact on human health. These substances enter the human body mainly through the respiratory system. Respiratory organs suffer directly from pollution, since about 50% of impurity particles with a radius of 0.01-0.1 microns that penetrate into the lungs are deposited in them.

Particles that enter the body cause a toxic effect because they:

1) toxic (poisonous) in their chemical or physical nature;

2) interfere with one or more of the mechanisms by which the respiratory (respiratory) tract is normally cleared;

3) serve as a carrier of a poisonous substance absorbed by the body. In some cases, exposure to one of the pollutants in combination with others leads to more serious health problems than exposure to either of them alone. The duration of exposure plays an important role.

A relationship has been established 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.

The fact is that the concentration of carbon dioxide exceeding the maximum allowable leads to physiological changes in the human body, and the concentration is more than 750 ml. to death. This is explained by the fact that it is an extremely aggressive gas that easily combines with hemoglobin (red blood cells). When combined, carboxyhemoglobin is formed, an increase (in excess of the norm, equal to 0.4%), the content of which in the blood is accompanied by:

1) deterioration in visual acuity and the ability to assess the duration of time intervals;

2) violation of some psychomotor functions of the brain (with a content of 2-5%);

3) changes in the activity of the heart and lungs (with a content of more than 5%);

4) headaches, drowsiness, spasms, respiratory disorders and mortality (with a content of 10-80%).

The degree of impact of carbon monoxide on the body depends not only on its concentration, but also on the time spent (exposure) of a person in polluted air.

Sulfur dioxide and sulfuric anhydride Sulfur dioxide (SO 2) and sulfuric anhydride (SO 3) in combination with suspended particles and moisture have the most harmful effects on humans, living organisms and material values. These oxidizing agents are the main components of photochemical smog, the frequency of which is high in heavily polluted cities located in 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 cities in Japan, Turkey, France, Spain, Italy, Africa and South America). (Appendix B)

Let's 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 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. Because mercury can accumulate in the human body, exposure to mercury eventually leads to mental impairment.

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; population aged 40-59 suffers from this disease.

Some chemical elements are radioactive: their spontaneous decay and transformation into elements with other serial numbers is accompanied by radiation. The greatest danger is posed by radioactive substances with a half-life of several weeks to several years: this time is sufficient for the penetration of such substances into the body of plants and animals. 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.

Anthropogenic emissions of pollutants in high concentrations and for a long time cause great harm not only to humans, but also negatively affect animals, the state of plants and ecosystems as a whole.

Ecological literature describes cases of mass poisoning of wild animals, birds, and insects due to emissions of harmful pollutants of high concentration (especially salvos). Thus, for example, it has been established that when certain toxic types of dust settle on melliferous plants, a noticeable increase in the mortality of bees is observed. As for large animals, the poisonous dust in the atmosphere affects them mainly through the respiratory organs, as well as entering the body along with the dusty plants eaten.

Toxic substances enter plants in various ways. It has been established that emissions of harmful substances act both directly on the green parts of plants, getting through the stomata into tissues, destroying chlorophyll and cell structure, and through the soil to the root system. So, for example, soil contamination with dust of toxic metals, especially in combination with sulfuric acid, has a detrimental effect on the root system, and through it on the whole plant.

Gaseous pollutants affect vegetation in different ways. Some only slightly damage leaves, needles, shoots (carbon monoxide, ethylene, etc.). Others have a detrimental effect on plants (sulfur dioxide, chlorine, mercury vapor, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, etc.). Sulfur dioxide (SO) is especially dangerous for plants, under the influence of which many trees die, and first of all conifers - pines, spruces, fir, cedar.

As a result of the impact of highly toxic pollutants on plants, there is a slowdown in their growth, the formation of necrosis at the ends of leaves and needles, failure of assimilation organs, etc. An increase in the surface of damaged leaves can lead to a decrease in moisture consumption from the soil, its general waterlogging, which will inevitably affect on its habitat. (Table 2)

Harmful substances	Characteristic
sulphur dioxide	The main pollutant, a poison for the assimilation organs of plants, acts at a distance of up to 30 km
Hydrogen fluoride and silicon tetrafluoride	Toxic even in small quantities, prone to aerosol formation, effective at a distance of up to 5 km
Chlorine, hydrogen chloride	Damage mostly at close range
Lead compounds, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen	Infect vegetation in areas of high concentration of industry and transport
hydrogen sulfide	Cellular and enzyme poison
	Damages plants at close range

Table 2. Plant toxicity of air pollutants

Can vegetation recover after exposure to harmful pollutants is reduced? This will largely depend on the restoring capacity of the remaining green mass and the general condition of natural ecosystems. At the same time, it should be noted that low concentrations of individual pollutants not only do not harm plants, but, like cadmium salt, for example, stimulate seed germination, wood growth, and the growth of some plant organs.

In improving the air environment of cities and towns great importance have architectural and planning measures. The planning structure should help improve the microclimate and protect the air basin. It is necessary to take into account the main sources of environmental pollution - industrial facilities and installations, roads, airports and airfields, railways, television centers, repeaters, radio stations, power plants, uncomfortable natural and climatic conditions, organization of waste treatment and disposal, etc. Depending on the harmfulness of substances emitted into the atmosphere and the degree of their purification during the technological process, industrial enterprises are divided into five classes. For enterprises of the first class, a sanitary protection zone is established with a width of 1000 m, the second - 500, the third - 300, the fourth - 100 and the fifth - 50 m. Fire stations, baths, laundries, garages, warehouses, administrative and service buildings, commercial premises, etc., but not residential buildings. The territory of these zones must be landscaped. The role of green spaces and forest parks in cities is multifaceted. Green spaces are a biofilter, they filter out harmful impurities, radioactive particles, and absorb noise.

In general, the protection of atmospheric air from pollution should be carried out not only on a regional or local scale, but primarily on a global scale, since air knows no boundaries and is in perpetual motion.

3.2 Consequences of global air pollution

The most important environmental consequences of global air pollution include:

1) possible climate warming (“greenhouse effect”);

2) violation of the ozone layer;

3) acid rain.

4) smog formation

Most scientists in the world consider them as the biggest environmental problems of our time.

1) Systematic observations of the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere show its growth. It is known that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, like glass in a greenhouse, transmits the radiant energy of the Sun to the surface of the Earth, it delays the infrared (thermal) radiation of the Earth and thereby creates the so-called greenhouse (greenhouse) effect.

Global climate change is closely related to atmospheric pollution from industrial waste and exhaust gases. The influence of human civilization on the Earth's climate is a reality, the consequences of which are already being felt. Scientists believe that the heat wave in 1988 and the drought in the United States - to some extent a consequence of the so-called effect - global warming of the earth's atmosphere as a result of an increase in the content of carbon dioxide in it due to deforestation that absorbs it, and the burning of such fuel , like coal and gasoline, which releases this gas into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide and other pollutants act like film or glass in greenhouses: they let the sun's heat through to the Earth and keep it here. In general, the temperature on the ground in the first 5 months of 1988 was higher than in any similar period during the 130 years of measurements. It can be argued that the cause of the change in temperature was the long-awaited global warming associated with environmental pollution. The warming trend is not a natural phenomenon, but a consequence of the greenhouse effect.

As you know, the main greenhouse gas is water vapor. It is followed by carbon dioxide, providing in the 80s. 49% additional increase in the greenhouse effect compared to the beginning of the last century, methane (18%), freons (14%), nitrous oxide NO (6%). Other gases account for 13%.

Scientists attribute climate change to changes in the content of "greenhouse" gases in the atmosphere. It is known how the chemical composition of the atmosphere has changed over 160,000 years. This information was obtained on the basis of an analysis of the composition of air bubbles in glacial cores extracted from a depth of up to 2 km at the Vostok station in Antarctica and Greenland. It was found that during warm periods the concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane were approximately 1.5 times higher than during cold glacial ones. These results confirm the assumption made in 1861 by J. Tyndall that the history of Earth's climate change can be explained by changes in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

In a calm state, a person passes through the lungs 10 - 11 thousand dm 3 of air per day, while during physical exertion and an increase in air temperature, the need for oxygen can increase by 3 - 6 times. Accordingly, the world's population emits more than 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO 2) per year. Including pets, this figure would at least double. Thus, the purely biological contribution to the increase in the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere turns out to be commensurate with the industrial emission of carbon dioxide.

Along with an increase in fossil fuel consumption, an increase in CO 2 content in the atmosphere may be associated with a decrease in the mass of terrestrial vegetation. The deforestation of highly productive forests in the countries of South America and Africa is especially affected. The rate of destruction of forests - the lungs of the planet - is increasing, and by the end of the century, at current rates, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bforests will decrease by 20 - 25%.

It is predicted that an increase in the content of CO 2 in the atmosphere by 60% of the current level can cause an increase in the temperature of the earth's surface by 1.2 - 2.0 C. The existence of feedback between the amount of snow cover, albedo and surface temperature should lead to the fact that temperature changes can be even greater and cause a radical change in the climate on the planet with unpredictable consequences.

If the current level of fossil fuel consumption continues until 2050, then the concentration of CO 2 in the atmosphere will double. In the absence of other factors, this will lead to an increase in the temperature of the Earth's surface by 3 o C.

Unfortunately, the content of not only CO 2 in the atmosphere, but also other "greenhouse" gases, in particular nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide, oxygen, as well as methane, freons and other organic substances, is growing. If the rate of increase in the concentration of "greenhouse" gases remains at the same level, then by 2020 atmospheric pollution will correspond to an equivalent doubling of CO 2 content.

Doubling the concentration of methane will lead to an increase in the temperature of the earth's surface by 0.2 - 0.3 o C.

An increase in the concentration of freons in the troposphere by a factor of 20 will lead to an increase in surface temperature by 0.4 - 0.5 o C. An increase in temperature by 1 o C will occur with a simultaneous doubling of the content of methane, ammonia, and nitrogen oxide.

At the same time, climatologists consider a significant change in the average temperature even by 0.1 o C, and an increase in temperature by 3.5 o C is critical.

Global warming will lead to a noticeable shift to higher latitudes of the main geographic areas of the Northern Hemisphere. The tundra zone, in particular, will gradually disappear as one moves into the higher latitudes of the forests. There is no doubt that warming will have a significant impact on continental and sea ice.

The area of ​​glaciers on the territory of the Russian Federation will decrease and many of them will disappear relatively quickly. The area of ​​the permafrost zone will noticeably decrease. The ice sheet of the Arctic Ocean in the next century will either be completely destroyed, or it will be replaced by relatively thin ice that will form in winter and melt in summer.

Although the features of the expected change in natural conditions on the territory of our country listed here are relatively favorable for the national economy, due to rapid climate change they can lead to significant difficulties, especially if the changes are not taken into account in long-term planning of economic activity.

The greenhouse effect will disrupt the planet's climate by changing critical variables such as precipitation, wind, cloud cover, ocean currents and the size of the polar ice caps. While the implications for individual countries are far from clear, scientists are confident in the overall trends. The interior of the continents will become drier and the coasts wetter. The cold seasons will become shorter and the warm seasons longer. Increased evaporation will cause the soil to become drier over large areas.

One of the most widely discussed and feared effects of the greenhouse effect is the projected rise in sea levels as a result of rising temperatures. Most scientists believe that this rise will be relatively gradual, creating problems mainly in countries with large populations living at or below sea level, such as the Netherlands and Bangladesh. In terms of geographic areas, the greenhouse effect may have the greatest impact at the high latitudes of the northern hemisphere. Snow and ice reflect sunlight into outer space, preventing temperatures from rising. But with global warming, floating Arctic ice will begin to melt, leaving less snow and ice to reflect.

2) The total amount of ozone in the atmosphere is not large, however, ozone is one of its most important components. Thanks to him, the deadly ultraviolet solar radiation in the layer between 15 and 40 km above the earth's surface is weakened by about 6500 times.

Ozone is formed mainly in the stratosphere under the influence of the short-wave part of the ultraviolet radiation of the Sun. Depending on the time of year and distance from the equator, the ozone content in the upper atmosphere varies, but significant deviations from the average ozone concentration values ​​were first noted only in the early 1980s. Then, over the south pole of the planet, the ozone hole sharply increased - an area with a low ozone content.

In the autumn of 1985, its content decreased by 40% relative to the average. A decrease in the ozone content was also observed at other latitudes. A decrease in the "thickness" of the ozone layer leads to a change (increase) in the amount of ultraviolet radiation from the Sun reaching the Earth's surface, a violation of the thermal balance of the planet. A change in the intensity of solar radiation significantly affects biological processes, which, in the end, can lead to critical situations. An increase in the number of skin cancers in humans and animals is associated with an increase in the proportion of the ultraviolet component in radiation reaching the surface of the planet.

In humans, these are three types of fast-moving cancers: melanoma and two carcinomas. It has been established that an increase in the dose of ultraviolet radiation by 1% leads to an increase in cancer by 2%. However, in residents of high mountain regions, where the radiation intensity is several times higher than at sea level, blood cancer is less common than in residents of lowlands. This contradiction is so far explained by the fact that not so much the level of exposure has increased as the way of life of people has changed according to modern data, the ozone hole has almost always existed, either appearing from time to time, or disappearing in accordance with seasonal changes in the state of the atmosphere.

In the early 1980s, it was found that there were serious changes in the dynamics of this phenomenon - the "hole" ceased to recover to its original state. Thus, natural fluctuations in ozone concentration in the stratosphere have become more complicated due to the anthropogenic impact of people, who began to spend much more time in the sun. At the same time, hard ultraviolet radiation is classified as ionizing radiation, and, therefore, is a mutagenic factor in the environment. According to calculations, one chlorine molecule can destroy up to 1 million ozone molecules in the stratosphere, and one nitric oxide molecule can destroy up to 10 ozone molecules.

According to one of the theories, the phenomenon of the Antarctic “ozone hole” is explained by the impact of chlorofluorocarbons (freons) of anthropogenic origin. Thus, the measurements showed an almost twofold excess of the background concentrations of chlorine-containing particles in the zone of the Antarctic "hole" and the presence in the spring months in the stratosphere over Antarctica of regions almost without ozone.

3) Acid precipitation is sulfuric and nitric acids formed when sulfur and nitrogen dioxide dissolve in water and fall to the surface of the earth along with rain, fog, snow or dust.

Acid rain is a consequence of a violation of the circulation of substances between the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere.

Acidity is measured by the hydrogen index (pH), which is expressed as the tenth logarithm of the concentration of hydrogen ions. Cloud and rain water under normal conditions should have a pH = 5.6 - 5.7. It depends on the dissolution of atmospheric carbon dioxide in it with the formation of weak carbonic acid. But for decades now, over North America and Europe, rains have been falling with acid content tens, hundreds, thousands of times greater. In terms of acid content, modern rains correspond to dry wine, and often to table vinegar. The acid in rain is caused by the dissolution of sulfur and nitrogen oxides and the formation of the corresponding acids.

Sulfur dioxide is formed and released into the atmosphere during the combustion of coal, oil, fuel oil, as well as during the extraction of non-ferrous metals from sulfur ores. And nitrogen oxides are formed when nitrogen combines with atmospheric oxygen at high temperatures, mainly in internal combustion engines and boiler plants. Getting energy - the basis of civilization and progress, alas, is accompanied by acidification of the environment. The matter is further complicated by the fact that the pipes of thermal power plants began to grow in height. Their height reached 250 - 300 and even 400 m.

The amount of emissions into the atmosphere has not decreased, but they are now dispersed over vast territories, travel long distances, are transported through state borders. In the Scandinavian countries, only 20 - 25% of all acid rain is of their own origin, and they receive the rest from distant and near neighbors. Due to more frequent westerly winds across the western borders, Russia receives 8-10 times more sulfur and nitrogen compounds than is transported from us in the opposite direction. The acidification of rains, and then of soils and natural waters, at first proceeded as a hidden, imperceptible process. Clean, but already acidified lakes retained their deceptive beauty.

The forest looked the same as before, but irreversible changes had already begun. Acid rain most often affects fir, spruce, pine, because the change of needles occurs less frequently than the change of leaves and it accumulates more harmful substances over the same period of time.

Acid destroys structures made of marble and limestone. This fate threatens the Taj Mahal - a masterpiece of Indian architecture of the period of the Great Mongols, in London - the Tower and Westminster Abbey. The antique equestrian statue of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, which for more than four centuries adorned the famous square on the Capitoline Hill, designed by Michelangelo, “moved” to restoration workshops in 1981. The fact is that this statue is the work of an unknown master, whose age is 1800 years , "severely ill." High levels of air pollution, car exhaust, as well as the scorching sun and rain caused great damage to the bronze statue of the emperor.

To reduce material damage, metals sensitive to automotive emissions are replaced with aluminum; special gas-resistant solutions and paints are applied to the structures. Many scientists see the development of motor transport and the increasing air pollution of large cities with automobile gases as the main reason for the increase in lung disease.

4) Photochemical fog is a multicomponent mixture of gases and aerosol particles of primary and secondary origin.

The composition of the main components of smog includes ozone, nitrogen and sulfur oxides, numerous organic peroxide compounds, collectively called photooxidants.

Photochemical smog results from photochemical reactions in certain conditions: the presence in the atmosphere of a high concentration of nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and other pollutants; intense solar radiation and calm or very weak air exchange in the surface layer with a powerful and increased inversion for at least a day.

Sustained calm weather, usually accompanied by inversions, is necessary to create a high concentration of reactants. Such conditions are created more often in June-September and less often in winter. In prolonged clear weather, solar radiation causes the breakdown of nitrogen dioxide molecules with the formation of nitric oxide and atomic oxygen. Atomic oxygen with molecular oxygen give ozone. It would seem that the latter, oxidizing nitric oxide, should again turn into molecular oxygen, and nitric oxide into dioxide. But that doesn't happen. The nitric oxide reacts with the olefins in the exhaust gases, which break down the double bond to form molecular fragments and excess ozone. As a result of the ongoing dissociation, new masses of nitrogen dioxide are split and give additional amounts of ozone. A cyclic reaction occurs, as a result of which ozone gradually accumulates in the atmosphere. This process stops at night. In turn, ozone reacts with olefins. Various peroxides are concentrated in the atmosphere, which in total form oxidants characteristic of photochemical fog. The latter are the source of the so-called free radicals, which are characterized by a special reactivity. Such smog is not uncommon over London, Paris, Los Angeles, New York and other cities in Europe and America. According to their physiological effects on the human body, they are extremely dangerous for the respiratory and circulatory systems and often cause premature death of urban residents with poor health.

4 Air protection

4.1 Atmospheric protection

At the XIX special session of the UN General Assembly in June 1997, one of the main directions of environmental activities of national governments was adopted within the framework of the program. This direction is to maintain the cleanliness of the atmospheric air of the planet. To protect the atmosphere, administrative and technical measures are needed to reduce the increasing pollution of the atmosphere. Atmospheric protection cannot be successful with one-sided and half-hearted measures directed against specific sources of pollution. It is necessary to determine the causes of pollution, analyze the contribution of individual sources to the total pollution and identify opportunities to limit these emissions.

So, in order to protect the environment in December 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was adopted, aimed at regulating emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In the Russian Federation, the law “On the Protection of Atmospheric Air” is aimed at preserving and improving the quality of atmospheric air. This law should regulate relations in the field of atmospheric air protection in order to improve the condition of atmospheric air and provide a favorable environment for human habitation, prevent chemical and other impacts on atmospheric air and ensure the rational use of air in industry.

Control of air pollution in Russia is carried out in almost 350 cities. The monitoring system includes 1200 stations and covers almost all cities with a population of more than 100 thousand inhabitants and cities with large industrial enterprises.

Means of protection of the atmosphere should limit the presence of harmful substances in the air of the human environment at a level not exceeding the MPC.

Compliance with this requirement is achieved by localization of harmful substances at the place of their formation, removal from the room or equipment and dispersion in the atmosphere. If at the same time the concentration of harmful substances in the atmosphere exceeds the MPC, then the emissions are cleaned from harmful substances in the cleaning devices installed in the exhaust system. The most common are ventilation, technological and transport exhaust systems.

In practice, the following options for protecting atmospheric air are implemented:

Removal of toxic substances from the premises by general ventilation;

Localization of toxic substances in the zone of their formation by local ventilation, purification of polluted air in special devices and its return to the industrial or domestic premises, if the air after cleaning in the device meets the regulatory requirements for supply air;

Localization of toxic substances in the zone of their formation by local ventilation, purification of polluted air in special devices, emission and dispersion in the atmosphere;

Purification of technological gas emissions in special devices, emission and dispersion in the atmosphere; in some cases, exhaust gases are diluted with atmospheric air before being released;

Purification of exhaust gases from power plants, for example, internal combustion engines in special units, and release into the atmosphere or production area (mines, quarries, storage facilities, etc.)

To comply with the MPC of harmful substances in the atmospheric air of populated areas, the maximum allowable emission (MAE) of harmful substances from exhaust ventilation systems, various technological and power plants is established.

Devices for cleaning ventilation and technological emissions into the atmosphere are divided into: dust collectors (dry, electric, wet, filters); mist eliminators (low and high speed); devices for capturing vapors and gases (absorption, chemisorption, adsorption and neutralizers); multi-stage cleaning devices (dust and gas traps, mists and solid impurities traps, multi-stage dust traps). Their work is characterized by a number of parameters. The main ones are cleaning activity, hydraulic resistance and power consumption.

Dry dust collectors - cyclones of various types have been widely used for cleaning gases from particles.

Electric cleaning (electrostatic precipitators) is one of the most advanced types of gas cleaning from dust and fog particles suspended in them. This process is based on the impact ionization of gas in the zone of the corona discharge, the transfer of the charge of ions to impurity particles and the deposition of the latter on the collecting and corona electrodes. For this, electrofilters are used.

For highly efficient cleaning of emissions, it is necessary to use multi-stage cleaning devices. In this case, the gases to be purified sequentially pass through several autonomous purification apparatuses or one unit, which includes several purification stages.

Such solutions are used in highly efficient gas purification from solid impurities; with simultaneous purification from solid and gaseous impurities; when cleaning from solid impurities and dropping liquid, etc.

Multi-stage purification is widely used in air purification systems with its subsequent return to the room.

Atmospheric protection cannot be successful with one-sided and half-hearted measures directed against specific sources of pollution. Best Results can only be obtained with an objective, multilateral approach to determining the causes of air pollution, the contribution of individual sources and identifying real opportunities to limit these emissions.

In urban and industrial conglomerates, where there are significant concentrations of small and large sources of pollutants, only an integrated approach based on specific restrictions for specific sources or their groups can lead to the establishment of an acceptable level of atmospheric pollution under a combination of optimal economic and technological conditions. Based on these provisions, an independent source of information is needed, which would have information not only on the degree of atmospheric pollution, but also on the types of technological and administrative measures. An objective assessment of the state of the atmosphere, together with knowledge of all opportunities to reduce emissions, allows you to create realistic plans and long-term forecasts of atmospheric pollution in relation to the worst and most favorable circumstances, and forms a solid basis for developing and strengthening an atmospheric protection program.

By duration, atmospheric protection programs are divided into long-term, medium-term and short-term. Methods for the preparation of atmospheric protection plans are based on conventional planning methods and are coordinated to meet long-term requirements in this area.

An integral part of short and medium term planning is immediate action to prevent further pollution of the most disadvantaged areas by installing equipment designed specifically to reduce emissions from existing pollution sources. If proposals for long-term measures to protect the atmosphere are presented in the form of mere recommendations, then they are usually not implemented, since the requirements of the industry often do not coincide with its interests and development plans.

The most important factor in the formation of forecasts for the protection of the atmosphere is the quantitative assessment of future emissions. Based on the analysis of sources of emissions in selected industrial areas, especially as a result of combustion processes, a nationwide assessment of the main sources of solid and gaseous emissions over the past 10-14 years has been established. Then a forecast was made about the possible level of emissions for the next 10-15 years. At the same time, two directions for the development of the national economy were taken into account:

1) pessimistic assessment - the assumption of maintaining the current level of technology and emission limits, as well as maintaining existing pollution control methods at existing sources and using modern high-performance separators only at new sources of emissions;

2) optimistic assessment - the assumption of the maximum development and use of new technology with a limited amount of waste and the application of methods that reduce solid and gaseous emissions from both existing and new sources. Thus, the optimistic estimate becomes a goal when reducing emissions.

Making a forecast includes: determining the main measures required in a given technical and economic situation; establishment of alternative ways of industrial development (especially for fuel and other energy sources); an assessment of the complex capital investments required to implement the entire strategic plan; comparison of these costs with the damage from air pollution. The ratio of investments in the protection of the atmosphere (including equipment to control emissions from existing and newly introduced sources) and the total damage from air pollution is approximately 3:10.

It would be fair to include the cost of emission control equipment in the cost of production, and not in the cost of protecting the atmosphere, then the indicated ratio of investment and damage from pollution would be 1: 10.

Separate areas of research on the protection of the atmosphere are often grouped into a list according to the rank of the processes that lead to its pollution.

1. Sources of emissions (location of sources, raw materials used and methods of their processing, as well as technological processes).
2. Collection and accumulation of pollutants (solid, liquid and gaseous).
3. Determination and control of emissions (methods, devices, technologies).
4. Atmospheric processes (distance from chimneys, long-distance transport, chemical transformations of pollutants in the atmosphere, calculation of expected pollution and forecasting, optimization of chimney heights).
5. Recording emissions (methods, instruments, stationary and mobile measurements, measurement points, measurement grids).
6. Impact of polluted atmosphere on people, animals, plants, buildings, materials, etc.
7. Comprehensive protection of the atmosphere combined with environmental protection.

In this case, it is necessary to take into account various points of view, the main of which are:
- legislative (administrative measures);
- organizational and controlling;
- prognostic with the creation of projects, programs and plans;
- economic with obtaining additional economic effects;
- scientific, research and development;
- tests and measurements;
- implementation, including the production of products and the creation of installations;
- practical application and operation;
- standardization and unification.

4.1.1 Measures to combat vehicle emissions

Assessment of cars by exhaust toxicity. Day-to-day control of vehicles is of great importance. All fleets are required to monitor the serviceability of vehicles produced on the line. With a well-working engine, the carbon monoxide exhaust gases should contain no more than the permissible norm.

Regulations on the State Automobile Inspectorate are entrusted with monitoring the implementation of measures to protect the environment from the harmful effects of motor vehicles.

The adopted standard for toxicity provides for further tightening of the norm, although today in Russia they are tougher than European ones: for carbon monoxide - by 35%, for hydrocarbons - by 12%, for nitrogen oxides - by 21%.

The plants introduced control and regulation of vehicles for toxicity of exhaust gases.

Urban transport management systems. New traffic control systems have been developed that minimize the possibility of traffic jams, because when stopping and then picking up speed, the car emits several times more harmful substances than when driving uniformly.

Highways were built to bypass the cities, which received the entire flow of transit transport, which used to be an endless tape along the city streets. The intensity of traffic has sharply decreased, the noise has decreased, the air has become cleaner.

An automated traffic control system "Start" has been created in Moscow. Thanks to perfect technical means, mathematical methods and computer technology, it allows you to optimally control traffic throughout the city and completely frees a person from the responsibility of directly regulating traffic flows. "Start" will reduce traffic delays at intersections by 20 - 25%, reduce the number of traffic accidents by 8-10%, improve the sanitary condition of urban air, and increase the speed of communication public transport will reduce the noise level.

Transfer of vehicles to diesel engines. According to experts, the transfer of vehicles to diesel engines will reduce the emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere. The exhaust of a diesel engine contains almost no toxic carbon monoxide, since diesel fuel is burned in it almost completely.

In addition, diesel fuel is free of lead tetraethyl, an additive that is used to increase the octane rating of gasoline burned in modern high-burning carburetor engines.

Diesel is more economical than a carburetor engine by 20-30%. Moreover, the production of 1 liter of diesel fuel requires 2.5 times less energy than the production of the same amount of gasoline. Thus, it turns out, as it were, a double saving of energy resources. This explains the rapid growth in the number of vehicles running on diesel fuel.

Improvement of internal combustion engines. Creation of cars taking into account the requirements of ecology is one of the serious tasks that designers face today.

Improving the process of fuel combustion in an internal combustion engine, the use of an electronic ignition system leads to a decrease in the exhaust of harmful substances.

Neutralizers. Much attention is paid to the development of a device for reducing toxicity-neutralizers, which can be equipped with modern cars.

The method of catalytic conversion of combustion products is that the exhaust gases are cleaned by coming into contact with the catalyst.

At the same time, afterburning of the products of incomplete combustion contained in the exhaust of cars takes place.

The converter is attached to the exhaust pipe, and the gases that have passed through it are released into the atmosphere purified. At the same time, the device can act as a noise suppressor. The effect of the use of neutralizers is impressive: in the optimal mode, the emission of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere is reduced by 70-80%, and hydrocarbons - by 50-70%.

The composition of exhaust gases can be significantly improved by using various fuel additives. Scientists have developed an additive that reduces the content of soot in exhaust gases by 60-90% and carcinogens by 40%.

Recently, the process of catalytic reforming of low-octane gasolines has been widely introduced at the country's oil refineries. As a result, unleaded, low-toxic gasolines can be produced.

Their use reduces air pollution, increases the service life of automobile engines, and reduces fuel consumption.

Gas instead of petrol. High-octane, compositionally stable gas fuel mixes well with air and is evenly distributed over the engine cylinders, contributing to a more complete combustion of the working mixture.

The total emission of toxic substances from cars running on liquefied gas is much less than cars with gasoline engines. So, the ZIL-130 truck, converted to gas, has a toxicity indicator almost 4 times less than its gasoline counterpart.

When the engine is running on gas, the combustion of the mixture is more complete. And this leads to a decrease in the toxicity of exhaust gases, a decrease in carbon formation and oil consumption, and an increase in engine life. In addition, LPG is cheaper than gasoline.

Electric car. At present, when a car with a gasoline engine has become one of the significant factors leading to environmental pollution, experts are increasingly turning to the idea of ​​​​creating a "clean" car. We are usually talking about an electric car.

Currently, five brands of electric vehicles are produced in our country.

The electric car of the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant (“UAZ” -451-MI) differs from other models by an alternating current electric propulsion system and a built-in charger. In the interests of protecting the environment, it is considered appropriate to convert vehicles to electric traction, especially in major cities.

4.1.2 Methods for cleaning industrial emissions into the atmosphere

The main methods include:

1) Absorption method;

2) Method of oxidation of combustibles;

3) Catalytic oxidation;

4) Sorption-catalytic;

5) Adsorption-oxidative;

The absorption method of gas purification, carried out in absorber units, is the simplest and gives a high degree cleaning, however, requires bulky equipment and purification of the absorbing liquid. Based on chemical reactions between a gas, such as sulfur dioxide, and an absorbent suspension (alkaline solution: limestone, ammonia, lime). With this method, gaseous harmful impurities are deposited on the surface of a solid porous body (adsorbent). The latter can be extracted by desorption by heating with water vapor.

The method of oxidation of combustible carbonaceous harmful substances in the air consists in combustion in a flame and the formation of CO 2 and water, the thermal oxidation method consists in heating and feeding into a fire burner.

Catalytic oxidation using solid catalysts is that sulfur dioxide passes through the catalyst in the form of manganese compounds or sulfuric acid.

Reducing agents (hydrogen, ammonia, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide) are used to purify gases by catalysis using reduction and decomposition reactions. Neutralization of nitrogen oxides NO is achieved by using methane, followed by the use of aluminum oxide to neutralize the resulting carbon monoxide in the second stage.

A sorption-catalytic method for purifying especially toxic substances at temperatures below the catalysis temperature is promising.

The adsorption-oxidation method also seems to be promising. It consists in the physical adsorption of small amounts of harmful components, followed by the blowing of the adsorbed substance with a special gas flow into a thermocatalytic or thermal afterburning reactor.

In large cities, to reduce the harmful effects of air pollution on humans, special urban planning measures are used: zonal development of residential areas, when low buildings are located close to the road, then tall buildings and under their protection - children's and medical institutions; transport interchanges without intersections, landscaping.

4.2 Main directions of atmospheric protection

At the XIX special session of the UN General Assembly in June 1997, one of the main directions of environmental activities of national governments was adopted within the framework of the program. This direction is to maintain the cleanliness of the atmospheric air of the planet. To protect the atmosphere, administrative and technical measures are needed to reduce the increasing pollution of the atmosphere.

Atmospheric protection cannot be successful with one-sided and half-hearted measures directed against specific sources of pollution. It is necessary to determine the causes of pollution, analyze the contribution of individual sources to the total pollution and identify opportunities to limit these emissions.

So, in order to protect the environment in December 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was adopted, aimed at regulating emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In the Russian Federation, the law “On the Protection of Atmospheric Air” is aimed at preserving and improving the quality of atmospheric air; it comprehensively covers the problem. This law should regulate relations in the field of atmospheric air protection in order to improve the condition of atmospheric air and provide a favorable environment for human habitation, prevent chemical and other impacts on atmospheric air and ensure the rational use of air in industry.

The Law “On the Protection of Atmospheric Air” summarized the requirements developed in previous years and justified themselves in practice. For example, the introduction of rules prohibiting the commissioning of any production facilities (newly created or reconstructed) if they become sources of pollution or other negative impacts on the atmospheric air during operation. The rules on the regulation of maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants in the atmospheric air were further developed.

The state sanitary legislation only for atmospheric air established MPCs for most chemicals with isolated action and for their combinations.

Hygienic standards are a state requirement for business leaders. Their implementation should be monitored by the state sanitary supervision bodies of the Ministry of Health and the State Committee for Ecology.

Of great importance for the sanitary protection of atmospheric air is the identification of new sources of air pollution, the accounting of designed, under construction and reconstructed facilities that pollute the atmosphere, control over the development and implementation of master plans for cities, towns and industrial centers in terms of locating industrial enterprises and sanitary protection zones.

The Law "On the Protection of Atmospheric Air" provides for the requirements to establish standards for maximum permissible emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere. Such standards are established for each stationary source of pollution, for each model of vehicles and other mobile vehicles and installations. They are determined in such a way that the total harmful emissions from all sources of pollution in a given area do not exceed the MPC standards for pollutants in the air.

Maximum permissible emissions are set only taking into account the maximum permissible concentrations.

The requirements of the Law relating to the use of plant protection products, mineral fertilizers and other preparations are very important. All legislative measures constitute a preventive system aimed at preventing air pollution.

The law provides not only control over the fulfillment of its requirements, but also responsibility for their violation. A special article defines the role of public organizations and citizens in the implementation of measures to protect the air environment, obliges them to actively assist state bodies in these matters, since only broad public participation will make it possible to implement the provisions of this law. Thus, it says that the state attaches great importance to the preservation of the favorable state of atmospheric air, its restoration and improvement in order to ensure the best living conditions for people - their work, life, recreation and health protection.

Enterprises or their separate buildings and structures, the technological processes of which are a source of the release of harmful and unpleasantly smelling substances into the atmospheric air, are separated from residential buildings by sanitary protection zones. The sanitary protection zone for enterprises and facilities can be increased, if necessary and with proper justification, by no more than 3 times, depending on the following reasons:

a) the effectiveness of the methods envisaged or possible for the treatment of emissions into the atmosphere;

b) lack of ways to clean emissions;

c) placement of residential buildings, if necessary, on the leeward side in relation to the enterprise in the zone of possible air pollution;

d) wind roses and other unfavorable local conditions (for example, frequent calms and fogs);

e) the construction of new, still insufficiently studied, harmful in sanitary terms, industries.

Sizes of sanitary protection zones for individual groups or complexes of large enterprises in the chemical, oil refining, metallurgical, machine-building and other industries, as well as thermal power plants with emissions that create large concentrations of various harmful substances in the air and have a particularly adverse effect on health and sanitary - hygienic living conditions of the population are established in each specific case by a joint decision of the Ministry of Health and the Gosstroy of Russia.

To increase the effectiveness of sanitary protection zones, trees, shrubs and herbaceous vegetation is planted on their territory, which reduces the concentration of industrial dust and gases. In the sanitary protection zones of enterprises that intensively pollute the atmospheric air with gases harmful to vegetation, the most gas-resistant trees, shrubs and grasses should be grown, taking into account the degree of aggressiveness and concentration of industrial emissions. Particularly harmful to vegetation are emissions from chemical industries (sulphurous and sulfuric anhydride, hydrogen sulfide, sulfuric, nitric, fluoric and bromous acids, chlorine, fluorine, ammonia, etc.), ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, coal and thermal power industries.

Conclusion

Air protection is the task of our century, a problem that has become a social one.

The assessment and forecast of the chemical state of the surface atmosphere, associated with the natural processes of its pollution, differs significantly from the assessment and forecast of the quality of this natural environment, due to anthropogenic processes.

Volcanic and fluid activity of the Earth, other natural phenomena cannot be controlled. We can only talk about minimizing the consequences of the negative impact, which is possible only in the case of a deep understanding of the features of the functioning of natural systems of different hierarchical levels, and, above all, the Earth as a planet. It is necessary to take into account the interaction of numerous factors that change in time and space. The main factors include not only the internal activity of the Earth, but also its connections with the Sun and space. Therefore, thinking in "simple images" when assessing and predicting the state of the surface atmosphere is unacceptable and dangerous.

Anthropogenic processes of air pollution in most cases are manageable.

The scale of anthropogenic impact on the environment and the level of danger arising from this force us to look for new approaches to the development of technological processes, which, being no less efficient in the economic sense, would be many times superior to the existing ones in terms of environmental cleanliness.

It is easy to formulate the basic methods for achieving clean air. It is more difficult to implement these methods in the presence of an economic crisis and limited financial resources. In this formulation of the question, research and practical measures are needed to help deal with the problems of anthropogenic pollution of the atmosphere.

In fact, the contradiction between the economy and ecology means the contradiction between the need for the harmonious development of the nature-man-production system and the insufficient objective possibility, and sometimes just the subjective unwillingness of such harmony at the present stage of development of production forces and production relations.

List of sources used

• http://www.ecology-portal.ru/publ/12-1-0-296
• http://www.globalm.ru/question/52218/
• Stepanovskikh A.S. С 79 Ecology: Textbook for universities. - M .: UNITY-DANA, - 703 p.
• Chemistry and Life No. 11, 1999, p. 22 - 26
• Nikolaikin N. I. Ecology: Proc. for universities / N. I. Nikolaykin, N. E. Nikolaykina, O. P. Melekhova. - 3rd ed., stereotype. - M .: Bustard, 2004. - 624 s: ill.
• http://burenina.narod.ru/6-7.htm

7) Marchuk G. I., Kondratiev K. Ya. Priorities of global ecology. M.: Nauka, 1992. 26) p.

8) http://mishtal.narod.ru/Atm.html

9) Protasov V.F. "Ecology, health and environmental protection in Russia",10) The cycle of matter in nature and its change by human economic activity. M.: Publishing House of Moscow. un-ta, 1990. 252 p.

11) Our common future. M.: Progress. 1989. 376 p.

12) Milanova E. V., Ryabchikov A. M. Use of natural resources and nature conservation. M.: Higher. school, 1986. 280 p.

13) Danilov-Danilyan V.I. "Ecology, nature conservation and environmental safety" M.: MNEPU, 1997

14) Lebedeva M. I., Ankudimova I. A. Ecology: Proc. allowance. Tambov: Tambov Publishing House. state tech. un-ta, 2002. 80 p.

15) http://www.car-town.ru/interesnoe-o-sgoranii/obrazovanie-smoga.html

16) Belov S.V. "Life safety" M .: Higher school, 1999

17) Rodionov A. I. et al. Technique of environmental protection. Textbook for high schools. M. Chemistry. 1989.

18) Balashenko S. A., Demichev D. M. Environmental law. M., 1999.

Atmospheric pollution by emissions from industrial enterprises

Figure A.1

Effects of vehicle exhaust fumes on human health

Harmful substances	The consequences of exposure to the human body
carbon monoxide	Interferes with the absorption of oxygen by the blood, which impairs thinking ability, slows reflexes, causes drowsiness and can lead to loss of consciousness and death
	Affects the circulatory, nervous and genitourinary systems; probably causes a decrease in mental abilities in children, is deposited in bones and other tissues, therefore it is dangerous for a long time.
nitrogen oxides	May increase the body's susceptibility to viral diseases (such as influenza), irritate the lungs, cause bronchitis and pneumonia
	Irritates the mucous membrane of the respiratory system, causes coughing, disrupts the functioning of the lungs; reduces resistance to colds; can exacerbate chronic heart disease, as well as cause asthma, bronchitis
Toxic emissions (heavy metals)	Cause cancer, reproductive dysfunction, and birth defects

Table B.1

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Environmental quality - the state of the environment, which is characterized by physical, chemical, biological and other indicators and their combination. To address the issues of environmental quality management and regulation, it is necessary to have the following: an idea of ​​what quality (state of pollution) of natural environments can be considered acceptable; information about the observed state of the environment and trends in its change; assessment of compliance (or non-compliance) of the observed and predicted state of the environment with the acceptable one.
As noted earlier (see Chapter 1.2), environmental monitoring (environmental monitoring) is a complex system for observing the state of the environment, assessing and forecasting changes in the state of the environment under the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors.
There are three levels of environmental monitoring for assessing anthropogenic impact: local - on a relatively small area in zones of high impact intensity (cities, industrial areas); regional - to larger areas in zones with an average level of impact; global - almost all over the world.
The most important element of environmental monitoring is the environmental impact assessment (EIA), which is carried out in order to identify and take the necessary and sufficient measures to prevent possible environmental and related social, economic and other consequences of the implementation of economic or other activities (Fig. 1.3).

Rice. 1.3. Monitoring scheme

To reduce the negative impact of pollutants on the biosphere as a whole and its components - the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere - it is necessary to know their limiting levels.
In accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, environmental quality standards and standards for permissible impact on it are established in the field of environmental protection, subject to which the sustainable functioning of natural ecological systems is ensured and biological diversity is preserved.
Maximum Permissible Concentration (MPC) - the maximum amount of a harmful substance per unit volume or mass, which, with prolonged exposure, does not cause any painful changes in the human body and adverse hereditary changes in offspring detected by modern methods.
The determination of MPC is based on the threshold principle of the action of chemical compounds. The threshold of harmful action is the minimum dose of a substance, when exceeded, changes occur in the body that go beyond the limits of physiological and adaptive reactions, or latent (temporarily compensated) pathology.
The norms defined in this way are based on the principle of anthropocentrism, i.e. acceptable environmental conditions for humans, which is the basis of sanitary and hygienic regulation. However, humans are not the most sensitive of biological species, and it cannot be assumed that if humans are protected, then ecosystems are also protected.
Environmental regulation involves taking into account the allowable anthropogenic load (DAN) on the ecosystem, under the influence of which the deviation from the normal state of the ecosystem does not exceed natural changes, therefore, does not cause undesirable consequences for living organisms and does not lead to a deterioration in the quality of the environment.
But as a practical use, only some attempts to take into account the allowable load for fishery reservoirs are known so far.
Environmental safety from the activities of economic entities should be ensured by a set of financial, legislative and technical measures that reduce the harmful impact on the environment.
The most important legislative acts are the federal laws "On the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population" (1999), "On environmental protection" (2002), "On environmental expertise" (2006). On the territory of Russia, there are federal sanitary and epidemiological rules and regulations approved and put into effect by the federal executive body.
The main methods of environmental protection management include information, preventive and compulsory (Table 1.10).
Table 1.10
Methods of regulation of rational nature management

Information on	Warning			Forced
	administrative		financial save cal
	legal	control nye		penalty nia	responsible ness
Monitoring Research Education Education Upbringing Propaganda Forecastiro ing	Norm rights Standards Permission nia Ecoex pertiza	Activity verification Product certification Licensing Eco-audit Inventory	Subsidies Grants Preferential loans Loans	Payments taxes fines Bond tions	Work bans Activity restrictions Arrest suspension Withdrawal

The environmental program should be based on the principle of sustainable development, which is ensured not by individual environmental measures, but by a comprehensive reconstruction of production, which allows minimizing the consumption of natural resources and at the same time reducing the anthropogenic load on the environment.
To achieve the goals of the environmental program in Russia, the following environmental measures have been identified.
Protection and rational use of water resources: construction of treatment facilities for wastewater from enterprises; introduction of water recycling systems of all types; reuse of waste water, improvement of their treatment; development of methods for wastewater treatment and processing of liquid waste; reconstruction or liquidation of waste collectors; creation and implementation of an automated system for monitoring the composition and volume of wastewater discharges.
Atmospheric air protection: installation of gas and dust trapping devices; equipping internal combustion engines with neutralizers for decontamination of exhaust gases; creation of automated control systems for atmospheric air pollution; creation and equipping of laboratories for monitoring the composition of emissions; introduction of installations for the utilization of substances from gases. Use of production and consumption waste: construction of waste processing plants; introduction of technologies for processing, collecting and transporting household waste from urban areas; construction of installations for obtaining raw materials from production waste.
Control questions and tasks What is the biosphere and what determines its boundaries? What components (types of matter) of the biosphere were identified by V.I.Vernadsky? Define the concepts of "biocenosis", "biotope", "biogeocenosis", "ecosystem". What is the difference between the concepts of "biogeocenosis" and "ecosystem"? What are adaptations? How are they classified? What is meant by the term "second nature", "third nature"? Name the main causes, negative consequences and ways to prevent environmental pollution. Name the types of environmental monitoring. Name the natural and anthropogenic sources of air pollution. What are the sources of acid rain? Name the anthropogenic factors of pollution of water bodies. What waters are considered polluted? What is eutrophication of water bodies and what is the difference between eutrophication and pollution of water bodies? Describe the most common water pollutants. What are the consequences of anthropogenic acid soil pollution? What substances are classified as municipal solid waste? What groups, from the point of view of environmental safety, are they usually divided into? Give the main terms and definitions used in ecotoxicology. List the main routes of xenobiotics entry into the human and animal body, give a brief description of each of them. Name the main types of radioactive decays. What dose is a measure of the biological effects of radiation? Is it true that the environment is exposed to a significantly higher dose load after the development of nuclear energy? Specify the radiation source that contributes the maximum dose to the public. What radionuclides are biogenic? Specify artificial radionuclides actively participating in biogeochemical cycles.

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Introduction

With the advent and development of mankind, the process of evolution has noticeably changed. In the early stages of civilization, cutting down and burning forests for agriculture, grazing, fishing and hunting for wild animals, wars devastated entire regions, led to the destruction of plant communities, and the extermination of certain animal species. As civilization developed, especially after the industrial revolution of the end of the Middle Ages, mankind seized ever greater power, ever greater ability to involve and use huge masses of matter to satisfy its growing needs - both organic, living, and mineral, bone.

Real shifts in biospheric processes began in the 20th century as a result of another industrial revolution. The rapid development of energy, mechanical engineering, chemistry, and transport has led to the fact that human activity has become comparable in scale with the natural energy and material processes occurring in the biosphere. The intensity of human consumption of energy and material resources is growing in proportion to the population and even ahead of its growth. The consequences of anthropogenic (man-made) activities are manifested in the depletion of natural resources, pollution of the biosphere with industrial waste, destruction of natural ecosystems, changes in the structure of the Earth's surface, and climate change. Anthropogenic impacts lead to disruption of almost all natural biogeochemical cycles.

In accordance with the population density, the degree of human impact on the environment also changes. With the current level of development of productive forces, the activity of human society affects the biosphere as a whole.

Anthropogenic impacts on the environment

The possession of facts is knowledge; their use is wisdom;

their choice is education. Knowledge is not power, but treasures and,

like treasures, they have value when spent (Thomas Jefferson)

1. The concept and main types of anthropogenic impacts

Anthropogenic period, i.e. the period in which man arose is revolutionary in the history of the Earth. Mankind manifests itself as the greatest geological force in terms of the scale of its activities on our planet. And if we remember the short time of human existence in comparison with the life of the planet, then the significance of his activity will appear even clearer.

Anthropogenic impacts are understood as activities related to the implementation of economic, military, recreational, cultural and other human interests, making physical, chemical, biological and other changes in the natural environment. By their nature, depth and area of ​​distribution, time of action and nature of application, they can be different: targeted and spontaneous, direct and indirect, long-term and short-term, point and area, etc.

Anthropogenic impacts on the biosphere according to their environmental consequences are divided into: positive and negative (negative). Positive impacts include the reproduction of natural resources, the restoration of groundwater reserves, field-protective afforestation, and land reclamation at the site of mineral development.

Negative (negative) impacts on the biosphere include all types of impacts created by man and oppressing nature. Unprecedented in terms of power and diversity, negative anthropogenic impacts began to manifest themselves especially sharply in the second half of the 20th century. Under their influence, the natural biota of ecosystems ceased to serve as a guarantor of the stability of the biosphere, as had been observed previously over billions of years.

The negative (negative) impact is manifested in the most diverse and large-scale actions: the depletion of natural resources, deforestation over large areas, salinization and desertification of lands, reduction in the number and species of animals and plants, etc.

The main global factors of environmental destabilization include:

Growth in consumption of natural resources with their reduction;

The growth of the world's population with a reduction in habitable territories;

Degradation of the main components of the biosphere, a decrease in the ability of nature to self-sustain;

Possible climate change and depletion of the Earth's ozone layer;

Reduction of biological diversity;

Increasing environmental damage from natural disasters and man-made disasters;

Insufficient level of coordination of actions of the world community in the field of solving environmental problems.

Pollution is the main and most widespread type of negative human impact on the biosphere. Most of the most acute environmental situations in the world, one way or another, are associated with environmental pollution.

Anthropogenic impacts can be divided into destructive, stabilizing and constructive.

destructive (destructive) - leads to the loss, often irreplaceable, of the wealth and qualities of the natural environment. This is hunting, deforestation and burning of forests by man - the Sahara instead of the forest.

Stabilizing This is a targeted effect. It is preceded by awareness of the environmental threat to a specific landscape - a field, forest, beach, green alongside cities. Actions are aimed at slowing down the destruction (destruction). For example, the trampling of suburban forest parks, the destruction of the undergrowth of flowering plants can be weakened by breaking paths, forming places for a short rest. Soil protection measures are carried out in agricultural zones. On city streets, plants are planted and sown that are resistant to transport and industrial emissions.

constructive(for example, reclamation) - a purposeful action, its result should be the restoration of a disturbed landscape, for example, reforestation or the reconstruction of an artificial landscape in place of an irretrievably lost one. An example is the very difficult but necessary work to restore rare species of animals and plants, to improve the zone of mine workings, landfills, to turn quarries and waste heaps into green areas.

The famous ecologist B. Commoner (1974) identified five, in his opinion, the main types of human intervention in environmental processes:

Simplifying the ecosystem and breaking biological cycles;

The concentration of dissipated energy in the form of thermal pollution;

The growth of toxic waste from chemical industries;

Introduction to the ecosystem of new species;

The appearance of genetic changes in plants and animals.

The vast majority of anthropogenic impacts are purposeful, i.e. carried out by a person consciously in the name of achieving specific goals. There are also anthropogenic influences, spontaneous, involuntary, having a character after the action. For example, this category of impacts includes the processes of flooding of the territory that occur after its development, etc.

Pollution is the main and most widespread type of negative human impact on the biosphere. Pollution is the entry into the environment of any solid, liquid and gaseous substances, microorganisms or energies (in the form of sounds, noise, radiation) in quantities that are harmful to human health, animals, plants and ecosystems.

According to the objects of pollution, pollution of surface groundwater, atmospheric air pollution, soil pollution, etc. are distinguished. In recent years, the problems associated with the pollution of near-Earth space have also become topical. Sources of anthropogenic pollution, the most dangerous for populations of any organisms, are industrial enterprises (chemical, metallurgical, pulp and paper, building materials, etc.), thermal power engineering, agricultural production, and other technologies.

Man's technical capabilities to change the natural environment grew rapidly, reaching their highest point in the era of the scientific and technological revolution. Now he is able to carry out such projects for the transformation of the natural environment, which until relatively recently he did not even dare to dream of.

2. The general concept of eecological crisis

An ecological crisis is a special type of ecological situation when the habitat of one of the species or population changes in such a way that it calls into question its further survival. The main causes of the crisis:

Biotic: The quality of the environment degrades from the needs of the species after a change in abiotic environmental factors (for example, an increase in temperature or a decrease in rainfall).

Biotic: The environment becomes difficult for a species (or population) to survive due to increased predation or overpopulation.

The ecological crisis is currently understood as a critical state of the environment caused by the activities of mankind and characterized by a discrepancy between the development of productive forces and production relations in human society with the resource and environmental capabilities of the biosphere.

The concept of the global ecological crisis was formed in the 1960s and 1970s.

The revolutionary changes in biospheric processes that began in the 20th century led to the rapid development of energy, mechanical engineering, chemistry, and transport, to the fact that human activity became comparable in scale with natural energy and material processes occurring in the biosphere. The intensity of human consumption of energy and material resources is growing in proportion to the population and even ahead of its growth.

The crisis can be global and local.

The formation and development of human society was accompanied by local and regional environmental crises of anthropogenic origin. It can be said that the steps of mankind forward along the path of scientific and technological progress relentlessly, like a shadow, accompanied negative moments, the sharp aggravation of which led to environmental crises.

But earlier there were local and regional crises, since the very impact of man on nature was predominantly local and regional in nature, and has never been as significant as in the modern era. anthropogenic impact ecological crisis

Fighting a global environmental crisis is much more difficult than dealing with a local one. The solution to this problem can only be achieved by minimizing the pollution produced by mankind to a level that ecosystems will be able to cope with on their own.

Currently, the global environmental crisis includes four main components: acid rain, the greenhouse effect, pollution of the planet with superecotoxicants, and the so-called ozone holes.

It is now obvious to everyone that the ecological crisis is a global and universal concept that concerns each of the people inhabiting the Earth.

A consistent solution to pressing environmental problems should lead to a reduction in the negative impact of society on individual ecosystems and nature as a whole, including humans.

3. History of man-made environmental crises

The first great crises—perhaps the most catastrophic—were witnessed only by microscopic bacteria, the only inhabitants of the oceans in the first two billion years of our planet's existence. Some microbial biotas died, others - more perfect ones - developed from their remains. About 650 million years ago, a complex of large multicellular organisms, the Ediacaran fauna, first appeared in the ocean. They were strange soft-bodied creatures, unlike any of the modern inhabitants of the sea. 570 million years ago, at the turn of the Proterozoic and Paleozoic eras, this fauna was swept away by another great crisis.

Soon a new fauna was formed - the Cambrian, in which for the first time animals with a solid mineral skeleton began to play the main role. The first reef-building animals appeared - the mysterious archaeocyaths. After a short flowering, the archaeocyates disappeared without a trace. Only in the next, Ordovician period, new reef builders began to appear - the first real corals and bryozoans.

Another great crisis came at the end of the Ordovician; then two more in a row - in the late Devonian. Each time, the most characteristic, massive, dominant representatives of the underwater world, including reef builders, died out.

The largest catastrophe occurred at the end of the Permian period, at the turn of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras. Relatively little change took place on land then, but almost all living things perished in the ocean.

Throughout the next - early Triassic - era, the seas remained practically lifeless. So far, not a single coral has been found in the Early Triassic deposits, and such important groups of marine life as sea urchins, bryozoans and sea lilies are represented by small single finds.

Only in the middle of the Triassic period did the underwater world begin to gradually recover.

Ecological crises occurred both before the emergence of mankind and during its existence.

Primitive people lived in tribes, collecting fruits, berries, nuts, seeds and other plant foods. With the invention of tools and weapons, they became hunters and began to eat meat. It can be considered that this was the first ecological crisis in the history of the planet, since anthropogenic impact on nature began - human intervention in natural trophic chains. It is sometimes referred to as the consumer crisis. However, the biosphere survived: there were still few people, and the vacated ecological niches were occupied by other species.

The next step of anthropogenic influence was the domestication of some animal species and the separation of pastoral tribes. This was the first historical division of labor, which gave people the opportunity to provide themselves with food in a more stable way, compared to hunting. But at the same time, overcoming this stage of human evolution was also the next ecological crisis, since domesticated animals broke out of trophic chains, they were specially protected so that they would give a greater offspring than in natural conditions.

About 15 thousand years ago, agriculture arose, people switched to a settled way of life, property and the state appeared. Very quickly, people realized that the most convenient way to clear land from forest for plowing was to burn trees and other vegetation. In addition, ash is a good fertilizer. An intensive process of deforestation of the planet began, which continues to this day. It was already a larger ecological crisis - a crisis of producers. The stability of providing people with food has increased, which allowed man to overcome the effect of a number of limiting factors and win in the competition with other species.

Approximately in the III century BC. v ancient rome irrigated agriculture arose, which changed the hydrobalance of natural water sources. It was another ecological crisis. But the biosphere held out again: there were still relatively few people on Earth, and the land surface area and the number of freshwater sources were still quite large.

In the seventeenth century the industrial revolution began, machines and mechanisms appeared that facilitated the physical labor of a person, but this led to a rapidly increasing pollution of the biosphere with production waste. However, the biosphere still had sufficient potential (it is called assimilation potential) to withstand anthropogenic impacts.

But then the 20th century came, the symbol of which was the NTR (scientific and technological revolution); Along with this revolution, the past century brought an unprecedented global environmental crisis.

Ecological crisis of the twentieth century. characterizes the colossal scale of anthropogenic impact on nature, in which the assimilation potential of the biosphere is no longer enough to overcome it. The current environmental problems are not of national, but of planetary significance.

In the second half of the twentieth century. humanity, which until now perceived nature only as a source of resources for its economic activity, gradually began to realize that it could not continue like this and something had to be done to preserve the biosphere.

4. Ways out of the global environmental crisis

An analysis of the ecological and socio-economic situation allows us to identify 5 main directions of exit from the global ecologicalwhom crisis:

Ecology of technologies;

Development and improvement of the economics of the mechanism of environmental protection;

Administrative and legal direction;

Ecological and educational;

International legal;

All components of the biosphere must be protected not separately, but as a whole as a single natural system. According to federal law on “Environmental Protection” (2002), the main principles of environmental protection are:

Respect for human rights to a favorable environment;

Rational and non-wasteful nature management;

Conservation of biological diversity;

Payment for nature use and compensation for environmental damage;

Mandatory state ecological expertise;

Priority of conservation of natural ecosystems of natural landscapes and complexes;

Observance of the rights of everyone to reliable information about the state of the environment;

The most important environmental principle is a scientifically based combination of economic, environmental and social interests (1992)

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be noted that in the process of the historical development of mankind, its attitude towards nature has changed. As the productive forces developed, there was an ever-increasing attack on nature, its conquest. By its nature, such an attitude can be called practically utilitarian, consumerist. This attitude in modern conditions is manifested to the greatest extent. Therefore, further development and social progress urgently requires the harmonization of relations between society and nature by reducing the consumer and increasing the rational, strengthening the ethical, aesthetic, humanistic attitude towards it. And this is possible due to the fact that, having stood out from nature, a person begins to treat it both ethically and aesthetically, i.e. loves nature, enjoys and admires the beauty and harmony of natural phenomena.

Therefore, the upbringing of a sense of nature is the most important task not only of philosophy, but also of pedagogy, which should be solved already from elementary school, because the priorities acquired in childhood will manifest themselves in the future as norms of behavior and activity. This means that there is more confidence that humanity will be able to achieve harmony with nature.

And one cannot but agree with the words that everything in this world is interconnected, nothing disappears and nothing appears from nowhere.

List of used literature

1. Kiselev V.N. Fundamentals of Ecology, 1998. - 367p.

2. Novikov Yu.V. Ecology, environment and man. M.: Agency "FAIR", 2006, - 320 p.

3. Ecology and life safety. Tutorial edited by D.A. Krivosheina, L.A. Ant. -2000. - 447 p.

4. Remers N.F. Nature management. Dictionary reference. - M.: Thought, 1990. - 637 p.

5. Akimova T. A., Khaskin V. V. Ecology. Man - Economy - Biota - Environment: a textbook for university students - 3rd ed., revised. and additional - M.: UNITY - DANA, 2006

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5.By types of economic use

6. Economic classification of PR according to the relationship of types of use A.A. Mints

Question 2. Anthropogenic impact on wasps. Formula and variable analysis

Question 3. Economic efficiency of pp and methods for its determination.

Question 4. Economic damage from pollution and methods for its determination

Question 5. The main directions of greening the Russian economy.

Question 6. Forestry and characteristics of the environmental consequences of forestry activities. Ways of ecological optimization of the industry.

Question 7. Occurrence of external effects and their consideration in environmental and economic development

Question 9. Directions for the formation of an economic mechanism for nature management

Question 10. Types and forms of payment for natural resources.

Question 11. Technogenic type of economy and its limitations

Question 12. Ecological and economic development in the concept of sustainability of economic systems

Question 13. Ecosphere as a complex dynamic self-regulating system. homeostasis of the ecosphere. The role of living matter.

Question 14. Ecosystem and biogeocenosis: definitions of similarities and differences.

Question 15. Biological productivity (bp) of ecosystems (biogeocenoses).

Question 16. Interrelation of biological productivity and ecological stability.

Question 17. Ecological successions, natural and artificial. Use for practical purposes.

Question 18. Methods for managing populations and ecosystems (biogeocenoses).

Question 19. Regional and local systems of nature management.

Question 20

1. Traditional nature management and its main types.

21. Environmental problems of energy and ways to solve them.

21. Environmental problems of energy and ways to solve them.

22. Environmental problems of industry and ways to solve them.

23. Ecological problems of agriculture and ways to solve them.

24. Environmental problems of transport and ways to solve them.

25. Anthropogenic impact on the atmosphere and ways to reduce the negative effect.

26. Anthropogenic impact on the hydrosphere and ways to reduce the negative effect.

27. The problem of rational use of land resources.

31. The role of the institutional factor in the concept of sustainable development.

32. Anthropogenic climate change.

33. Main mechanisms of interaction between the hydrosphere and the atmosphere.

34. Protection of species and ecosystem diversity of the biosphere.

35. Modern landscapes. Classification and distribution.

36. Vertical and horizontal structure of landscapes.

37. Problems of deforestation and desertification.

38. Problems of conservation of genetic diversity.

39. Geoecological aspects of global crisis situations: degradation of the life support systems of the ecosphere. resource problems.

41. Ecological expertise. Basic principles. Law of the Russian Federation "On Ecological Expertise".

42. Sustainable development as a basis for rational nature management. Decisions of the Rio de Janeiro Conference (1992) and the World Summit in Johannesburg (2002).

44. The role of vehicles in environmental pollution.

45. Agriculture as a branch system of nature management.

46. ​​State natural reserves of Russia: status, regime, functions, tasks and development prospects.

Question 49. State natural reserves of Russia: status, regime, functions, tasks and development prospects.

Question 51. Ecological culture as a factor in the formation and evolution of environmental management systems.

Question 52. Differences in the consumption of natural resources in countries of different types.

25. Anthropogenic impact on the atmosphere and ways to reduce the negative effect.

The atmosphere is the gaseous shell of the Earth with aerosol particles contained in it. Man has an impact on various parameters and properties of the atmosphere, its chemical composition, thermal regime, movement, radioactivity, electromagnetic background, etc.

A person does not have a great influence on the concentration of the main chemical elements that make up the air - nitrogen and oxygen. The absence of changes in the concentration of these gases is primarily due to their high content (nitrogen - 78 * 09%, oxygen - 20.95%), against which even significant human impacts on these gases remain practically unnoticeable. The same cannot be said for carbon dioxide, however. Its concentration is gradually increasing, which is associated with significant carbon inflows against the background of its low content in the atmosphere (0.03%)

Particularly noticeable impacts of man on the atmosphere began when he began to actively intervene in biospheric processes, including the destruction of forests and especially their burning, plowing of land and the accompanying erosion, drainage, irrigation, construction of cities, industrial facilities, etc. The volume of emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere is comparable to their intake as a result of natural processes. They are so significant and serious that they are sometimes referred to as unintentional forms of ecological warfare. The most dangerous are those human impacts on the atmosphere that have become global or tend to grow into them.

Currently, there are many different sources of anthropogenic nature that cause atmospheric pollution and lead to serious violations of the ecological balance. In terms of scale, two sources have the greatest impact on the atmosphere: transport and industry. On average, transport accounts for about 60% of the total amount of atmospheric pollution, industry - 15%, thermal energy - 15%, technologies for the destruction of household and industrial waste - 10%.

Transport, depending on the fuel used and the types of oxidizing agents, emits into the atmosphere nitrogen oxides, sulfur, oxides and dioxides of carbon, lead and its compounds, soot, benzopyrene (a substance from the group of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which is a strong carcinogen that causes skin cancer).

Industry emits sulfur dioxide, carbon oxides and dioxides, hydrocarbons, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, sulfuric acid, phenol, chlorine, fluorine and other compounds and chemical elements into the atmosphere. But the dominant position among emissions (up to 85%) is occupied by dust.

As a result of pollution, the transparency of the atmosphere changes, aerosols, smog and acid rains appear in it.

Human activity leads to the fact that pollution enters the atmosphere mainly in two forms - in the form of aerosols (suspended particles) and gaseous substances.

The main sources of aerosols are the building materials industry, cement production, open-pit mining of coal and ores, ferrous metallurgy and other industries. The total amount of aerosols of anthropogenic origin entering the atmosphere during the year is 60 million tons. This is several times less than the amount of pollution of natural origin (dust storms, volcanoes).

Much more dangerous are gaseous substances, which account for 80-90% of all anthropogenic emissions. These are compounds of carbon, sulfur and nitrogen. Carbon compounds, primarily carbon dioxide, are not toxic in themselves, but the danger of such a global process as the "greenhouse effect" is associated with its accumulation. In addition, carbon monoxide is emitted, mainly by internal combustion engines.

Nitrogen compounds are represented by toxic gases - nitrogen oxide and peroxide. They are also formed during the operation of internal combustion engines, during the operation of thermal power plants, and during the combustion of solid waste.

The greatest danger is the pollution of the atmosphere with sulfur compounds, and primarily with sulfur dioxide. Sulfur compounds are emitted into the atmosphere during the combustion of coal fuel, oil and natural gas, as well as during the smelting of non-ferrous metals and the production of sulfuric acid. Anthropogenic sulfur pollution is two times higher than natural. Sulfur dioxide reaches the highest concentrations in the northern hemisphere, especially over the territory of the United States, foreign Europe, the European part of Russia, and Ukraine. It is lower in the southern hemisphere.

Acid rain is directly related to the release of sulfur and nitrogen compounds into the atmosphere. The mechanism of their formation is very simple. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the air combine with water vapor. Then, together with rains and fogs, they fall to the ground in the form of dilute sulfuric and nitric acids. Such precipitation sharply violates the norms of soil acidity, worsens the water exchange of plants, and contributes to the drying of forests, especially coniferous ones. Getting into rivers and lakes, they oppress their flora and fauna, often leading to the complete destruction of biological life - from fish to microorganisms. Acid rain also causes great harm to various structures (bridges, monuments, etc.).

The main regions of distribution of acid precipitation in the world are the USA, foreign Europe, Russia and the CIS countries. But recently they have been noted in the industrial regions of Japan, China, and Brazil.

The distance between the areas of formation and areas of acid precipitation can reach even thousands of kilometers. For example, the main culprits of acid precipitation in Scandinavia are the industrial regions of Great Britain, Belgium and Germany.

Scientists and engineers have come to the conclusion that the main way to prevent air pollution should be to gradually reduce harmful emissions, elimination of their sources. Therefore, a ban on the use of high-sulfur coal, oil and fuel is needed.

Message on the topic: "Anthropogenic influence of man

on the environment."

Prepared by:

Agafonova Julia,

713 group, IEF.

Anthropogenic influence on nature. The problem of ecology

With the advent of man and society, nature entered a new stage of its existence - it began to experience anthropogenic influence (that is, the influence of man and his activities).

Initially, the relationship between man and nature was a mutual influence on each other - man independently (without the use of complex technical means) benefited from nature for himself (food, minerals), and nature influenced man, and man was not protected from nature (for example , various elements, climate, etc.), strongly depended on it.

With the development of society, the state, the growth of the technical equipment of a person (complex tools, machines), the ability of nature to influence a person decreased, and the influence of a person on nature (anthropogenic influence) increased.

Starting from the 16th - 19th centuries, when a large number of scientific discoveries and inventions useful for man were made, production relations became much more complicated, the influence of man on nature became systematic and ubiquitous. Nature began to be considered by man no longer as an independent reality, but as a source of raw materials for satisfying human needs.

In the 20th century, when systematic scientific and technological progress accelerated several times and developed into a scientific and technological revolution, anthropogenic influence approached a catastrophic level.

At present, the world of technology (technosphere) has practically become an independent reality (super-modern technical discoveries that have made man's ability to influence nature limitless, universal computerization, etc.), and nature is almost completely subordinate to man.

The main problem (and danger) of modern anthropogenic influence lies in the discrepancy between the boundless needs of mankind and the almost limitless scientific and technical possibilities of influencing nature and disabilities nature itself.

In this regard, an ecological problem arises - the problem of protecting the environment from the harmful influence of man.

The most dangerous areas of the harmful influence of man on nature (and its consequences) are:

subsoil depletion - throughout its history, and especially in the 20th century, mankind has been mercilessly and in unlimited quantities extracting minerals, which has led to the depletion (close to catastrophic) of the internal reserves of the Earth (for example, energy reserves of oil, coal, natural gas can be exhausted already in 80-100 years);

pollution of the Earth, especially water bodies, the atmosphere with industrial waste;

the destruction of flora and fauna, the creation of conditions under which technical development (roads, factories, power plants, etc.) violates the habitual way of life of plants and animals, changes the natural balance of flora and fauna;

the use of atomic energy for both military and peaceful purposes, ground and underground nuclear explosions.

In order to survive and not bring the planet to a man-made disaster, humanity is obliged in every possible way to reduce its harmful impact on the environment, especially the above-mentioned most dangerous types.

^ Types and features of anthropogenic impacts on nature

Anthropogenic impacts are understood as activities related to the implementation of economic, military, recreational, cultural and other human interests, making physical, chemical, biological and other changes in the natural environment.

The famous ecologist B. Commoner (1974) identified five, in his opinion, the main types of human intervention in environmental processes:

Simplifying the ecosystem and breaking biological cycles;

The concentration of dissipated energy in the form of thermal pollution;

An increase in the number of toxic waste from chemical industries;

Introduction to the ecosystem of new species;

The emergence of genetic changes in plant organisms

and animals.

The vast majority of anthropogenic impacts are purposeful, that is, they are carried out by man consciously in order to achieve specific goals. There are also anthropogenic influences, spontaneous, involuntary, having the character of an aftereffect (Kotlov, 1978).

Violations of the main life support systems of the biosphere are primarily associated with targeted anthropogenic impacts (Fig. 1). By their nature, the depth and area of ​​distribution, the time of action and the nature of the application, they can be different.

An analysis of the environmental consequences of anthropogenic impacts makes it possible to divide all their types into positive and negative (negative). Positive human impacts on the biosphere include the reproduction of natural resources, the restoration of groundwater reserves, field-protective afforestation, land reclamation at the site of mineral development, and some other activities.

The negative (negative) human impact on the biosphere is manifested in the most diverse and large-scale actions: deforestation over large areas, depletion of fresh groundwater, salinization and desertification of lands, a sharp reduction in the number, as well as the disappearance of animal and plant species, etc.

Pollution is the main and most widespread type of negative human impact on the biosphere. Most of the most acute environmental situations in the world, and in particular in Russia, are somehow related to environmental pollution (Chernobyl, acid rain, hazardous waste, etc.).

In the early stages of civilization, cutting down and burning forests for agriculture, grazing, fishing and hunting for wild animals, wars devastated entire regions, led to the destruction of plant communities, and the extermination of certain animal species. As civilization developed, especially the end of the Middle Ages, which was turbulent after the industrial revolution, mankind seized more and more power, an ever greater ability to involve and use huge masses of matter to satisfy its growing needs - both organic, living, and mineral, inert.

Construction and operation of industrial enterprises, mining have led to serious violations of natural landscapes, pollution of soil, water, air with various wastes.

Real shifts in biospheric processes began in the 20th century. as a result of the next industrial revolution. The rapid development of energy, mechanical engineering, chemistry, and transport has led to the fact that human activity has become comparable in scale with the natural energy and material processes occurring in the biosphere. The intensity of human consumption of energy and material resources is growing in proportion to the population and even ahead of its growth.

Warning about the possible consequences of the expanding human intrusion into nature, half a century ago, Academician V. I. Vernadsky wrote: “Man is becoming a geological force capable of changing the face of the Earth.” This warning was prophetically justified. The consequences of anthropogenic (man-made) activities are manifested in the depletion of natural resources, pollution of the biosphere with industrial waste, destruction of natural ecosystems, changes in the structure of the Earth's surface, and climate change. Anthropogenic impacts lead to disruption of almost all natural biogeochemical cycles.

As a result of the combustion of various fuels, about 20 billion tons of carbon dioxide are emitted into the atmosphere annually and a corresponding amount of oxygen is absorbed.

At present, the total power of anthropogenic pollution sources in many cases exceeds the power of natural ones. Thus, natural sources of nitric oxide emit 30 million tons of nitrogen per year, and anthropogenic - 35-50 million tons; sulfur dioxide, respectively, about 30 million tons and more than 150 million tons. As a result of human activity, lead enters the biosphere almost 10 times more than in the process of natural pollution.

Pollutants resulting from human activities and their impact on the environment are very diverse. These include: compounds of carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, heavy metals, various organic substances, artificially created materials, radioactive elements and much more.

Thus, according to experts, about 10 million tons of oil enter the ocean every year. Oil on water forms a thin film that prevents gas exchange between water and air. Settling to the bottom, oil enters bottom sediments, where it disrupts the natural life processes of bottom animals and microorganisms. In addition to oil, there has been a significant increase in the release into the ocean of domestic and industrial wastewater containing, in particular, such dangerous pollutants as lead, mercury, and arsenic, which have a strong toxic effect. Background concentrations of such substances in many places have already been exceeded by dozens of times. Each pollutant has a certain negative impact on nature, so their entry into the environment must be strictly controlled. The maximum allowable concentration (MAC) is understood as the amount of a harmful substance in the environment that does not adversely affect human health or its offspring through permanent or temporary contact with it. Currently, when determining MPC, not only the degree of influence of pollutants on human health is taken into account, but also their impact on animals, plants, fungi, microorganisms, as well as on the natural community as a whole.

In addition to environmental pollution, anthropogenic impact is expressed in the depletion of the natural resources of the biosphere. The enormous use of natural resources has led to a significant change in landscapes in some regions (for example, in the coal basins). If at the dawn of civilization a person used only about 20 chemical elements for his needs, at the beginning of the 20th century - 60, now more than 100 - almost the entire periodic table. About 100 billion tons of ore, fuel, and mineral fertilizers are annually mined (extracted from the geosphere).

The rapid growth in demand for fuel, metals, minerals and their extraction led to the depletion of these resources. Thus, according to experts, while maintaining current rates of production and consumption, proven reserves of oil will be exhausted in 30 years, gas - in 50 years, coal - in 200. A similar situation has developed not only with energy resources, but also with metals (depletion of reserves aluminum is expected in 500-600 years, iron - 250 years, zinc - 25 years, lead - 20 years) and mineral resources such as asbestos, mica, graphite, sulfur.

Global air pollution affects the state of natural ecosystems, especially the green cover of our planet. One of the most obvious indicators of the state of the biosphere is forests and their well-being.

Acid rains, caused mainly by sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, cause great harm to forest biocenoses. It has been established that conifers suffer from acid rain to a greater extent than broad-leaved ones.

Only on the territory of our country the total area of ​​forests affected by industrial emissions has reached 1 million hectares. A significant factor in forest degradation in recent years is environmental pollution with radionuclides. Thus, as a result of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, 2.1 million hectares of forests were affected.

Modern agriculture, which widely uses fertilizers and various chemicals to control pests, weeds and plant diseases, has a significant impact on the chemical composition of soils. At present, the amount of substances involved in the circulation in the process of agricultural activity is approximately the same as in the process of industrial production. At the same time, the production and use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture is increasing every year. Inept and uncontrolled use of them leads to disruption of the circulation of substances in the biosphere. Of particular danger are persistent organic compounds used as pesticides. They accumulate in the soil, in water, bottom sediments of reservoirs. But most importantly, they are included in ecological food chains, pass from soil and water to plants, then to animals, and eventually enter the human body with food.

One of the main water pollutants is oil and oil products. Oil can get into the water as a result of its natural outflows in the areas of occurrence. But the main sources of pollution are associated with human activities: oil production, transportation, processing and use of oil as fuel and industrial raw materials.

Among industrial products, toxic synthetic substances occupy a special place in terms of their negative impact on the aquatic environment and living organisms. They are increasingly being used in industry, in transport, and in public utilities. Already at the present time, not only the territories that nature has deprived of water resources are experiencing a lack of fresh water, but also many regions that until recently were considered prosperous in this respect. At present, the need for fresh water is not satisfied in 20% of the urban and 75% of the rural population of the planet.

Due to the increase in the scale of anthropogenic impact (human economic activity), especially in the last century, the balance in the biosphere is disturbed, which can lead to irreversible processes and raise the question of the possibility of life on the planet. This is due to the development of industry, energy, transport, agriculture and other human activities without taking into account the possibilities of the Earth's biosphere. Serious environmental problems have already arisen before humanity, requiring immediate solutions.

^ Measures for the protection of the air environment

Atmospheric air protection is a system of measures aimed at preventing its pollution in the process of economic activity above acceptable standards, as well as at restoring and preserving air quality, necessary to a person and all wildlife, and the preservation of its natural composition.

The protection of the air environment includes a set of technical and administrative measures directly or indirectly aimed at stopping or at least reducing the increasing pollution of the atmosphere, which is a consequence of industrial development.

Territorial and technological problems include both issues of the location of sources of air pollution and the limitation or elimination of a number of negative effects. The search for optimal solutions to limit air pollution from this source has intensified in parallel with the growth of technical knowledge and industrial development - a number of special measures have been developed to protect the air environment.

Atmospheric protection cannot be successful with one-sided and half-hearted measures directed against specific sources of pollution. The best results can only be obtained with an objective, multilateral approach to determining the causes of air pollution, the contribution of individual sources and identifying real opportunities to limit these emissions.

Many modern technogenic substances, when released into the atmosphere, pose a considerable threat to human life. They cause great damage to human health and wildlife. Some of these substances can be carried by winds over long distances. For them, there are no borders of states, as a result of which this problem is international.

In urban and industrial conglomerates, where there are significant concentrations of small and large sources of pollutants, only an integrated approach based on specific restrictions for specific sources or their groups can lead to the establishment of an acceptable level of atmospheric pollution under a combination of optimal economic and technological conditions. Based on these provisions, an independent source of information is needed, which would have information not only on the degree of atmospheric pollution, but also on the types of technological and administrative measures. An objective assessment of the state of the atmosphere, together with knowledge of all opportunities to reduce emissions, allows you to create realistic plans and long-term forecasts of atmospheric pollution in relation to the worst and most favorable circumstances, and forms a solid basis for developing and strengthening an atmospheric protection program.

The most important factor in the formation of forecasts for the protection of the atmosphere is the quantitative assessment of future emissions. Based on the analysis of sources of emissions in selected industrial areas, especially as a result of combustion processes, a nationwide assessment of the main sources of solid and gaseous emissions over the past 10-14 years has been established. Then a forecast was made about the possible level of emissions for the next 10-15 years.

The degree of harmfulness of substances polluting the nature depends on many environmental factors and on the substances themselves. Scientific and technological progress sets the task of developing objective and universal criteria for harmfulness. This fundamental problem of protecting the biosphere has not yet been finally resolved.

^ Atmospheric protection methods

The protection and improvement of the air basin includes a set of scientifically based socio-economic, technical, sanitary and hygienic and other measures for the protection of atmospheric air from pollution by industrial and transport emissions, which can be grouped into the following main groups.

1. Structural and technological measures that exclude the release of hazardous substances at the very source of their formation.

2. Improvement of fuel composition, improvement of carburation devices, reduction or elimination of waste ingress into the atmosphere with the help of treatment facilities.

3. Prevention of air pollution through the rational allocation of sources of harmful emissions and the expansion of green spaces.

4. Control over the state of the air environment by special state bodies and the public.

1. Legislative. The most important thing in ensuring a normal process for the protection of atmospheric air is the adoption of an appropriate legislative framework that would stimulate and help in this difficult process. However, in Russia, however regrettable it may sound, there has been no significant progress in this area in recent years. The latest pollution that we are now facing, the world has already experienced 30-40 years ago and took protective measures, so we do not need to reinvent the wheel. It is necessary to use the experience of developed countries and adopt laws that limit pollution, give government subsidies to manufacturers of cleaner cars and benefits for owners of such cars.

In general, in Russia there is practically no normal legislative framework that would regulate environmental relations and stimulate environmental protection measures.

2. Architectural planning. These measures are aimed at regulating the construction of enterprises, planning urban development taking into account environmental considerations, greening cities, etc. When building enterprises, it is necessary to adhere to the rules established by law and prevent the construction of hazardous industries in the city. It is necessary to carry out mass gardening of cities, because green spaces absorb many harmful substances from the air and help to purify the atmosphere. Unfortunately, in the modern period in Russia, green spaces are not so much increasing as decreasing. Not to mention the fact that the "dormitory areas" built at the time do not stand up to scrutiny.

The problem of the rational arrangement of the road network in cities, as well as the quality of the roads themselves, is also extremely acute. It is no secret that the roads thoughtlessly built in their time are completely not designed for the modern number of cars. It is also impossible to allow combustion processes in various landfills, since in this case a large amount of harmful substances are released with smoke.

3. Technological and sanitary. The following measures can be singled out: rationalization of fuel combustion processes; improved sealing of factory equipment; installation of high pipes; mass use of treatment facilities, etc. It should be noted that the level of treatment facilities in Russia is at a primitive level, many enterprises do not have them at all, and this despite the harmfulness of emissions from these enterprises.

An equally important task is to educate Russians in ecological consciousness. The absence of treatment facilities can of course be explained by the lack of money (and there is a lot of truth in this), but even if there is money, they prefer to spend it on anything but the environment. The absence of elementary ecological thinking is especially noticeable at the present time. If in the West there are programs through the implementation of which the foundations of ecological thinking are laid in children from childhood, then in Russia there has not yet been significant progress in this area.

Modern science has developed a number of effective measures to protect atmospheric air from pollution, which gives every reason to hope for a positive solution to this problem in the near future.

^ The first global ecological crisis on Earth

As shown in the work of Academician of the MAI Zubakov V.A. "21 century. Scenario of the Future: Scenario of the Last Global Ecological Crisis”, the current ecological crisis is not the first, but the fifth and deepest one.

The first crisis was in the middle of the postglacial period about 50 thousand

years ago. It was a crisis of gathering and primitive hunting. People came out of it, having mastered the technology of driven hunting and fire.

The second crisis arose in the postglacial period about 10 thousand years ago, when the large mammoth fauna disappeared. The way out of this crisis was found through the transition to cattle breeding and agriculture.

The third crisis preceded the birth of irrigated agriculture. It was rather not global, but regional, and ended with the spread of rainfed agriculture.

The fourth crisis coincided with the massive reduction of forests for firewood and agricultural land. This crisis culminated in the Industrial Revolution and the shift to fossil fuels.

The current crisis is the deepest. It began in the middle of the 20th century and its beginning coincided with the chemicalization of production in industrialized countries. As a result of the economic activity of mankind, the damage caused to the biosphere by 10 times exceeds its self-healing capabilities, since people consume more than 100% of the products produced by the biosphere.

In the coming years, a second, more powerful wave of the crisis is coming, which will engulf the entire planet. And one of the most acute problems is the problem of food (environmentally friendly). Already, a third of the world's population is starving. The issues of providing peoples with food are becoming the most acute in all countries, including Russia.

The consumption of products grown, and not grown in the natural environment, leads to a change in the human genome.

The decay of the human genome is evidenced by data on the growth of genetic diseases, primarily mental and congenital disorders. Perhaps this is the reason for the spread of alcoholism and drug addiction, the decrease in the immune status of the human body, the emergence of new diseases.

It is likely that what is commonly referred to as environmental disease and directly linked to environmental pollution is just the tip of the iceberg. The underlying mechanisms leading to the decay of the human genome are much more dangerous, but so far not visible or tangible.

Damage to nature is caused by all types of human activity, including food production. In ancient times, the structure of human nutrition was dominated by gifts of nature: fruits of trees, berries, roots, meat of fish and wild animals, algae. As the population grew, the creations of the hands and mind of the human began to predominate, and as a result, the damage to the environment increased, since the production of grain, vegetables, fruits, meat requires more and more sown areas, pastures, allocation of land for buildings and communications.

At present, for most of mankind, the share of gifts of nature in the structure of nutrition does not exceed 5-10%. The main food producer is the agro-industrial complex, and only partially - forestry and fisheries.

^ Causes of the global environmental crisis

The global ecological crisis that arose by the end of the 20th century is the result of the nature-conquering attitude of man to the environment, i.e. it is based on the worldview of people and, first of all, the ruling "elite". The main consumer of natural resources and environmental pollutant is Western civilization, led by the United States, which, having 5% of the world's population, consume 40% of the world's resources and produce 60% of waste. The West has built a so-called "consumer society" and continues to advertise the "American way of life." In the 25 post-war years alone, the United States increased production by 2.5 times, while at the same time increasing environmental pollution by 20 times.

It is necessary to use all the natural resources of the Earth more rationally with minimal damage to the biosphere. This requires the implementation of a unified (at the scale of the district, region, territory, region, country, and in the future global) policy of nature management, protection and restoration of the environment. Only under this condition will land, water, energy, raw materials and other resources be used optimally with the maximum level of satisfaction of demographically determined needs at the achieved level of development of productive forces.

Expand environmental protection measures. To carry out a unified state policy of nature management. Currently, natural resources are under the jurisdiction of the subjects of the federation, and in fact - in the hands of mafia clans. The financial resources received from users of natural resources go anywhere, but not for environmental protection and not for nature restoration activities.

Restore the agro-industrial complex, forestry and fisheries, and the fishing fleet. Products supplied from the West are far from environmentally friendly, many of them contain preservatives and additives that are prohibited for use in manufacturing countries and can be safely attributed not to food, but to genocide.

In this regard, it is necessary to create strategic food reserves. Famine in Russia can occur even in the absence of malicious intent on the part of the West, but also in the event of natural or social disasters that will lead to a decrease in the level of food production in the supplier countries. They will simply stop exporting food, and famine and pestilence will be in Russia.

What could the global environmental crisis lead to?

The first is a planetary catastrophe with the destruction of the entire existing life support system.

The second is habitat change. Man, in the modern view, will cease to exist. What he will be one can only guess when watching American science fiction films.

Third, humanity will be able to develop new mechanisms of life, restore nature in its original form and, ultimately, merge harmoniously with it. In any case, we must clearly realize that as a result of his activity, a person, changing the environment, changes himself. The question is how much of these changes we want ourselves.