The role of meteorological factors in air pollution. Air pollution levels. Reference

The degree of air pollution varies greatly in time and space. At the same point in the territory, relatively high concentrations with relatively low average levels may appear in short periods of time. The longer the averaging time, the lower the concentration. For a hygienic assessment of the degree of atmospheric air pollution, both average levels, which determine the long-term resorptive effect of pollution, and relatively short-term peak concentrations, which are associated with the appearance of odors and irritating effects on the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract and eyes, are important. In this regard, for a hygienic assessment of the degree of air pollution, it is not enough to know only the concentration, but it is necessary to establish for what averaging time this concentration was obtained. In our country, to characterize the degree of air pollution, maximum single concentrations are accepted, i.e. reliable maximum concentrations that appear at a specific point in the territory over a 20-30 minute period, and average daily concentrations, i.e. average concentration over 24 hours. Thus, when characterizing the degree of atmospheric air pollution, we use maximum one-time or average daily concentrations, which allows for operational control of atmospheric air pollution

The degree of air pollution depends on many different factors and conditions:

1.amount of emissions of harmful substances (there are powerful, large, small industries

TO powerful Sources of pollution include industries such as metallurgical and chemical plants, construction materials factories, and thermal power plants. A large number of small sources can significantly pollute the air. The greater the emission value per unit time, the more pollutants, other things being equal, enter the air flow and, therefore, a higher concentration of pollutants is created in it. There is no directly proportional relationship between the magnitude of the release and the concentration, since the level of concentration of the pollutant is also influenced by other factors, the degree of influence of which varies in different cases.

The magnitude of the release is the main factor determining the level of surface concentration. In this regard, when making a hygienic assessment of sources of atmospheric pollution, a sanitary doctor should be interested in the quantitative characteristics of each emission component. Emission is expressed in units per unit of time (kg/day, g/s, t/year) or other units, for example kg/t of product, mg/m 3 of industrial emissions. In this case, it is necessary to recalculate per unit of time, taking into account the amount of products received per hour, day, etc. or the maximum volume of waste gases for a specific time interval.

Pollutants enter the atmosphere as organized or unorganized emissions. Organized emissions include tail gases, exhaust gases, and gases from aspiration and ventilation systems. Tail gases are formed at the final stage of the production process and are characterized, as a rule, by relatively high concentrations and a significant absolute mass of pollutants. The emissions enter the atmosphere through a pipe. Typical examples of tail gases are flue gases from boiler houses and power plants.

Exhaust gases are formed in intermediate stages of the production process and are removed by special exhaust gas lines. Since the purpose of these technological lines consists of equalizing pressure in various closed apparatuses, releasing gases in case of disruptions in the technological process and the need to quickly empty the equipment; exhaust gases are characterized by periodic release, a small volume with relatively high concentrations of pollutants. Particularly large quantities of exhaust gases are emitted at enterprises of the chemical, petrochemical and oil refining industries.

Gases from aspiration systems are formed as a result of local ventilation from various shelters (casings, chambers, umbrellas) and are characterized by relatively high concentrations. Ventilation systems often remove air from workshops through aeration lanterns. Ventilation emissions are characterized by huge volumes and low concentrations of pollutants, which makes them difficult to clean. In the same time total weight pollutants entering the atmosphere can be quite large.

Fugitive emissions are generated by off-shop equipment and structures and during outdoor work. These include loading and unloading operations of dusting and evaporating raw materials and finished products, open storage of dusting materials and finished products, open storage of dusting materials and evaporating liquids, cooling towers, slurry storage facilities, waste dumps, open wastewater channels, leaks of joints and seals of external technological lines, etc. The peculiarity of such emissions is that they are difficult to quantify. At the same time, practice confirms high levels of air pollution in areas adjacent to enterprises characterized by the presence of fugitive emissions.

It is also necessary to classify emissions into organized and unorganized because the former must be fully taken into account when forecasting air pollution, and a sanitary doctor, both as a preventive and routine sanitary supervision, must be able to check the completeness of accounting for emissions in the calculation. There are also prerequisites for accounting for fugitive emissions in the near future.

Direct and indirect methods are used to qualitatively and quantitatively characterize emissions. Direct methods are based on measuring the concentration of the pollutant in organized emissions and calculating on this basis the mass of the pollutant per unit of time. Indirect methods are based on a material balance that takes into account the necessary raw materials and resulting products.

Direct methods for determining emissions are used, as a rule, at enterprises with a predominant value of organized emissions. These determinations are made by a specialized organization or laboratory of the enterprise. Indirect methods are best used at enterprises characterized by fugitive emissions. Material balance is part of the technological regulations. Direct and indirect methods for determining emissions should be used by the enterprise to inventory sources of air pollution.

P. Their chemical composition (distinguished by the composition of emissions of production class 5 according to hazard).

The efficiency of wastewater treatment plants has a great influence on the amount of emissions. Thus, a decrease in efficiency from 98 to 96:, i.e. by only 2%, increases emissions by 2 times. In this regard, when assessing sources of air pollution, the sanitary doctor must know both the design and actual purification coefficients and use the latter for assessment.

W. height at which emissions are carried out (low, medium height, high). Under low emission sources consider those industries that emit emissions from pipes whose height is below 50m and under high– above 50m. Heated, are emissions whose temperature of the gas-air mixture is above 50 0 C; at a lower temperature emissions are considered cold.

The higher the emission of pollutants from the surface of the earth, the lower, other things being equal, their concentration in the ground layer. The decrease in concentration with increasing emission height is associated with two patterns of distribution of contaminants in the torch: a decrease in concentration due to an increase in the cross-section of the torch and removal from its axial line, which carries the bulk of the contaminants, from which they spread to the periphery of the torch. Higher wind speeds above the mouth of a high pipe are also important, since the braking influence of the earth's surface is weakened. A tall chimney not only reduces the level of ground concentration, but also removes the beginning of the smoke zone. However, it should be taken into account that a tall chimney increases the smoke radius, although at lower concentrations. The area of ​​maximum contamination, although at lower concentrations. The zone of maximum pollution is located within a distance equal to 10-40 pipe heights for heated high emissions and 5-20 heights for cold and low emissions. Due to the construction of high pipes (180-320 m), the range of influence of individual sources can be 10 km or more. For high sources, in the absence of fugitive emissions, there are transfer zones, since the point of contact of the torch with the ground surface is further away, the higher the pipe.

1U. Climatic and geographical conditions that determine the transfer, dispersion and transformation of emitted substances:

2. conditions for the transfer and distribution of emissions in the atmosphere (temperature inversion, barometric pressure in the atmosphere, etc.)

3. intensity of solar radiation, which determines the photochemical transformations of impurities and the occurrence of secondary products of air pollution

4. the amount and duration of precipitation, leading to the leaching of impurities from the atmosphere, as well as the degree of air humidity.

With the same absolute emission, the degree of atmospheric air pollution may vary depending on meteorological factors, since the dispersion of emissions occurs under the influence of turbulence, i.e. mixing different layers of air. Turbulence is associated with the influx of heat emitted by the sun and reaching earth's surface, and has its own patterns of air mass transfer depending on latitude and time of year. Among meteorological factors, wind direction and speed, temperature stratification of the atmosphere and air humidity deserve special consideration.

Due to the continuous change in wind direction, the observation point either falls into or leaves the plume of a pollution source located near this point. Therefore, pollution levels change with changes in wind direction. This dependence is important for sanitary practice when deciding on the placement of industrial enterprises in the city plan and the allocation of an industrial zone.

This pattern of “behavior” of industrial emissions in the ground layer of the atmosphere is the basis for sanitary requirements for the functional zoning of populated areas with the location of industrial enterprises downwind of residential areas, i.e. so that the dominant wind direction is from the residential area to the industrial enterprise.

This dependence is of particular importance in the practical activities of the sanitary service of large industrial centers when deciding on the leading sources of pollution. A diagram built on the principle of a wind rose and therefore called the “smoke rose” (V.A. Ryazanov) is very indicative for analyzing the sanitary situation.

To construct a smoke rose, it is necessary to have the results of systematic observations of atmospheric air pollution for at least a year. All data are divided into groups according to the wind direction during the sampling period. For each wind direction, average concentrations are calculated and a graph is plotted on an arbitrary scale. The prominent peaks of the graph indicate the main source of air pollution in a given area. A separate graph is constructed for each pollutant. As an example of constructing smoke roses, they are shown in Table 2 and Fig. 1. Based on the results of systematic observations of one of the industrial centers of the country. The concentration of pollutants during the calm period was 0.14 mg/m3

table 2

Dependence of sulfur dioxide concentration on wind direction

Rumba	Concentration, mg/m 3	Rumba	Concentration, mg/m 3
WITH	0,11	By her	0,06
NE	0,19	SW	0,06
IN	0,26	Z	0,09
SE	0,12	NW	0,09

Fig. 1 “Smoke rose”

The vertex indicates the direction of the leading source (N-E)

From the data presented it is clear that the main source of air pollution with sulfur dioxide is located to the east of the studied area. The method for determining background concentrations is based on the same principle, but taking into account wind speed and 4 gradations of cardinal points. Determining background concentrations taking into account wind direction helps to objectively resolve issues about the location of industrial enterprises in the city plan, i.e. do not place them in directions where winds bring the highest levels of pollution.

If the concentrations of pollutants depended only on the magnitude of the emission and the direction of the wind, then they would not change if the emission and wind direction remained constant. However, the main importance is the process of diluting the emission with atmospheric air, in which wind speed plays a major role. The higher the wind speed, the more intense the mixing of emissions with atmospheric air and the lower, other things being equal, the concentration of pollutants. High concentrations are found during calm periods.

Wind speed promotes the transfer and dispersion of impurities, since with increasing wind in the area of ​​​​high sources, the intensity of mixing of air layers increases. At light wind in the area of ​​high emission sources, concentrations near the ground decrease due to an increase in the rise of the torch and the carryover of impurities upward.

At strong wind the rise of the impurity decreases, but the rate of transport of the impurity over significant distances increases. Maximum impurity concentrations are observed at a certain speed, which is called dangerous and depends on the emission parameters. For powerful emission sources with high overheating flue gases, relative to the surrounding air, it is 5-7 m/s. For sources with relatively low emissions and low temperatures gases it is close to 1-2 m/s.

Wind direction instability contributes to increased horizontal dispersion and the concentration of impurities near the ground decreases.

The sanitary doctor must use this pattern. When deciding on the allocation of a site for the construction of an industrial enterprise, or considering materials for the reconstruction of an existing enterprise, it is important to take into account both the direction and speed of the wind, in particular, so that the “dangerous” wind speed for the source in question does not coincide with that often found in the direction from the source to the residential area. It is important to take this pattern into account when organizing laboratory control.

The dispersive ability of the atmosphere depends on the vertical distribution of temperature and wind speed. For example, most often an unstable state of the atmosphere is observed in the summer during the daytime. Under such conditions, large concentrations are observed near the earth's surface.

The temperature stratification of the atmosphere has a great influence on the dilution of industrial emissions. The ability of the earth's surface to absorb or radiate heat affects the vertical distribution of temperature in the surface layer of the atmosphere. Under normal conditions, as you go up, the temperature drops. This process is considered as adiabatic, i.e. flowing without the influx or release of heat: the rising air flow will be cooled due to an increase in volume due to a decrease in pressure and, conversely, the descending flow will be heated due to an increase in pressure. The change in temperature, expressed in degrees for every 100 m of upward movement, is called the temperature gradient. During an adiabatic process, the temperature gradient is approximately 1 0C.

There are periods when, with increasing altitude, the temperature drops faster than 1 0 C per 100 m, as a result of which warm air masses from the sun-heated surface of the earth rise to a greater height, which is accompanied by a rapid descent of cold air currents. This state, related to a superdiabatic temperature gradient, is called convective. It is characterized by strong air mixing.

In real conditions, the air temperature does not always fall with height and the overlying air layers may have a higher temperature than the underlying ones, i.e. the temperature gradient may be distorted.

The state of the atmosphere with a perverted temperature gradient is called temperature inversion. During periods of inversions, turbulent exchange is weakened, due to which the conditions for the dispersion of industrial emissions worsen, which can lead to the accumulation of harmful substances in the surface layer of the atmosphere.

There are surface and elevated inversions. Surface inversions are characterized by a distortion of the temperature gradient at the earth's surface, and elevated inversions are characterized by the appearance of a warmer layer of air at some distance from the earth's surface.

In the case of an elevated inversion, surface concentrations depend on the height of the pollution source relative to their lower boundary. If the source is located below the elevated inversion layer, then the main part of the impurity is concentrated near the earth's surface.

In the inversion layer, vertical air currents become practically impossible, since the coefficient of turbulent diffusion decreases, as a result of which the emission under the inversion layer cannot rise upward and is distributed in the surface layer. Therefore, temperature inversions are usually accompanied by a significant increase in the concentration of pollutants in the surface layer. As is known, mass poisoning of the population in the Meuse Valley, as well as in Donor and London, was observed during a period of stable temperature inversion that lasted several days. The longer the inversion, the higher the concentration of atmospheric pollution, because the accumulation of atmospheric emissions occurs in a limited, as if closed, space of the atmosphere.

Not only the duration, but also the height of the inversion is of great importance. Naturally, low surface (up to 15-20m) and very elevated (above 600m) inversions may not have a significant impact on the level of concentrations: the first - due to the fact that the height of the release of some pollution sources may be above the inversion layer and it will not prevent them dispersion, and the second - because with very elevated inversions the layer of atmosphere below them is sufficient to dilute industrial emissions.

Thus, the vertical temperature gradient is the most important factor determining the intensity of the processes of mixing pollutants with atmospheric air and has a large practical significance. For example, if in some areas there are frequent surface inversions in a layer of 150-200 m, then the construction of pipes with a height of 120-150 m does not make sense, since this will not affect the decrease in concentrations during periods of inversions. It is advisable to construct a pipe higher than 200 m. If elevated inversions at an altitude of 300-400 m are frequent, then the construction of a pipe even 250 m high will not help reduce concentrations during the inversion period.

The accumulation of harmful emissions in the surface layer during the period of surface inversions will occur at low emissions. Pollution concentrations especially increase when elevated inversions are located directly above the emission source, i.e. pipe mouth. The sanitary doctor must know the peculiarities of the temperature stratification of the atmosphere of the serviced territory in order to take them into account when resolving issues of preventive and routine supervision in atmospheric air hygiene.

Due to changes in the temperature and radiation regime of the air in the urban area, inversions are more likely to form above the city compared to surrounding areas. IN cold period More frequent and longer-lasting inversions are observed every year. The temperature gradient changes not only by season, but also throughout the day. Due to the cooling of the earth's surface by radiation, night inversions are often formed, which is favored by clear sky and dry air. Nighttime inversions can also occur in the summer, reaching a maximum in the early morning hours.

Often inversions form in valleys between hills. The cold air descending into them flows under the warmer air of the valley and a “lake” of cold is formed. In such conditions, deciding on the location of industrial enterprises turns out to be especially difficult.

The highest concentrations of atmospheric pollutants are observed at low temperatures during winter inversions.

Air humidity has a certain significance for the distribution of pollutants in the surface layer of the atmosphere. For most pollutants there is a direct relationship, i.e. As humidity increases, their concentrations increase. The only exceptions are compounds that can hydrolyze. Particularly high concentrations of atmospheric pollution are observed during periods of fog. The connection between the level of pollution and humidity is explained by the fact that in the urban atmosphere there is a significant amount of hygroscopic particles, on which moisture condensation begins when relative humidity less than 100%. Due to the weighting of particles due to moisture condensation, they sink and concentrate in a narrower layer of the surface atmosphere. Gaseous pollutants, dissolving in the condensate of particles, also accumulate in the lower layers of the atmosphere.

Thus, for the same emission, the level of ground-level concentrations of pollutants can vary significantly depending on meteorological conditions.

The city itself has a significant impact on the dispersion of emissions, changing temperature, radiation, humidity and wind regimes. On the one hand, the city represents a “heat island”, as a result of which local convective ascending and descending currents arise; on the other hand, fogs occur more often in urban conditions (often due to its pollution), which impairs the dispersion of pollution. The direction and speed of the wind are deformed due to changes in the underlying surface and the shielding effect of tall buildings. In such conditions, calculations created for flat terrain are unsuitable, and special calculation methods are used taking into account the aerodynamic shadow created by buildings.

The dispersion of impurities in urban conditions is significantly affected by layout of streets, their width, direction, height of buildings, presence of green areas and water bodies.

Therefore, even with constant industrial and transport emissions, as a result of the influence of meteorological conditions, the levels of air pollution can vary several times.

Green vegetation plays a certain role in freeing the atmosphere from pollution due to both mechanical sorption on the surface and chemical binding of certain compounds.

U1. The distribution of impurities is affected by terrain. On windward slopes with the wind, upward air movements are formed, and leeward ny slopes– descending. Downward flows of air masses form over reservoirs in summer. In downward flows, surface concentrations increase, and in ascending flows, they decrease. In some landforms, e.g. pits, the air stagnates, which leads to the accumulation of toxins from low sources emissions. In hilly areas, the maximum surface concentration of impurities is usually greater than in the absence of relief irregularities.

The influence of terrain unevenness on the level of surface concentration is associated with a change in the nature of air movement, which leads to a change in the concentration field. In the lowlands, air stagnation occurs, which increases the risk of pollution accumulation. At elevations of 50-100 m with an inclination angle of 5-6 0, the difference in maximum concentrations can reach 50% with relatively low pipes. The influence of terrain decreases with increasing release height. The location of the source on a leeward or windward slope is of great importance. An increase in concentration can also be observed when the emission source is located on a hill, but near the leeward slope, where wind speeds decrease and downward currents arise.

The influence of terrain unevenness on the nature of air movement is so complex that it sometimes requires modeling conditions in order to determine the nature of the distribution of industrial emissions. Currently, there are proposals to introduce coefficients that take into account the influence of relief on the dispersion of emissions.

UP. Depending on the time of year (more in winter than in summer, because heating systems are turned on, and during their operation, emissions pollution increases and pollutants accumulate more in the lower layers of air, because air convection slows down).

USH. Depending on the time of day (maximum pollution is observed during the day, since all production facilities and vehicles operate during the daytime).

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There are various sources of air pollution, and some of them have significant and extremely adverse effects on the environment. It is worth considering the main polluting factors in order to prevent serious consequences and preserve the environment.

Classification of sources

All sources of pollution are divided into two broad groups.

1. Natural or natural, which covers factors caused by the activity of the planet itself and in no way dependent on humanity.
2. Artificial or anthropogenic pollutants associated with human activities.

If we take the degree of influence of the pollutant as the basis for classifying sources, we can distinguish powerful, medium and small. The latter include small boiler installations and local boilers. The category of powerful sources of pollution includes large industrial enterprises that emit tons of harmful compounds into the air every day.

By place of education

According to the characteristics of the release of mixtures, pollutants are divided into non-stationary and stationary. The latter are constantly in one place and carry out emissions in a certain zone. Non-stationary sources of air pollution can move and thus spread hazardous compounds through the air. First of all, these are automobile vehicles.

Also, the spatial characteristics of emissions can be taken as the basis for classification. There are high (pipes), low (drains and vents), area (large accumulations of pipes) and linear (highways) pollutants.

By level of control

According to the level of control, sources of pollution are divided into organized and unorganized. The impact of the former is regulated and subject to periodic monitoring. The latter carry out emissions in inappropriate places and without appropriate equipment, that is, illegally.

Another option for dividing sources of air pollution is based on the scale of distribution of pollutants. Pollutants can be local, affecting only certain small areas. Regional sources are also distinguished, the effect of which extends to entire regions and large areas. But the most dangerous are global sources that affect the entire atmosphere.

By nature of pollution

If we use the nature of the negative polluting influence as the main classification criterion, we can distinguish the following categories:

• Physical pollutants include noise, vibration, electromagnetic and thermal radiation, radiation, and mechanical impacts.
• Biological contaminants can be viral, microbial or fungal in nature. These pollutants include both the pathogenic microorganisms themselves floating in the air and the waste products and toxins they release.
• Sources of chemical air pollution in the residential environment include gaseous mixtures and aerosols, for example, heavy metals, dioxides and oxides of various elements, aldehydes, ammonia. Such compounds are usually released by industrial enterprises.

Anthropogenic pollutants have their own classifications. The first assumes the nature of the sources and includes:

• Transport.
• Household - arising in the processes of waste processing or fuel combustion.
• Industrial, covering substances generated during technical processes.

Based on their composition, all polluting components are divided into chemical (aerosol, dust, gaseous chemicals and substances), mechanical (dust, soot and other solid particles) and radioactive (isotopes and radiation).

Natural springs

Let's consider the main sources of air pollution of natural origin:

• Volcanic activity. From the depths earth's crust During eruptions, tons of boiling lava rise, the combustion of which produces clouds of smoke containing particles of rock and soil layers, soot and soot. Also, the combustion process can generate other dangerous compounds, for example, sulfur oxides, hydrogen sulfide, and sulfates. And all these substances are ejected from the crater under pressure and immediately rush into the air, contributing to its significant pollution.
• Fires that occur in peat bogs, steppes and forests. Every year they destroy tons of natural fuel, during the combustion of which harmful substances are released that pollute the air basin. In most cases, fires are caused by human negligence, and stopping the elements of fire can be extremely difficult.
• Plants and animals also unknowingly pollute the air. Representatives of the flora can emit gases and spread pollen, all of which contribute to air pollution. Animals also emit gaseous compounds and other substances during their life, and after their death, decomposition processes have a detrimental effect on the environment.
• Dust storms. During such phenomena, tons of soil particles and other solid elements rise into the atmosphere, which inevitably and significantly pollute the environment.

Anthropogenic sources

Anthropogenic sources of pollution are a global problem of modern humanity, caused by the rapid pace of development of civilization and all spheres of people’s lives. Such pollutants are man-made, and although they were initially introduced for the benefit and to improve the quality and comfort of life, today they are a fundamental factor in global air pollution.

Let's look at the main artificial pollutants:

• Cars are the scourge of modern humanity. Today, many people have them and have turned from a luxury into a necessary means of transportation, but, unfortunately, few people think about how harmful the use of vehicles is to the atmosphere. When fuel is burned and during engine operation, carbon dioxide, which includes carbon monoxide and carbon monoxide, benzopyrene, hydrocarbons, aldehydes, and nitrogen oxides, are released from the exhaust pipe in a constant stream. But it is worth noting that air and other modes of transport, including rail, air, and water, have a detrimental effect on the environment.
• Activities of industrial enterprises. They can be involved in metal processing, the chemical industry and any other type of activity, but almost all large factories constantly release tons of chemicals, particulate matter, and combustion products into the air. And if we take into account that only a few enterprises use wastewater treatment facilities, then the scale negative influence The ever-evolving industry's impact on the environment is simply enormous.
• Use of boiler plants, nuclear and thermal power plants. Fuel combustion is a harmful and dangerous process from the point of view of air pollution, during which a lot of different substances are released, including toxic ones.
• Another factor in the pollution of the planet and its atmosphere is the widespread and active use of different types of fuel, such as gas, oil, coal, and firewood. When they are burned and exposed to oxygen, numerous compounds are formed that rush upward and rise into the air.

Is it possible to prevent pollution?

Unfortunately, in the current modern living conditions of most people, it is extremely difficult to completely eliminate air pollution, but it is still possible to try to stop or minimize some of the harmful effects exerted on it. And only comprehensive measures taken universally and jointly will help in this. These include:

1. The use of modern and high-quality treatment facilities at large industrial enterprises whose activities are related to emissions.
2. Rational use of vehicles: switching to high-quality fuel, using agents that reduce exhaust concentrations, stable operation of the machine and troubleshooting. And it is better, if possible, to abandon cars in favor of trams and trolleybuses.
3. Introduction of legislative measures at the state level. Some laws are already in place, but new ones with greater force are needed.
4. Introduction of universal pollution control points, which are especially necessary within large enterprises.
5. Transition to alternative and less environmentally hazardous energy sources. Thus, windmills, hydroelectric power stations, solar panels, and electricity should be more actively used.
6. Timely and competent recycling of waste will help avoid the emissions they emit.
7. Greening the planet will be an effective measure, since many plants produce oxygen and thereby cleanse the atmosphere.

The main sources of air pollution are reviewed, and such information will help to understand the essence of the problem of environmental degradation, as well as stop the impact and preserve nature.

The level of ground-level concentration of harmful substances in the atmosphere from stationary and mobile industrial and transport facilities with the same mass emission can vary significantly in the atmosphere depending on man-made and natural-climatic factors.

TO man-made factors include:

· intensity and volume of emissions of harmful substances;

· the height of the emission source mouth from the ground surface;

· the size of the territory where pollution occurs;

· level of technogenic development of the region.

TO natural-climatic factors include:

· characteristics of the circulation regime;

· thermal stability of the atmosphere;

· atmospheric pressure, air humidity, temperature;

· temperature inversions, their frequency and duration;

· wind speed, frequency of air stagnation and weak winds (0 – 1 m/s);

· duration of fogs, terrain, geological structure and hydrogeology of the area;

· soil and plant conditions (soil type, water permeability, porosity, soil granulometric composition, soil erosion, state of vegetation, rock composition, age, quality);

· background values ​​of pollution indicators of natural components of the atmosphere, including existing noise levels;

· state of the animal world, including ichthyofauna.

In the natural environment, air temperature, wind speed, strength and direction are constantly changing, so the spread of energy and ingredient pollution occurs under constantly new conditions. The following synoptic situation is unfavorable - an anticyclone with a gradient-free isobar field in intermountain closed basins. The processes of decomposition of toxic substances in high latitudes at low values ​​of solar radiation slow down. Precipitation and high temperatures, on the contrary, contribute to the intensive decomposition of toxic substances.

In Moscow, for example, meteorological conditions unfavorable for air pollution, associated with air stagnation and inversions, are created in the summer, mainly at night with weak northern and eastern winds.

At general pattern reducing the level of pollution as you move away from the road, the reduction in noise level occurs due to the dispersion of sound energy in the atmosphere and its absorption by the surface cover. The dispersion of exhaust gases depends on the direction and speed of the wind (Fig. 5.1).

Warmer temperatures near the earth's surface during the day cause air to rise, resulting in additional turbulence.

At night, the temperature at the earth's surface is lower, so turbulence is reduced. This phenomenon is one of the reasons for the better propagation of sound at night compared to daytime. The dispersion of exhaust gases, on the contrary, decreases.

The ability of the earth's surface to absorb or emit heat affects the vertical distribution of temperature in the surface layer of the atmosphere and leads to temperature inversion (deviation from adiabaticity). An increase in air temperature with altitude means that harmful emissions cannot rise above a certain ceiling. Under inversion conditions, turbulent exchange is weakened and conditions for the dispersion of harmful emissions in the surface layer of the atmosphere worsen. For the surface inversion, the repeatability of the heights of the upper boundary is of particular importance; for the elevated inversion, the repeatability of the lower boundary is of particular importance.

The combination of natural factors that determine the possible level of air pollution is characterized by:

· meteorological and climatic potential for air pollution;

height of the mixing layer;

· repeatability of surface and elevated inversions, their power, intensity;

· repeatability of air stagnation, calm layers to various heights.

The drop in concentrations of harmful substances in the atmosphere occurs not only due to the dilution of emissions with air, but also due to the gradual self-purification of the atmosphere. During the process of self-purification of the atmosphere, the following occurs:

1) sedimentation, i.e. fallout of emissions with low reactivity (particulate matter, aerosols) under the influence of gravity;

1) neutralization and binding of gaseous emissions in the open atmosphere under the influence of solar radiation or biota components.

A certain potential for self-healing of environmental properties, including cleansing the atmosphere, is associated with the absorption of up to 50% of natural and man-made CO 2 emissions by water surfaces. Other gaseous air pollutants also dissolve in water bodies. The same thing happens on the surface of green spaces: 1 hectare of urban green spaces absorbs within an hour the same amount of CO 2 that 200 people exhale.

Chemical elements and compounds contained in the atmosphere absorb some of the sulfur, nitrogen, and carbon compounds. Putrefactive bacteria contained in the soil decompose organic matter, returning CO 2 to the atmosphere. In Fig. Figure 5.2 shows a diagram of environmental pollution with carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contained in emissions from vehicles and transport infrastructure, and its purification from these substances in environmental components.

Introduction

Today in the world there are a large number of environmental problems, ranging from the extinction of some species of plants and animals to the threat of degeneration of the human race. Currently, there are many theories in the world in which the search for the most optimal ways to solve them is of particular importance. But, unfortunately, everything is much simpler on paper than in real life.

Also, in most countries, the environmental problem comes first, but, alas, not in our country, at least before, but recently they are beginning to pay more attention to it, and new measures are being applied.

The problem of air and water pollution with hazardous industrial waste, human waste products, toxic chemicals and radioactive substances has become decisive. To prevent these effects, joint efforts of biologists, chemists, technicians, doctors, sociologists and other specialists are needed. This is an international problem because air has no national borders.

The atmosphere in our life has great importance. This includes retaining the Earth’s warmth and protecting living organisms from harmful doses of cosmic radiation. It is also a source of oxygen for respiration and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, energy, promotes the movement of soda vapor and small materials on the planet - and this is not the whole list of the meanings of air in natural processes. Despite the fact that the area of ​​the atmosphere is huge, it is subject to serious impacts, which in turn cause changes in its composition not only in individual areas, but throughout the entire planet.

A huge amount of O2 is consumed in cases where fires occur in peat bogs, forests, and coal deposits. It has been revealed that in most highly developed countries, people spend another 10-16% more oxygen for economic needs than what is produced as a result of plant photosynthesis. Because in major cities O2 deficiency occurs. In addition, as a result of the intensive work of industrial enterprises and transport, a huge amount of dust-like and gas-like waste is released into the air.

The purpose of the course work is to assess the degree of air pollution and identify measures to reduce it.

To achieve these goals, the following tasks have been set:

studying criteria for assessing the degree of air pollution in cities;

identifying sources of air pollution;

assessment of the state of atmospheric air in Russia for 2012;

implementation of measures to reduce the level of air pollution.

The urgency of the problem of air pollution in the modern world is increasing. The atmosphere is the most important life-supporting natural environment, which is a mixture of gases and aerosols in the ground layer of the atmosphere, which was formed as a result of the evolution of the earth, human activity and residential, industrial and other facilities located outside. The results of environmental studies, both Russian and foreign, show that ground air pollution is the most powerful, continuously acting factor on humans, the food chain and the environment. The air basin has unlimited space and plays the role of the most mobile, chemically aggressive and pervasive agent of interaction near the surface of the components of the biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere.

Chapter 1. Assessing the level of air pollution

1 Criteria and indicators for assessing the state of the atmosphere

The atmosphere is one of the elements of the environment that is constantly exposed to human activity. The consequences of this impact depend on various factors and are manifested in changes in climate and chemical composition of the atmosphere. These changes significantly affect the biotic components of the environment, including humans.

The air environment can be assessed in two aspects:

Climate and its changes under the influence of natural causes and anthropogenic influences in general (macroclimate) and this project in particular (microclimate). These assessments assume a forecast of the potential impact of climate change on the implementation of the projected type anthropogenic activities.

Air pollution. To begin with, the possibility of air pollution is assessed using one of the complex indicators, such as: air pollution potential (APP), atmospheric dispersive ability (ASC) and others. After this, an assessment is made of the existing level of air pollution in the required region.

Conclusions about climatic and meteorological characteristics, and about the source of pollution are made, first of all, on the basis of data from the regional Roshydromet, then on the basis of data from the sanitary-epidemiological service and special analytical inspections of the State Committee for Ecology, and are also based on various literary sources.

As a result, based on the obtained estimates and data on specific emissions into the atmosphere of the projected facility, air pollution forecast calculations are made, and special computer programs are used ("ecologist", "guarantor", "ether", etc.), allowing not only to assess possible levels of air pollution, but also to obtain a map diagram of concentration fields and data on the deposition of pollutants (pollutants) on the underlying surface.

The criterion for assessing the degree of atmospheric air pollution includes maximum permissible concentrations (MPC) of pollutants. Measured and calculated concentrations of pollutants in the atmosphere can be compared with MPC values ​​and, therefore, atmospheric pollution is measured in MPC values.

At the same time, it is worth paying attention to the fact that the concentrations of pollutants in the air should not be confused with their emissions. Concentration is the mass of a substance per unit volume (or mass), and release is the weight of a substance delivered per unit of time (i.e., the “dose”). An emission cannot be a criterion for air pollution, but since air pollution depends not only on the mass of emissions, but also on other factors (meteorological parameters, height of the emission source, etc.).

Air pollution forecasts are used in other sections of the EIA to predict the influence of other factors from the impact of a polluted environment (pollution of the underlying surface, vegetation vegetation, population morbidity, etc.).

When carrying out an environmental assessment, the assessment of the state of the air basin is based on a comprehensive assessment of atmospheric air pollution in the study area, and a system of direct, indirect and indicator criteria is used. Air quality assessment (primarily the degree of pollution) is quite well developed and is based on a huge number of legislative and policy documents that use direct control methods to measure environmental parameters, as well as indirect calculation methods and assessment criteria.

Direct evaluation criteria. The main criteria for the state of atmospheric air pollution include the values ​​of maximum permissible concentrations (MPC). It should be noted that the atmosphere is also a medium for the transfer of technogenic pollutants, and it is also the most changeable and dynamic of all its abiotic components. Based on this, to assess the degree of atmospheric air pollution, time-differentiated assessment indicators are used, such as: maximum one-time MPCmr (short-term effects), average daily MPCs and average annual MPCg (for longer-term exposure).

The degree of air pollution can be assessed using the repetition and frequency of exceeding the MPC, taking into account the hazard class, as well as by summing up the biological effects of pollution (POI). The level of atmospheric pollution by substances of various hazard classes is determined by “reducing” their concentrations, normalized by MPC, to the concentrations of substances of the 3rd hazard class.

There is a division of air pollutants according to the likelihood of their adverse effects on human health, which includes 4 classes:

) first class - extremely dangerous.

) second class - highly dangerous;

) third class - - moderately dangerous;

) fourth class - slightly dangerous.

Basically, actual maximum one-time, average daily and average annual MPCs are used in comparison with the actual concentrations of pollutants in the air over the past few years, but not less than 2 years.

Also important criteria for assessing total air pollution include the value of the complex indicator (P), equal to the square root of the sum of the squares of the concentration of substances of various hazard classes, normalized by MPC, reduced to the concentration of a substance of the third hazard class.

The most common and informative indicator of air pollution is the KIZA indicator (comprehensive index of average annual air pollution). Distribution by classes of atmospheric conditions occurs in accordance with the classification of pollution levels on a four-point scale:

“normal” class - means that the level of air pollution is below the average for cities in the country;

"risk" class - equal to the average level;

"crisis" class - above average;

class "disaster" - much higher than average.

KIZA is mainly used for comparative analysis air pollution in different parts of the study area (cities, regions, etc.), as well as to assess the time trend regarding the state of air pollution.

The resource potential of the air basin of a certain territory is calculated based on its ability to disperse and remove impurities and the ratio of the actual level of pollution and the MPC value. The assessment of air dispersion capacity is determined based on the following indicators: air pollution potential (APP) and air consumption parameter (AC). These characteristics reveal the peculiarities of the formation of pollution levels depending on weather conditions, which contribute to the accumulation and removal of impurities from the air.

Atmospheric pollution potential (APP) is a complex characteristic of meteorological conditions that turn out to be unfavorable for the dispersion of pollutants in the air. Currently in Russia there are 5 classes of PZA, which are typical for urban conditions, based on the frequency of surface inversions, stagnation of weak winds and the duration of fog.

The air consumption parameter (AC) is understood as the volume of clean air that is necessary to dilute emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere to the level of average permissible concentration. This parameter is of particular importance when managing air quality if the user of natural resources has established a regime of collective responsibility (the “bubble” principle) in market conditions. Based on this parameter, the volume of emissions is established for the entire region, and only after that, enterprises located on its territory jointly identify best option ensuring the necessary volume, including through trading in pollution rights.

It is accepted that air can be considered as the initial link in the chain of pollution of the environment and objects. Often, soils and surface waters are indirect indicators of its pollution, and in some cases, on the contrary, they can be sources of secondary air pollution. Hence the need arises not only for assessing air pollution, but also for monitoring the possible consequences of the mutual influence of the atmosphere and adjacent environments, as well as obtaining an integral (mixed) assessment of the state of the air basin.

Indirect indicators for assessing air pollution include the intensity of atmospheric impurities as a result of dry deposition on the soil cover and water bodies, and also as a result of washing it out precipitation. The criterion for this assessment is the value of permissible and critical loads, which are expressed in units of fallout density, taking into account the time interval (duration) of their arrival.

The result of a comprehensive assessment of the state of air pollution is an analysis of the development of technogenic processes and an assessment of possible negative consequences in the short and long term at the local and regional levels. When analyzing the spatial characteristics and temporal dynamics of the effects of air pollution on human health and the state of the ecosystem, it is necessary to rely on the mapping method, using sets of cartographic materials that characterize the natural conditions of the region, including protected areas.

The optimal system of components of an integral (comprehensive) assessment includes:

assessment of the level of pollution from a sanitary and hygienic point of view (MPC);

assessment of the resource potential of the atmosphere (RZA and PV);

assessment of the degree of influence on certain environments (soil, vegetation and snow cover, water);

the tendency and intensity of the processes of anthropogenic development of a given natural-technical system to identify short-term and long-term effects of impact;

determination of the spatial and temporal scales of possible negative consequences of anthropogenic impact.

1.2 Types of air pollution sources

Based on the nature of the pollutant, there are 3 types of air pollution:

physical - mechanical (dust, solid particles), radioactive (radioactive radiation and isotopes, electromagnetic (various types of electromagnetic waves, including radio waves), noise (various loud sounds and low-frequency vibrations) and thermal pollution, such as emissions of warm air and etc.;

chemical - pollution with gaseous substances and aerosols. Currently, the main chemical pollutants of the atmosphere are carbon monoxide (IV), nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbons, aldehydes, heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, Cr), ammonia, atmospheric dust and radioactive isotopes;

biological pollution - as a rule, pollution of a microbial nature, such as air pollution with vegetative forms and spores of bacteria and fungi, viruses, etc. .

Natural sources of pollution are volcanic eruptions, dust storms, Forest fires, dust of cosmic origin, particles of sea salt, products of plant, animal and microbial origin. The degree of this pollution is considered as a background, little changed over a certain period of time.

Volcanic and fluid activity of the Earth is, perhaps, the most important natural process of pollution of the surface air basin. Often, large-scale volcanic eruptions lead to massive and prolonged air pollution. This can be learned from the chronicle and modern observational data (for example, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991). This is due to the fact that a huge amount of gases are instantly released into the high layers of the atmosphere. At the same time, at high altitudes they are picked up by air currents moving at high speed and quickly spread throughout the world. The duration of air pollution after large-scale volcanic eruptions can reach several years.

As a result of human economic activity, anthropogenic sources of environmental pollution are identified. They include:

Combustion of fossil fuels, accompanied by the release of 5 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually. As a result, it turns out that over 100 years the CO2 content increased by 18% (from 0.027 to 0.032%). The frequency of these emissions has increased significantly over the past three decades.

The operation of thermal power plants, as a result of which, when burning high-sulfur coals, sulfur dioxide and fuel oil are released, which leads to the appearance of acid rain.

Exhausts from modern turbojet aircraft contain nitrogen oxides and gaseous fluorocarbons from aerosols, leading to depletion of the ozone layer of the atmosphere.

Pollution with suspended particles (during grinding, packaging and loading, from the operation of boiler houses, power plants, mines).

Emissions of various gases by enterprises.

Emissions of harmful substances from processed gases simultaneously with the products of normal oxidation of hydrocarbons (carbon dioxide and water). Exhaust gases in turn include:

unburnt hydrocarbons (soot);

carbon monoxide (carbon monoxide);

oxidation products of impurities contained in fuel;

nitrogen oxides;

particulate matter;

sulfuric and carbonic acids formed by condensation of water vapor;

anti-knock and anti-knock additives and their destruction products;

radioactive emissions;

Combustion of fuel in flare furnaces. As a result, carbon monoxide is produced - one of the most common pollutants.

The combustion of fuel in boilers and vehicle engines, which is accompanied by the formation of nitrogen oxides, which causes smog. Exhaust gases mean the working fluid spent in the engine. They are products of oxidation and incomplete combustion of hydrocarbon fuels. Emissions of exhaust gases are the main reason for exceeding permissible concentrations of toxic substances and carcinogens in the air of large cities and the formation of smog, which in turn often leads to poisoning in confined spaces.

The amount of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere by cars is the mass of gas emissions and the composition of the exhaust gases.

Nitrogen oxides, which are approximately 10 times more dangerous than carbon monoxide, are highly dangerous. The share of aldehyde toxicity is low, accounting for approximately 4-5% of the total toxicity of exhaust gases. The toxicity of different hydrocarbons varies significantly. Unsaturated hydrocarbons in the presence of nitrogen dioxide are photochemically oxidized and form toxic oxygen-containing compounds, i.e. smog.

The quality of afterburning on modern catalysts is such that the share of CO after the catalyst is usually less than 0.1%.

2-benzanthracene

2,6,7-dibenzanthracene

10-dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene

In addition, when using sulfur-containing gasoline, the exhaust gases may contain sulfur oxides; when using leaded gasoline, lead (tetraethyl lead), bromine, chlorine, and their compounds. It is believed that aerosols of lead halide compounds can undergo catalytic and photochemical transformations, also forming smog.

With prolonged contact with an environment poisoned by car exhaust gases, a general weakening of the body - immunodeficiency - can occur. Also, gases themselves can cause various diseases, such as respiratory failure, sinusitis, laryngotracheitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, and lung cancer. At the same time, exhaust gases cause atherosclerosis of cerebral vessels. Various disorders of the cardiovascular system can also occur indirectly through pulmonary pathology.

The main pollutants include:

) Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas, also known as carbon monoxide. It is formed during the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels (coal, gas, oil) with a lack of oxygen and low temperature. By the way, 65% of all emissions come from transport, 21% from small consumers and the household sector, and 14% from industry. When inhaled, carbon monoxide, due to the double bond present in its molecule, forms strong complex compounds with hemoglobin in human blood and thereby blocks the flow of oxygen into the blood.

) Carbon dioxide (CO2) - or carbon dioxide - is a colorless gas with a sour odor and taste, and is a product of complete oxidation of carbon. Considered one of the greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide is non-toxic but does not support respiration. A high concentration in the air causes suffocation, as does a lack of carbon dioxide.

) Sulfur dioxide (SO2) (sulfur dioxide, sulfur dioxide) is a colorless gas with a pungent odor. It is formed during the combustion of sulfur-containing fossil fuels, usually coal, as well as during the processing of sulfur ores. It is involved in the formation of acid rain. Global SO2 emissions are estimated at 190 million tons annually. Prolonged exposure to sulfur dioxide in humans can lead first to loss of taste, difficulty breathing, and then to inflammation or swelling of the lungs, interruptions in cardiac activity, impaired circulation and respiratory arrest.

) Nitrogen oxides (nitrogen oxide and dioxide) are gaseous substances: nitrogen monoxide NO and nitrogen dioxide NO2 are combined by one general formula NOx. During all combustion processes, nitrogen oxides are formed, and a significant part of them is in the form of oxide. The higher the combustion temperature, the more intense the formation of nitrogen oxides. The next source of nitrogen oxides are enterprises that produce nitrogen fertilizers, nitric acid and nitrates, aniline dyes, and nitro compounds. The amount of nitrogen oxides that enter the atmosphere is 65 million tons annually. Of the total amount of nitrogen oxides emitted into the atmosphere, transport accounts for 55%, energy - 28%, industrial enterprises - 14%, small consumers and the household sector - 3%.

5) Ozone (O3) is a gas with a characteristic odor, a stronger oxidizing agent than oxygen. It is among the most toxic of all common pollutants. In the lower layers of the atmosphere, ozone is formed as a result of photochemical processes involving nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic compounds.

) Hydrocarbons are chemical compounds of carbon and hydrogen. They include thousands of different air pollutants found in unburned liquids, industrial solvents, and more.

) Lead (Pb) is a silver-gray metal that is toxic in all forms. Often used for the production of paints, ammunition, printing alloy, etc. Approximately 60% of global lead production is spent annually on the creation of acid batteries. At the same time, the main sources (about 80%) of air pollution with lead compounds are considered to be exhaust gases from cars using leaded gasoline. When ingested, lead accumulates in the bones, causing them to deteriorate.

) Soot falls into the category of harmful particles for the lungs. This is because particles less than five microns in diameter are not filtered in the upper respiratory tract. Diesel engine smoke, which contains a large amount of soot, is identified as particularly hazardous as its particles are known to cause cancer.

) Aldehydes are also toxic and can accumulate in the body. In addition to the general toxic effect, irritant and neurotoxic effects can be added. The effect depends on the molecular weight: the larger it is, the less irritating the effect, but the stronger the narcotic effect. It should be noted that unsaturated aldehydes are more toxic than saturated ones. Some of them have carcinogenic properties.

) Benzopyrene is considered a more classic chemical carcinogen; it is dangerous to humans even at low concentrations, as it has the property of bioaccumulation. Being chemically relatively stable, benzopyrene can migrate for a long time from one object to another. As a result, most objects and processes in the environment that do not have the ability to synthesize benzopyrene turn out to be secondary sources. Another property that benzopyrene has is its mutagenic effect.

) Industrial dusts, depending on the mechanism of their formation, can be divided into 4 classes:

mechanical dust generated by grinding the product during the technological process;

sublimates that are formed during the process of volumetric condensation of vapors of substances during cooling of gas flowing through a technological apparatus, installation or unit;

fly ash is the non-combustible fuel residues contained in flue gases in suspension and comes from its mineral impurities during combustion;

industrial soot, its composition includes solid, highly dispersed carbon, formed during incomplete combustion or thermal decomposition of hydrocarbons.

) Smog (from the English Smoky fog, - “smoke fog”) is an aerosol that consists of smoke, fog and dust. It is one of the types of air pollution in large-scale cities and industrial centers. Originally, smog meant smoke created by burning large amounts of coal (a mixture of smoke and sulfur dioxide SO2). In the 1950s, a new type of smog was introduced - photochemical smog, which is the result of mixing in the atmosphere such pollutants as: :

nitric oxide, such as nitrogen dioxide (products of combustion of fossil fuels);

tropospheric (ground-level) ozone;

volatile organic substances (vapors from gasoline, paints, solvents, pesticides and other chemicals);

nitrate peroxide.

The main air pollutants in residential areas are dust and tobacco smoke, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, radon and heavy metals, insecticides, deodorants, synthetic detergents, drug aerosols, microbes and bacteria.

air pollution atmosphere man-made

Chapter 2. Measures to improve the quality and protection of atmospheric air

1 State of atmospheric air in Russia for 2012

The atmosphere is a huge air system. The lower layer (troposphere) is 8 km thick in polar and 18 km in equatorial latitudes (80% air), the upper layer (stratosphere) is up to 55 km thick (20% air). The atmosphere is characterized by gas chemical composition, humidity, suspended matter composition, and temperature. Under normal conditions, the chemical composition of air (by volume) is as follows: nitrogen - 78.08%; oxygen - 20.95%; carbon dioxide - 0.03%; argon - 0.93%; neon, helium, krypton, hydrogen - 0.002%; ozone, methane, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide - ten thousandths of a percent.

The total amount of free oxygen in the atmosphere is 1.5 to the 10th power.

The essence of air in the Earth's ecosystems is, first of all, to provide humans, flora and fauna with vital gas elements (oxygen, carbon dioxide), as well as to protect the Earth from meteorite impacts, cosmic radiation and solar radiation.

During its existence, the airspace was influenced by the following changes:

irrevocable withdrawal of gas elements;

temporary withdrawal of gas elements;

contamination with gas impurities that destroy its composition and structure;

suspended solids pollution;

heating;

replenishment with gas elements;

self-cleaning.

Oxygen is the most important part of the atmosphere for humanity. With a lack of oxygen in the human body, compensatory phenomena develop, such as rapid breathing, accelerated blood flow, etc. Over the 60 years of people’s lives in the city, 200 grams of harmful chemicals, 16 grams of dust, 0.1 grams of metals pass through their lungs. Among the most dangerous substances, the carcinogen benzopyrene (a product of thermal decomposition of raw materials and fuel combustion), formaldehyde and phenol should be noted.

In the process of burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas, wood), intensive consumption of oxygen occurs and the air is polluted with carbon dioxide, sulfur compounds, and suspended solids. On earth, 10 billion tons of equivalent fuel are burned every year; along with organized ones, unorganized combustion processes occur: fires in everyday life, in the forest, in coal warehouses, ignition of natural gas outlets, fires in oil fields, as well as during fuel transportation. For all types of fuel combustion, for the production of metallurgical and chemical products, for additional oxidation of various wastes, from 10 to 20 billion tons of oxygen are spent every year. The increase in oxygen consumption as a result of human economic activity is no less than 10 - 16% of annual biogenic formations.

In order to ensure the combustion process in engines, road transport consumes oxygen from the atmosphere, polluting it at the same time. carbon dioxide, dust, suspended products of gasoline combustion, such as lead, sulfur dioxide, etc.). Road transport accounts for about 13% of all air pollution. To reduce these pollutants, they improve the vehicle fuel system and use electric engines running on natural gas, hydrogen or low-sulfur gasoline, reduce the use of leaded gasoline, and use catalysts and filters for exhaust gases.

According to Roshydromet, which monitors air pollution, in 2012 in 207 cities of the country with a population of 64.5 million people, the average annual concentrations of harmful substances in the atmospheric air exceeded the MPC (in 2011 - 202 cities).

In 48 cities with a population of more than 23 million people, maximum single concentrations of various harmful substances were recorded, which amounted to more than 10 MPCs (in 2011 - in 40 cities).

In 115 cities with a population of almost 50 million people, the air pollution index (API) exceeded 7. This means that the level of air pollution is very high (98 cities in 2011). The priority list of cities with the highest level of air pollution in Russia (with an air pollution index equal to or greater than 14) in 2012 included 31 cities with a population of more than 15 million people (in 2011 - cities).

In 2012, compared to the previous year, for all indicators of air pollution, the number of cities increased, and, consequently, the population, which is subject to not only high, but also increasing influence of pollutants in the air.

These changes are being made not only due to the increase in industrial emissions with increasing industrial production, but also due to the increase in automobile transport in cities, the burning of large amounts of fuel for thermal power plants, traffic congestion and continuous idling of the engine when there is no money in the car to neutralize exhaust gases. Recently, in most cities there has been a significant reduction in environmentally friendly public transport - trams and trolleybuses - due to an increase in the fleet of minibuses.

In 2012, the list of cities with the highest levels of air pollution was replenished with 10 cities - centers of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, oil and refining industries. The state of the atmosphere in cities in federal districts can be characterized as follows.

In the Central Federal District, in 35 cities, the average annual concentrations of harmful substances exceeded 1 MPC. In 16 cities with a population of 8,433 thousand people, the level of pollution was very high (IZA had a value equal to or greater than 7). In the cities of Kursk, Lipetsk and the southern part of Moscow, this indicator turned out to be overestimated (IZA? 14), and therefore this list was included in the number of cities with high levels of air pollution.

In the Northwestern Federal District, in 24 cities the average annual concentrations of harmful impurities exceeded 1 MAC, and in four cities their maximum one-time concentrations were more than 10 MAC. In 9 cities with a population of 7,181 thousand people, the level of pollution was high, and in Cherepovets it was very high.

In the Southern Federal District, in 19 cities the average annual concentrations of harmful substances in the atmospheric air exceeded 1 MAC, and in four cities their maximum one-time concentrations were more than 10 MAC. High level air pollution was in 19 cities with a population of 5,388 thousand people. Very high levels of air pollution were noted in Azov, Volgodonsk, Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don, and therefore they are classified among the cities with the most polluted air.

In the Volga Federal District in 2012, the average annual concentrations of harmful impurities in the atmospheric air exceeded 1 MAC in 41 cities. The maximum one-time concentrations of harmful substances in the atmospheric air were more than 10 MPCs in 9 cities. The level of air pollution was high in 27 cities with a population of 11,801 thousand people, very high in the city of Ufa (classified as one of the cities with the highest levels of air pollution).

In the Ural Federal District, the average annual concentrations of harmful impurities in the atmospheric air exceeded 1 MPC in 18 cities. The maximum one-time concentrations were more than 10 MPCs in 6 cities. There were high levels of air pollution in 13 cities with a population of 4,758 thousand people, and Yekaterinburg, Magnitogorsk, Kurgan and Tyumen were included in the list of cities with the highest levels of air pollution.

In the Siberian Federal District, in 47 cities the average annual concentrations of harmful impurities in the atmospheric air exceeded 1 MAC, and in 16 cities the maximum one-time concentrations were more than 10 MAC. High levels of air pollution were noted in 28 cities with a population of 9,409 people, and very high levels in the cities of Bratsk, Biysk, Zima, Irkutsk, Kemerovo, Krasnoyarsk, Novokuznetsk, Omsk, Selenginsk, Ulan-Ude, Usolye-Sibirskoye, Chita and Shelekhov. Thus, Siberian federal district in 2012, it was the leader both in the number of cities in which the average annual MPC standards were exceeded, and in the number of cities with the highest level of air pollution.

In the Far Eastern Federal District, the average annual concentrations of harmful impurities exceeded 1 MPC in 23 cities, the maximum one-time concentrations were more than 10 MPC in 9 cities. High levels of air pollution were noted in 11 cities with a population of 2,311 thousand people. The cities of Magadan, Tynda, Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk are classified as cities with the highest levels of air pollution.

In conditions of increasing industrial production volumes, mainly on morally and physically obsolete equipment in basic sectors of the economy, as well as a steadily growing number of cars, we should expect a further deterioration in the quality of atmospheric air in the cities and industrial centers of the country.

According to the joint program for monitoring and assessing the long-range transport of air pollutants in Europe, presented in 2012, in the European territory of Russia (ER), the total deposition of oxidized sulfur and nitrogen amounted to 2,038.2 thousand tons, 62.2% this amount is transboundary fallout. The total ammonia fallout in the EPR amounted to 694.5 thousand tons, of which 45.6% was transboundary fallout.

The total lead fallout in the EPR amounted to 4,194 tons, including 2,612 tons, or 62.3%, of transboundary fallout. 134.9 tons of cadmium fell in the EPR, of which 94.8 tons, or 70.2%, were the result of transboundary inputs. Mercury fallout amounted to 71.2 tons, of which 67.19 tons, or 94.4%, were transboundary releases. A significant share of the contribution to transboundary mercury pollution in Russia (almost 89%) comes from natural and anthropogenic sources located outside the European region.

Benzopyrene fallout exceeded 21 tons, of which 16 tons, or more than 75.5%, were transboundary fallouts.

Despite the measures taken to reduce emissions of harmful substances by the Parties to the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (1979), transboundary fallout of oxidized sulfur and nitrogen, lead, cadmium, mercury and benzopyrene in the European Region exceeds fallout from Russian sources.

The state of the Earth's ozone layer over the territory of the Russian Federation in 2012 turned out to be stable and very close to normal, which is quite remarkable against the backdrop of a strong decrease in the total ozone content observed in previous years.

Data from Roshydromet showed that, to date, ozone-depleting substances (chlorofluorocarbons) have not played a decisive role in the observed interannual variability in total ozone content, which occurs under the influence of natural factors.

2 Measures to reduce air pollution levels

The Law “On the Protection of Atmospheric Air” comprehensively addresses this problem. He grouped requirements developed in previous years and tested in practice. For example, the introduction of a rule prohibiting the commissioning of any production facilities (newly created or reconstructed) if during operation they become sources of pollution or other negative impacts to atmospheric air.

Further development received rules on the regulation of maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants in the airspace.

State sanitary legislation for the atmosphere has developed and established maximum permissible concentrations for a large number of chemicals, both in isolated action and for their combinations.

Hygienic standards are a state requirement for business managers. Compliance with these standards is monitored by the state sanitary supervision authorities of the Ministry of Health and the State Committee on Ecology.

Great value For the sanitary protection of the atmosphere, it is important to identify new sources of air pollution, take into account designed, constructed and reconstructed facilities that pollute the atmosphere, control over the development and implementation of master plans for cities, towns and industrial hubs regarding the location of industrial enterprises and sanitary protection zones.

The Law “On the Protection of Atmospheric Air” establishes requirements for establishing standards for maximum permissible emissions of pollutants into the airspace. These standards must be established for each stationary source of pollution, for each individual model of transport and other mobile vehicles and installations. They are determined in such a way that the totality of emissions from all sources of pollution in a certain area does not exceed the maximum permissible values ​​of pollutants in the atmosphere. Maximum permissible emissions are set taking into account maximum permissible concentrations.

The requirements of the Law regarding the use of plant protection products are important. All legislative measures constitute a system preventive measures aimed at preventing air pollution.

There are also architectural and planning measures aimed at building enterprises, planning urban developments taking into account environmental considerations, greening cities, etc. During construction, it is necessary to adhere to the rules established by law and prevent the construction of hazardous industries in urban areas. It is important to organize mass greening of cities, because green spaces absorb many harmful substances from the air and help cleanse the atmosphere.

As can be seen from practice, at present in Russia green spaces are only decreasing in quantity. Not to mention the fact that numerous “dormitory areas” built in their time do not stand up to criticism. This is due to the fact that the built-up houses are too close to each other, and the air between them is susceptible to stagnation.

The problem of rational location of the road network in cities, as well as the quality of the roads themselves, is also acute. It is no secret that the roads built in their time are definitely not suitable for the modern number of cars. To solve this problem, it is necessary to build a bypass road. This will help relieve the city center from transit heavy vehicles. Also necessary is a major reconstruction (not cosmetic repairs) of the road surface, construction of modern transport interchanges, straightening of roads, installation of sound barriers and roadside landscaping. Fortunately, despite the financial difficulties, this situation has now changed significantly, and for the better.

It is also necessary to ensure quick and clear monitoring of the air condition through a network of permanent and mobile monitoring stations. It is necessary to ensure at least minimal quality control of emissions from vehicles through special testing. It is necessary to reduce the combustion processes of various landfills, because in this case, a huge amount of harmful substances is released simultaneously with smoke.

At the same time, the Law provides not only for monitoring the implementation of its requirements, but also for liability for their violation. A special article defines the role of public organizations and citizens in the implementation of measures to protect the air environment, requiring them to actively assist government authorities in these matters, since only general public participation will help in implementing the provisions of this Law.

Enterprises whose production processes are a source of emissions of harmful and unpleasant-smelling substances into the atmosphere must be separated from residential buildings by sanitary protection zones. The sanitary protection zone for enterprises and facilities can possibly be increased if necessary and with appropriate justification, but not more than 3 times, depending on the following reasons: a) the effectiveness of the methods provided for or possible for the implementation of methods for purifying emissions into the airspace; b) lack of methods for cleaning emissions; c) placement of residential buildings, if necessary, on the leeward side of the enterprise in the area of ​​possible air pollution; d) wind rose and other unfavorable local conditions; d) construction of new, still insufficiently studied, hazardous industries.

The area of ​​sanitary protection zones for individual groups or complexes of large enterprises in the chemical, oil refining, metallurgical, engineering and other industries, as well as thermal power plants with emissions that create a high concentration of various harmful substances in the atmosphere, and which have a particularly harmful effect on health and sanitary living conditions of the population are established in each individual case by a joint decision of the Ministry of Health and the State Construction Committee of Russia.

To increase the effectiveness of sanitary protection zones, trees and shrubs, as well as herbaceous vegetation, are planted on their territory, which reduce the concentration of industrial dust and gases. In the sanitary protection zones of enterprises that significantly pollute the atmosphere with gases harmful to vegetation, it is necessary to grow the most gas-resistant trees, shrubs and grasses, taking into account the degree of aggressiveness and concentration of industrial emissions. Particularly harmful to vegetation are emissions from the chemical industry (sulfur and sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, chlorine, fluorine, ammonia, etc.), ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, and the coal industry.

Along with this, another important task is to educate the population about environmental awareness. The lack of basic environmental thinking is especially noticeable in the modern world. While in the West there are programs that help children learn the basics of environmental thinking from childhood, Russia has not yet seen significant progress in this area. Until a generation with a fully formed environmental consciousness appears in Russia, progress in understanding and preventing the environmental consequences of human activity will not be noticeable.

Conclusion

The atmosphere is the main factor determining climate and weather conditions on Earth. Atmospheric resources are of great importance in human economic activity. Air is an integral component of production processes, as well as other types of human economic activity.

Airspace is one of the most important elements of nature, being an integral part of the habitat of humans, plants and animals. These circumstances determine the need for legal regulation of social relations related to the protection of the atmosphere from various harmful chemical, physical and biological influences.

The main function of the air basin is that it is an irreplaceable source of oxygen, which is necessary for the existence of all forms of life on Earth. All functions of the atmosphere that take place in relation to flora and fauna, humans and society act as one of the important conditions for ensuring comprehensive legal regulation of air protection.

The main regulatory legal act is the Federal Law “On the Protection of Atmospheric Air”. Based on it, other acts of legislation of the Russian Federation and constituent entities of the Russian Federation have been published. They regulate the competence of state and other bodies in the field of atmospheric protection, state accounting of harmful effects on it, control, monitoring, dispute resolution and responsibility in the field of atmospheric air protection.

State administration in the field of atmospheric protection is carried out in accordance with legislation by the Government of the Russian Federation directly or through a specially authorized federal executive body in the field of atmospheric protection, as well as by state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

Bibliography

1. On environmental protection: Federal Law dated January 10, 2002 No. 7-FZ (as amended on March 12, 2014) [Electronic resource] // Collection of legislation of the Russian Federation. - 03.12.2014.- No. 27-FZ;

On the protection of atmospheric air: Federal Law of 04.05.1999 No. 96-FZ (as amended on 27.12.2009) [Electronic resource] // Collection of legislation of the Russian Federation. - 28.12.2009. - No. 52 (1 part);

On the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population: Federal Law of March 30, 1999 No. 52-FZ (as amended on December 30, 2008) [Electronic resource] // Collection of legislation of the Russian Federation. - 01/05/2009. - No. 1;

Korobkin V.I. Ecology [Text]: textbook for universities / V.I. Korobkin, L.V. Peredelsky.- Rostov n/d: Phoenix, 2011.- 373 p.

Nikolaikin N.I. Ecology [Text]: textbook for universities / N.I. Nikolaikin, N.E. Nikolaikina, O.P. Melekhova.- M.: Bustard, 2013.- 365 p.

Environmental problems: what is happening, who is to blame and what to do? / Ed. IN AND. Danilova-Danilyana. - M.: Publishing house MNEPU, 2010. - 332 p.

Environmental law: textbook / Ed. S.A. Bogolyubova.- M.: Welby, 2012.- 400 p.

Environmental Law: Textbook / Ed. O.L. Dubovik.- M.: Eksmo, 2010.- 428 p.

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Environmental pollution is a complex and multifaceted problem. However, the main thing in its modern interpretation is the possible adverse consequences for the health of both present and subsequent generations, because in a number of cases people have already violated and continue to violate some important ecological processes on which their existence depends.
Impact of the environment on the health of the urban population
Atmospheric pollution greatly affects the health of the urban population.
The most active air pollutants in our city
(Dnepropetrovsk) are industrial enterprises. The leaders among them are PD
State District Power Plant (the average amount of harmful substances emitted into the atmosphere annually is about 78,501.4 tons), OJSC Nizhnedneprovsky Pipe Rolling Plant
(6503.4 tons), PO YuMZ (938 tons), OJSC DMZ named after. Petrovsky (10124.2 tons).
Motor transport makes a significant contribution to the overall air pollution picture in the city. It accounts for more than 24% of all emissions toxic substances.
There are about 1,500 vehicle fleets on the territory of Dnepropetrovsk.
There are about 27 thousand units of state transport. There are about 123,000 cars in the personal use of citizens.
In a number of districts of the city (Ostrovsky Square, Gazeta Pravdy Avenue,
Lenin) there is an excess of the maximum permissible standards for the level of gas contamination for carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (CH).
The highest level of air pollution is observed on Ostrovsky Square, which is one of the transport interchanges of Dnepropetrovsk. One of the causes of air pollution is exhaust gases from vehicles.
To reduce the impact of road transport on the environment
Dnepropetrovsk City Ecology Department carries out work in the following areas: conversion of vehicles to compressed natural gas; improving the environmental properties of fuel by modifying it; monitoring and regulating fuel equipment for exhaust gas toxicity: converting vehicles from liquid to gaseous fuel.
Work in these areas has been carried out since 1995. Four decisions of the State Executive Committee were adopted (No. 1580 - 95; No. 442 - 96; No. 45 - 97 and No. 380 - 98)
The latest decision (No. 380 of March 19, 1998) combines all areas of the department’s activities to reduce the impact of vehicle exhaust gases on air pollution, determines the implementation procedure and priority measures.
The Department of Ecology, implementing the decision of the City Executive Committee, monitors compliance with the requirements of environmental legislation on vehicles.
Currently, there are 10 stationary air pollution monitoring posts in the city, seven of which belong to Ukrhydromet and three automated ones - SEM-City.
In 1998, the total volume of emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere compared to
decreased in 1997. For example, the Pridneprovskaya State District Power Plant, whose pollutant emissions account for 75-80% of the emissions of all enterprises in the city, reduced their volume by 7,453 tons, JSC DMZ named after Petrovsky - by 940 tons. OJSC Dneproshina - 220 tons, PA YuMZ - 72.5 tons.
Several enterprises increased emissions in 1998 compared to 1997, but the increase was insignificant: Nizhnedneprovsky Pipe Rolling Plant OJSC - by 15 tons, Dnepropetrovsk Silicate Plant OJSC - by 79.2 tons.
Changes in the volumes of emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere are associated with changes in production volumes. Measures to reduce air emissions were not carried out in the reporting year due to lack of funds. The total limit for emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere from stationary sources in Dnepropetrovsk in 1998 was 128,850 tons. The number of enterprises that pollute atmospheric air in the city is 167, received
“zero” limit - 33.
Average annual concentrations of pollutants in 1998 according to
Dnepropetrovsk exceeded the maximum permissible concentration:

For dust 2 times;

Nitrogen dioxide 2 times;

Nitric oxide 1.2 times;

Ammonia 1.8 times;

Formaldehyde 1.3 times.

Emissions of harmful substances into the atmospheric air by region (thousand tons)
| |Stationary sources |Mobile |
| | pollution | means |
| |1985 |1990 |1996 |1985 |1990 |1996 |
|Ukraine |12163.0 |9439.1 |4763.8 |6613.|6110.|1578.|
| | | | |9 |3 |5 |
|Autonomous Republic|593.2 |315.9 |61.7 |362.3|335.2|60.8 |
|Crimea | | | | | | |
|Vinnitsa |272.6 |180.2 |83.4 |281.3|248.5|67.5 |
|Volynskaya |37.3 |33.9 |15.3 |142.9|134.5|38.4 |
|Dnepropetrovsk |2688.7 |2170.1 |831.4 |273.1|358.3|66.7 |
|Donetsk |3205.2 |2539.2 |1882.6 |570.3|550.9|135.5|
|Zhytomyr |79.2 |84.8 |23.1 |205.9|192.4|52.3 |
|Transcarpathian |32.0 |38.2 |11.6 |132.9|106.3|20.4 |
|Zaporozhye |748.3 |587.5 |277.0 |305.9|299.6|67.1 |
|Ivano-Frankivsk |468.2 |403.3 |180.4 |101.1|146.2|41.7 |
|Kyiv |233.8 |219.9 |81.1 |358.2|289.2|85.7 |
|Kirovograd |252.3 |171.7 |59.5 |204.5|166.3|42.1 |
|Lugansk |1352.3 |862.3 |529.6 |174.5|308.2|78.6 |
|Lvovskaya |378.0 |271.9 |106.4 |320.7|295.4|74.7 |
|Nikolaevskaya |154.4 |98.6 |27.2 |222.5|201.7|41.7 |
|Odessa |174.8 |129.0 |36.6 |354.2|297.1|72.2 |
|Poltava |221.3 |220.7 |97.3 |324.9|279.8|99.9 |
|Rivne |117.9 |63.5 |20.4 |161.2|141.4|35.1 |
|Sumskaya |121.5 |117.8 |33.7 |183.5|179.6|52.7 |
|Ternopil |41.4 |71.6 |16.8 |183.0|148.6|37.1 |
|Kharkov |389.1 |355.9 |169.0 |434.7|318.6|108.5|
|Kherson |120.4 |74.7 |25.8 |236.9|189.1|47.0 |
|Khmelnitskaya |82.5 |125.2 |31.4 |214.6|183.4|49.8 |
|Cherkasy |147.4 |129.7 |56.6 |286.0|213.2|62.5 |
|Chernivtsi |29.3 |25.9 |7.7 |121.4|107.3|20.3 |
|Chernigovskaya |109.5 |81.6 |32.9 |186.8|174.7|55.2 |
|g. Kyiv |99.6 |54.7 |61.5 |231.3|218.3|57.0 |
|g. Sevastopol |12.8 |11.3 |3.8 |39.3 |26.5 |8.0 |

Assessment of the health risk of the urban population due to environmental pollution.
The system of medical and environmental regulation is based on the assumption that environmental pollution poses a danger to human health. The basis for this is, firstly, numerous complaints from the population living in a polluted environment about unpleasant odors, headaches, general poor health and other uncomfortable conditions; secondly, data medical statistics, indicating a tendency towards an increase in morbidity in contaminated areas; thirdly, data from special scientific studies aimed at determining the quantitative characteristics of the relationship between environmental pollution and its effect on the body (see above).
In this regard, assessing the risk to human health caused by environmental pollution is currently one of the most important medical and environmental problems. However, there is significant uncertainty in defining the concept of health risk and establishing the fact of exposure to pollutants on humans and its quantitative characteristics.
Unfortunately, the existing practice of assessing the hazard of pollution, based on comparison of quantitative indicators of impurity content (concentration) with regulatory regulations (maximum permissible concentrations, safety standards, etc.), does not reflect the true picture of the risk of deterioration in health that may be associated with the environment. This is due to the following reason.
The basis for establishing safe levels of exposure to environmental pollutants is the concept of harmful effect threshold, which postulates that for each agent that causes certain adverse effects in the body, doses exist and can be found
(concentrations) at which changes in body functions will be minimal
(threshold). The threshold of all types of action is the leading principle of domestic hygiene.
In the whole organism, processes of adaptation and restoration of biological structures are carried out, and damage develops only when the speed of destruction processes exceeds the speed of restoration and adaptation processes.
In reality, the threshold dose depends on the following factors:
- individual sensitivity of the body,
- choosing an indicator to determine it,
- sensitivity of the methods used.
Thus, different people react differently to the same influences. In addition, the individual sensitivity of each person is also subject to significant fluctuations. Thus, the same levels of environmental pollution often cause far from unambiguous reactions both in the population as a whole and in the same person. On the other hand, the higher the sensitivity of the methods, the lower the threshold. Theoretically, even a small amount of biologically active substances will react with biosubstrates and, therefore, will be active.

Any environmental factor can become pathogenic, but this requires appropriate conditions. These include: the intensity or power of the factor, the rate of increase of this power, the duration of action, the state of the body, its resistance. The body's resistance, in turn, is a variable value: it depends on heredity, age, gender, the physiological state of the body at the time of exposure to an unfavorable factor, previously suffered diseases, etc. Therefore, under the same environmental conditions, one person gets sick and the other remains healthy, or the same person gets sick in one case and not in another.
Thus, we can conclude that the study of population morbidity helps to determine the risk of the adverse effects of environmental pollution, but not fully. Medical and environmental regulation should not only ensure the prevention of the emergence of diseases among the population, but also contribute to the creation of the most comfortable living conditions.

Methodology for health risk assessment

When assessing the health risk that is caused by the quality of the environment, it is customary to proceed from the following theoretical considerations, which have been recognized by the scientific community:
the biological effect of exposure depends on the intensity of the harmful
(chemical, physical, etc.) factor acting on the human body;
intoxication is one of the phases of adaptation;
The maximum permissible level of environmental pollution is a probabilistic concept that defines an acceptable (tolerable) risk and has a preventive focus and humanistic significance.
The health risk assessment scheme consists of four main blocks:
calculation of potential (predicted) risk in accordance with the results of environmental quality assessment;
assessment of the morbidity (health) of the population in accordance with the materials of medical statistics, dispensary observations and special studies;
assessment of real health risks using statistical and expert analytical methods;
assessment of individual risk based on calculation of the accumulated dose and application of differential diagnostic methods.

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ASSESSMENT AND POTENTIAL RISK CALCULATION
1. Assessment of potentially harmful factors
Assessing the quality of the environment is impossible without comprehensive consideration of all sources that can pollute it. Traditionally, such sources are divided into two main groups:
natural (natural),
anthropogenic (related to human activity).
The first of these groups manifests its effect during natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and natural fires. At the same time, into the atmosphere, water bodies, soil, etc. a large amount of suspended substances, sulfur dioxide, etc. are released. In some cases, dangerous pollution can be created in relatively “calm” situations, for example, when radon and other dangerous natural compounds are released from the subsoil
The earth through cracks and fractures of its surface layers.
However, the greatest danger at present is posed by the second group of sources that create anthropogenic pollution. The leading place in this type of pollution belongs to industrial enterprises, thermal power plants and motor transport. These sources, directly polluting the atmosphere, water bodies, and soil, create conditions for its secondary pollution, causing the accumulation of impurities in environmental objects.
2. ANALYSIS OF MEDICAL STATISTICS DATA
Medical statistics involves carrying out a large amount of work on a national scale related to the formation of information bases on the following indicators.
Demographic indicators (fertility, mortality, infant mortality, neonatal, postnatal, perinatal mortality, life expectancy).
Fertility rates are expressed by demographic coefficients and are calculated in relation to the number of residents living in the administrative territory. The main ones are general and special fertility indicators. The general indicator gives only an approximate idea of ​​the process of population reproduction, since it is calculated in relation to the size of the entire population, while only women give birth and only at childbearing age. The fertile (fertile) age is considered to be 15-49 years. In this regard, fertility can be more objectively represented by a special indicator calculated specifically for this age.
Mortality statistics indirectly reflect the health status of the living population, characterizing the risk of death, which depends on many factors.
Mortality rates are determined by calculating mortality rates.
Mortality rates can be divided into general and specific. When calculating them, it is very important to be sure that the number of deaths used to calculate this coefficient occurs in the population for which the calculation is being made. This population group qualifies as a population at risk. The population at risk represents the average population size in a given territory during the period to which the mortality rates relate.
Infant mortality refers to the death rate of children in the first year of life. When analyzing age-specific mortality, child mortality is singled out for special analysis due to its special significance as a criterion of the social well-being of the population and as an indicator of the effectiveness of health measures. Child mortality constitutes a significant proportion of overall mortality and requires a thorough analysis of its causes. Mortality rates in the first year of life exceed mortality rates at subsequent ages, except for very old age, and significantly reduce average life expectancy.
The mortality of children in the first month of life is called neonatal and is divided into early neonatal (in the first week of life) and late neonatal. The mortality of children aged one month to one year is called postneonatal.
Perinatal mortality is the number of children stillborn and dying in the first 7 days of life (168 hours). Perinatal mortality includes antenatal, intranatal and postnatal mortality.
(mortality before the onset of labor, during childbirth and after birth, respectively).
The life expectancy is determined by compiling life tables. Life tables are a special way of expressing the mortality rate of a particular population for a given time period. Their main elements are indicators of the probability of death, calculated separately for individual years of life or age groups.
Average life expectancy is the number of years people of a given age have left to live, and average life expectancy
- this is the number of years that, on average, a given generation of those born or peers of a certain age will live, assuming that throughout their lives, mortality in each age group will be the same as it was in the year for which the calculation was made.
This procedure for determining average life expectancy is accepted in international statistical practice and in life insurance. Therefore, for different countries, average life expectancy indicators are comparable.

Morbidity: infectious and non-infectious (diseases of various organs and systems), reproductive function of the population, disability.
Population morbidity is one of the most important characteristics public health. To assess it, coefficients are used, calculated as the ratio of the number of diseases to the number of population groups in which they were identified over a certain period of time, and recalculated to the standard (100,
1000, 10,000, 100,000 people).
These coefficients reflect the probability (risk) of the occurrence of a particular disease in the population being studied.
The main indicators of population morbidity are presented in table. 2.1.
When talking about morbidity, we usually mean only new cases of diseases (primary morbidity). If it is necessary to get an idea of ​​both new cases of diseases and previously existing ones, then the morbidity index is calculated. Therefore, morbidity is a dynamic indicator, and

Table 1
Morbidity rates
|Contents |Basic term |Method |Term |
|indicators |synonyms |calculations |recommended|
| | | |th WHO |
|For the first time in my life |Primary |(q- 1000)/N |Incidence |
|diagnosed|morbidity | | |
| diseases in | (morbidity, | | |
| current | frequency again | | |
| certain | identified | | |
|period (year) |diseases) | | |
|All diseases |Prevalence |(R. 1000)/N |Prevalence |
|population, |(morbidity, | | |
| occurred for | general | | |
| certain | morbidity, | | |
| period (year) | frequency of all | | |
| (acute, | diseases) | | |
| chronic, | | | |
|new and famous| | | |
|previously) | | | |
|Diseases, |Pathological |Method |Point |
|which |prevalence |calculations that |prevalence |
| registered | (frequency | same | |
|in the population for |diseases, |in relation to| |
|certain date|identified at |appropriate| |
|(moment) |inspection, contingent |group | |
| | sick | population | |
| |certain date) | | |

Note, q is the number of newly identified diseases, P is the number of all diseases, N is the average population size. soreness - static. The morbidity may differ markedly from that of chronic diseases, but for short-term diseases the difference is negligible. When identifying causal relationships, incidence rates are considered the most appropriate. Etiological factors manifest themselves primarily through the development of the disease, so the more sensitive and dynamic the indicators, the more useful they are in studying causal relationships. To establish the influence of environment on health, incidence rates must be calculated for specific population groups so that the presence or absence of cause-and-effect relationships between the effects of specific environmental factors on the relevant population can then be determined.
It should be noted that the completeness and reliability of data on morbidity significantly depend on the method of its study.
Disability is a permanent (long-term) loss or significant limitation of ability to work. Disability, along with morbidity, is considered a medical indicator of population health. Most often, the cause of disability is a disease that, despite treatment, becomes persistent and the function of a particular organ is not restored.
Physical development: information characterizing the health of children, adolescents and adults.
The physical development of a person is understood as a complex of functional and morphological properties of the organism, which ultimately determines the reserve of its physical strength. Physical development is influenced by many endogenous and exogenous factors, which determines the frequent use of physical development assessments as integral indicators to characterize health status. Indicators of physical development, as a rule, are considered positive signs of health. However, persons with diseases, i.e. carriers of negative traits also have a certain level of physical development. Therefore, it is advisable to qualify physical development not as an independent positive indicator of health, but as a criterion that is in relationship with other indicators characterizing the quality of life of the population.
Indicators of physical development are especially important for assessing the health of those population groups whose morbidity and disability are relatively insignificant: children over 1 year old, workers in certain professions with strict professional selection. The role of physical development in the field of prevention is also determined by the fact that its condition is largely controllable - by means of regulating nutrition, work and rest patterns, motor patterns, giving up bad habits, etc.
To characterize the health of the population, other indicators of the “quality” of life or health of healthy people can be used: mental development, mental and physical performance, etc.
Analysis of medical statistics data involves a number of successive stages.
1. Assumption: identification of diseases that stand out in contrast in time or space
The study of population health and morbidity using medical statistics allows one to compare these indicators with temporal and spatial characteristics. In this case, the main goal of such a comparison can be considered to be the identification of territories that stand out in contrast in terms of mortality, morbidity, etc. A special place here is occupied by methods of electronic mapping of observation areas, which make it possible to obtain fairly visual information. Very characteristic in this regard are the recently widespread works on the creation of medical and environmental atlases. Particular attention should be paid to the reliability of the tracked information.
For example, materials from medical and preventive institutions (HCIs) are most widely used to study morbidity based on appeal. Obtaining reports from health care facilities on approved forms does not, as a rule, cause any great difficulties. These data can and should be used by interested organizations to assess the health of the population. However, it should be borne in mind that the existing system of accounting and reporting of health care facilities allows one to obtain only rough estimates of morbidity, as well as temporary disability due to diseases and injuries. Data from healthcare facilities fairly accurately reflect only the work of these institutions themselves, but not the distribution of morbidity by territory and population groups. This is due to the following circumstances.
1. Accounting and reporting of health care facilities are based on registration of negotiability. However, among the actually sick people, not all seek medical help, and the proportion of those who seek medical help depends on various reasons: severity of the disease, availability of a specific type of medical care in the nearest
Health care facilities, age and gender of patients, the nature of their work activity.
2. Along with territorial health care facilities, there are departmental and private institutions. It is extremely difficult to determine the proportion of people living in the service area of ​​health care facilities, but receiving medical care in other institutions (medical units of industrial enterprises, clinics of the Moscow Region, Ministry of Internal Affairs, etc.). In addition, double registration of the same disease in different medical institutions often occurs.
3. People living in the same territory go to different health care facilities for different diseases: clinics, dispensaries, diagnostic centers, trauma centers. In addition, specialized rooms
(eg, endocrinology, urology) often serve populations living in areas of several clinics.
4. Children and adults are served, as a rule, in different clinics; women turn to antenatal clinics for a number of diseases.
Geographically, the service areas of these three types of health care facilities overlap each other, and their boundaries usually do not coincide.
Thus, when studying morbidity based on visits to health care facilities, along with the issue of completeness and reliability of registered cases of diseases, the problem of combining data characterizing the morbidity of the population (population groups) living in a specific territory arises. It should be noted that the smaller the area in which the incidence is studied, the more difficult it is to solve this problem. Thus, relatively complete data can be obtained for the city as a whole; Data for administrative districts of the city are less reliable, and when analyzing morbidity rates by health care facility service areas, and even more so by medical districts, a study of the appeal rate even by statistical certificates allows one to obtain only purely indicative indicators.
The use of morbidity data based on the results of medical examinations makes it possible to clarify the information received in health care facilities, since in this case it becomes possible to:
1) identify diseases in the initial stages;
2) conduct a fairly complete accounting of “chronic” diseases;
3) make the results of examinations independent of the level of sanitary culture of the population, availability of medical care and other non-medical factors.
Obtaining data on morbidity by registering causes of death allows us to identify those diseases that led to sudden death, but were not identified by the first two methods (poisoning, trauma, heart attacks, strokes, etc.). The value of the method depends on specific gravity in the structure of morbidity of corresponding forms of pathology. It should be borne in mind that other diseases with a life-favorable outcome do not come to the attention of doctors who study morbidity by causes of death.
Obtaining data on morbidity using the interview method (questionnaire method) is of interest as an additional method for identifying complaints from the population and, especially, for obtaining information about environmental factors and lifestyle for the purpose of subsequent research into the relationship of these indicators with health. In many countries, this method is used quite widely due to the fact that the private nature of medicine and healthcare makes it almost impossible to analyze the true morbidity of the population based on data from visits and medical examinations.
2. Proposing hypotheses (theoretical justification for the possibility of communication with the environment)
If territories are discovered that contrast with the level of morbidity, physical development, mortality or other indicators of medical statistics, hypotheses are put forward regarding the connection of this phenomenon with the quality of the environment. In this case, scientific research data on the characteristics of the biological effect of certain impurities is used.
(see above), as well as the results of previous epidemiological studies.
Currently, an approximate list of diseases that may be associated with individual environmental factors has been developed (Table 2).

table 2

List of diseases that may be associated with environmental pollution
|Pathology |Anthropogenic environmental pollution |
|1. Diseases |1.1. Atmospheric pollution: sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, |
| systems | nitrogen oxides, sulfur compounds, hydrogen sulfide, ethylene, |
|blood circulation|propylene, butylene, fatty acid, mercury, lead, etc. |
|i |1.2. Noise |
| |1.3. Housing conditions |
| |1.4. Electromagnetic fields |
| |1.5. Composition of drinking water: nitrates, chlorides, nitrites, |
| |water hardness |
| |1.6. Biogeochemical features of the area: lack or |
| |excess in external environment calcium, magnesium, vanadium, cadmium, |
| |zinc, lithium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, barium, copper, |
| |strontium, iron |
| |1.7. Pollution with pesticides and toxic chemicals |
| |1.8. Natural and climatic conditions: rapidity of weather changes, |
| |humidity, pressure, insolation level, speed and |
| | wind direction |
|2. Diseases |2.1. Natural and climatic conditions: rapidity of weather changes, |
| nervous | humidity, pressure, temperature |
|systems and |2.2. Biogeochemical features: high mineralization |
| organs | soil and water, chrome. |
|feelings |2.3. Housing conditions |
|Mental |2.4. Atmospheric pollution: oxides of sulfur, carbon and nitrogen, |
| disorders | chromium, hydrogen sulfide, silicon dioxide, mercury, etc. |
| |2.5. Noise |
| |2.6. Electromagnetic fields |
| |2.7. Organochlorine, organophosphorus and others |
| |pesticides |
|3. Diseases |3.1. Natural and climatic conditions: rapid weather changes, |
|organs |humidity |
| breathing | 3.2. Housing conditions |
| |3.3. Atmospheric pollution: dust, sulfur and nitrogen oxides, |
| | carbon monoxide), sulfur dioxide, phenol, ammonia, |
| | hydrocarbon, silicon dioxide, chlorine, mercury, etc. |
| |3.4. Organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides |
|4. Diseases |4.1., Environmental pollution with pesticides and |
| organs | pesticides |
|digestion |4.2. Lack or excess of microelements in the external environment|
| |4.3. Housing conditions |
| |4.4. Atmospheric pollution: carbon disulfide, hydrogen sulfide, dust, |
| |nitrogen oxides, chromium, phenol, silicon dioxide, fluorine, etc. |
| |4.5. Noise |
| |4.6. Composition of drinking water, water hardness |
|5. Diseases |5.1. Biogeochemical features: deficiency or excess |
|blood and |chrome, cobalt, rare earth metals 5.2. Pollution |
| hematopoietic | atmospheric air: oxides of sulfur, carbon, nitrogen, |
|organs |hydrocarbon, hydronitrous acid, ethylene, propylene,|
| | hydrogen sulfide, etc. |
| |5.3. Electromagnetic fields |
| |5.4. Nitrites and nitrates in drinking water |
| |5.5. Environmental pollution with pesticides and |
| | pesticides |
|b. Diseases |6.1. Insolation level |
| skin and | 6.2. Lack or excess of microelements in the external environment |
| subcutaneous | |
|fiber |6.3. Air pollution |
|7. Diseases |7.1. Insolation level |
|endocrine |7.2. Excess or deficiency of lead, iodine, |
| systems, | boron, calcium, vanadium, bromine, chromium, manganese, cobalt, |
| disorder | zinc, lithium, copper, barium, strontium, iron, molybdenum |
|food, |7.3. Air pollution |
|violation |7.4. Noise |
|exchange |7.5. Electromagnetic fields |
|substances |7.6. Drinking water hardness |
|8. Congenital|8.1. Air pollution |
|anomalies |8.2. Pollution with pesticides and toxic chemicals |
| |8.3. Noise |
| |8.4. Electromagnetic fields |
|9. Diseases |9.1. Lack or excess of zinc, lead, |
| genitourinary | iodine, calcium, manganese, cobalt, copper, iron |
|organs |9.2. Atmospheric pollution: carbon disulfide, carbon dioxide, |
|9a. Pathology|hydrocarbon, hydrogen sulfide, ethylene, sulfur oxide, butylene, |
|pregnancy |amylene, carbon monoxide |
|including |9.3. Drinking water hardness |
| |9a.1. Air pollution |
| |9a.2. Electromagnetic fields |
| |9a.Z. Pollution with pesticides and toxic chemicals |
| |9a.4. Lack or excess of microelements |
|10. |10.1. Air pollution |
|Newly formed|10 2. Natural and climatic conditions: humidity, level |
| mouth, | insolation, temperature, pressure, hot winds and dust storms |
|nasopharynx, | |
|top | |
|respiratory | |
|paths, | |
|trachea, | |
| bronchi, | |
| lungs, etc. | |
|11. |11.1. Pollution with pesticides and toxic chemicals |
|Newly formed|11.2. Ambient air pollution is carcinogenic |
| organs | substances, acrolein and other photooxidants (nitrogen oxides, |
|digestion. |ozone, formaldehyde, organic peroxides) |
| |11.3. Biochemical features: deficiency or excess |
| |magnesium, manganese, cobalt, zinc, rare earth metals,|
| |copper 11.4. Composition of drinking water: chlorides, sulfates, |
| |hardness |
| | |
|12. |12.1. Ambient air pollution: carbon disulfide, |
|Newly formed|carbon dioxide, hydrocarbon, hydrogen sulfide, ethylene, |
|ia |butylene, amylene, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide |
| genitourinary | 12.2. Pollution with pesticides and toxic chemicals 12.3. |
| organs | Lack or excess of magnesium, manganese, zinc, cobalt, |
| |molybdenum, copper. |
| |12.4. Chlorides in drinking water |

As can be seen from the table presented, the same diseases can be caused or provoked by different environmental factors. In this regard, when substantiating hypotheses, special attention should be paid to comparing the incidence level with the potential risk of exposure to each of the probable factors.
3. Testing (additional samples, special studies)
Testing the hypotheses involves conducting special studies of an “epidemiological” nature. In this case, it is advisable, if possible, to conduct a number of additional studies aimed at obtaining data on the quantitative content of harmful impurities or their metabolites in the tissues and organs of victims, as well as conducting a clinical examination with specific tests.
Considering that a sufficient number of publications are devoted to the methods of epidemiological studies, we will focus on the most important points related to risk determination.
The following points are important in the methodology of epidemiological studies: design of studies, formation of experimental and control groups, observation using various tests, determination of relative risk. The study itself can be retrospective and prospective, longitudinal and cross-sectional, cohort with the formation of experimental and control groups.
A retrospective study involves the analysis of material collected over a period that has already passed, while a prospective study is carried out through direct observation. A retrospective study saves time when collecting material, allows you to clearly define an already established observation group, and find out the conditions that influenced the occurrence of a particular phenomenon. However, a retrospective study has a limited program, since it allows us to take into account only the signs that are available in the materials and documents used for the study.
A prospective study can have a program with any set of features and their combinations. In addition, there is the possibility of monitoring changes in symptoms under the influence of various factors, and the possibility of long-term observation of a group of the population.
A cross-sectional study characterizes a population at a point in time. At the same time, an examination of the entire population or individual contingents is carried out simultaneously, the clinical, physiological, psychological and other characteristics of the subjects are determined, with the identification of patients or persons with deviations in health status.
Longitudinal research involves observing the same population over time. In this case, it is possible to conduct dynamic observations of each representative of such a population and apply individualizing assessment methods.
The cohort method involves the selection of experimental and control groups, and the statistical population here consists of relatively homogeneous observation units. The main difference between the experimental and control groups is the presence and absence of harmful factors.

4. Systematization (formation of databases and tabular materials)
One of the important results of analyzing medical statistics data and applying the epidemiological research method is the determination of relative and immediate risk. Relative risk (RR) is the ratio of morbidity rates in a group of persons exposed to the influence of the factor under study to the same rates in persons not exposed to this factor (usually takes values ​​from 1 to ).
Immediate risk (HR) is the difference in morbidity rates between individuals exposed and not exposed to the factor (can take “values” from 0 to 1). The statistical nature of risk indicators determines the inevitability of the so-called errors of the first type (failure to include persons at risk for the disease in the risk group) and errors of the second type
(inclusion in the risk group of those not susceptible to the disease).
Thus, the main goal of studying the health status or morbidity of the population in a risk assessment system is to calculate the attributable risk in population groups located in significantly different environmental conditions. It is this indicator that is most appropriate to consider as the goal of this block of research, and it is this indicator that should be compared with the risk values ​​obtained in accordance with the methodology set out in clause 2.1. Databases and tabular materials resulting from the processing of medical statistics must contain information on morbidity levels, mortality and other indicators characterizing the health status of the population in the observation areas:
number of reported cases;
relative indicators (per 100, 1000, 10000 or 100,000);
relative risk values ​​in comparison with indicators for the territory selected for control or comparison;
the value of the attributable risk.

Analysis (determining connections in the environment-health system)
Obviously, the potential yaw, determined in accordance with the level of air pollution and the intensity of the impact of a number of other factors (noise, drinking water pollution, etc.), allows us to assess the likelihood of an adverse effect associated with these pollution.
In other words, the potential risk determines the maximum size of the risk group (in percentage or fractions of a unit), i.e., the number of people who could potentially experience adverse effects associated with a given environmental factor. At the same time, as shown above, the population that may show signs of the disease constitutes only a part of the risk group. An even smaller proportion are people whose exposure to air pollution can lead to death. In this regard, special attention should be paid to determining the real risk, i.e. the likelihood of an increase in morbidity, mortality and other medical and statistical indicators. To calculate it, a special analysis unit is intended in the general risk determination system.
.1. Definition of formal statistical relationships
Statistical methods for determining the relationship between environmental quality and population health indicators are given quite a lot of attention in the scientific and specialized literature. The variety of possible options does not allow us to propose a sufficiently unambiguous and rigid scheme for such research. However, according to the authors, it is most appropriate to use the following approaches.
Calculation of adverse effects (morbidity, mortality, etc.) in a risk group.

This approach is based on the calculation of the coefficient of determination (R), which is numerically equal to the square of the correlation coefficient between the potential risk (block “Environment”) and the attributable risk (block “Medical statistics”). It is generally accepted that the determination coefficient in this case shows the share of the environmental contribution to the formation of the pathology under study in the observation area. When using this approach, it should be taken into account that a reliable value of R usually occurs when the environment is one of the leading factors causing or provoking the observed pathology, and by multiplying R by the mortality rate, morbidity rate or other relative indicator, one can obtain the number of deaths, diseases and etc. caused by environmental pollution.
Factor analysis is the calculation of the contribution of various factors, including environmental ones, to the occurrence of adverse effects on public health when they are simultaneously exposed.
Unlike the previous method, in this case it is possible to assess the contribution of the environmental factor to the formation of public health in the general context of the influence of other factors, if they are also measured. Based on the resulting factor matrix, it is possible to construct a mathematical model of the level of adverse effects under the influence of the entire set of factors taken into account, which can be used in making management decisions, developing an economic strategy, forecasting morbidity, mortality, etc. Factor analysis could be preferable in general set of statistical analysis methods as giving the most accurate results, but it cannot always be applied. This is due to the fact that in this case, on the one hand, a fairly large amount of reliable initial information is required, and on the other hand, an attempt to “unsophisticatedly” complicate the mathematical model leads to what is called a “combinatorial explosion” - a massive increase in computational complexity as the dimension of the sought relationships increases. In addition, the problem of increasing method error arises, when the probable error can become commensurate with the expected result.
If we assume that the real risk should be a value characterizing the real number of additional cases of diseases caused by environmental pollution, then from the entire arsenal of available statistical methods it is most advisable to use the following.
Simplified approach.
1. The correlation coefficient (r) between the potential risk and the level of relative morbidity is determined. If it is reliable and consistent with common sense, the linear regression equation is calculated:

Morbidity = a + b Risk, where Risk is the potential risk.
As a result, the following is assessed: a - the background level of morbidity, i.e. one that does not depend on environmental pollution; b - coefficient of proportion of morbidity growth depending on the level of potential risk; for each territory, the number of additional cases of disease (per 1000 or others) is determined by multiplying b by
Risk, the results can then be summarized in tables and mapped for the purpose of zoning the observation area according to the degree of medical and environmental risk.
An approach based on the use of standardized medical and statistical data on population morbidity levels.
The difference between this approach and the previous one is that in this case standardized medical and statistical information on the level of morbidity is used. A standardized indicator is the average regional level of a particular pathology (or class), which is determined by special studies based on long-term medical and statistical observation. Sometimes, in the absence of approved (or accepted as such) standardized data, average territorial levels are used instead. For example, when comparing morbidity in city districts, its average city value is chosen as standardized data, in the service areas of a clinic or municipal medical center - the average regional value, etc. In this case, the following algorithm for calculating the real risk is proposed.
1. Tables of standardized indicators are filled out. In the absence of the latter, the determination of average territorial indicators is carried out: all cases of a particular disease (or class) in all territories for the entire population of the age group, expressed per 1000, 100,000 or 1,000,000, with the determination of error (t) and dispersion (st).
2. From the list of diseases, the researcher selects the forms or groups (classes) of interest to him.
3. For a period of time determined by the researcher (preferably for comparison with the potential risk of immediate action - the shortest possible period, for others - the longest possible) the relative
(per 1000, etc.) incidence rate for each pathology and/or class for all (or selected by the researcher for this calculation) territories.
4. The standardized (or non-territorial average) level is subtracted from the morbidity level for each selected territory, and the resulting difference is expressed in the values ​​of art. The probability of incidence deviation from the regional average value is determined using the distribution
Student's test:

|o |Probability |
|0,50 |0,383 |
|1.00 |0,682 |
|1.50 |0,866 |
|1.96 |0,950 |
|2.00 |0,954 |

5. The correlation coefficient (r) is determined between the potential risk and the probability of deviation of the morbidity level from the regional (or standardized) average. If it is reliable and consistent with common sense, the linear regression equation is calculated:
Probability of deviation = a + b Risk.
2. Assessing reliability (eliminating bias)
By assessing the reliability of the obtained statistical patterns, in addition to statistical reliability, one should, first of all, understand the cutting off of everything that does not correspond to common sense. In other words, simple statistical relationships that are not consistent with a reasonable biological explanation should be rejected. This assessment is often referred to as debiasing. There are several types (levels) of bias. Let's name some of them.
Researcher's personality. The specific tasks it solves can affect both the choice of initial information and the identification and interpretation of the resulting connections.
Availability of source information. The sample size that served as the basis for conclusions may be significantly influenced by the cost and amount of work required to obtain the initial information, the reluctance of individuals and organizations to participate in the study (for example, when interviewing cancer and other seriously ill patients), etc. This may lead to the fact that, due to organizational errors, the statistical population will not fully characterize the entire population to which the conclusions are transferred.
Impact of migration. Migration leads to a change in real dose loads associated with the influence of the factor being studied.
Other types. Associated with the specific conditions of the study.
There are various methods to eliminate bias, the main ones being the following:
randomization,
systematization,
stratification,
clustering,
multi-stage sampling, etc.
Assessing the validity of findings is the most difficult and important part of health risk assessment studies. To a large extent, the quality of the conclusions at this stage depends on the qualifications of experts and their ability to use modern knowledge on the problem under discussion.
3. Conclusions about the presence of connections in the environment-health system
Conclusions about the presence of connections in the environment-health system are usually formulated on the generally accepted principles of medical and environmental research. The following criteria exist to judge the real health risk associated with environmental pollution:
1) the coincidence of the observed effects in the population with experimental data;
2) consistency of observed effects in various groups population;
3) the plausibility of associations (simple statistical relationships that are not consistent with a reasonable biological explanation are rejected);
4) close correlation exceeding the significance of the detected differences with a probability of more than 0.99;
5) the presence of gradients in the relationship “dose - effect”, “time - effect”;
6) an increase in nonspecific morbidity among the population with an increased risk (smokers, old people, children, etc.);
7) polymorphism of lesions under the influence of chemicals;
8) uniformity of the clinical picture in the victims;
9) confirmation of contact by detecting the substance in biological media or specific allergy tests;
10) a tendency to normalize indicators after improving the situation or eliminating contact with harmful substances or factors.
The detection of more than five of the listed signs makes the connection of the detected changes with environmental conditions quite probable, and seven signs - proven.
4. Determination of individual risk
Determining individual risk is a special form of medical and environmental examination, the purpose of which is to diagnose cases of environmentally caused diseases. Unfortunately, at present, the legal basis for the state system for diagnosing these diseases has not yet been developed, and there is no approved definition of “environmentally caused disease.” For now, the main functions of identifying signs of diseases of environmental etiology are assigned to treatment and preventive institutions located in the administrative territory of the city, regardless of the form of ownership and departmental affiliation. Identification of signs of diseases is carried out when the population seeks medical help and during medical examinations. In this case, the following diagnostic stages are highlighted.
4.1. Determination of internal dose
To assess individual risk, it is important to determine the internal dose of a chemical, depending on the specific characteristics of human contact with the environment. The most accurate method for calculating the internal dose is its bioindication, i.e. laboratory quantitative determination of environmental pollutants or their metabolites in human tissues and organs. Comparison of laboratory results with existing standards allows us to determine the real internal dose of environmental load. However, for most of the most common chemical pollutants, bioindication is either impossible or difficult. Therefore, another way to determine the internal dose is calculation. One of the options for such a calculation is the use of information on the concentrations of chemicals in different zones of a person’s presence and the average time of his stay in these zones. So, for example, by conducting a survey, you can determine the average time a person spends inside a home, in a residential area, a suburban area, transport, or in a work area. Knowing the concentration of the substance, the volume of inhaled air, and the time spent in different zones, the expert can calculate the internal dose received per year, which in this case is called aerogenic load. By summing up the aerogenic loads of individual substances, it is possible to calculate the total individual aerogenic load.
Different substances have different toxicities, and therefore, for a more accurate risk assessment, it is advisable to use not just the aerogenic load in milligrams of the substance, but the magnitude of the potential risk.
4.2. Determination of biological effects (calculation of biodose)
Biodose most often means the accumulated (cumulated) amount of adverse effects caused by exposure to an ecotoxicant. In the traditional interpretation, cumulation means the summation of the effects of repeated doses of environmental pollutants, when the next dose enters the body before the effect of the previous one ends. Depending on whether the substance itself accumulates in the body, the following types of cumulation are distinguished.
Material cumulation. It is not the accumulation of the substance itself, but the participation of an ever-increasing amount of ecotoxicant in the development of the toxic process.
Functional cumulation. The final effect does not depend on the gradual accumulation of small quantities of poison, but on its repeated action on known cells of the body. The effect of small amounts of poison on cells is summed up, resulting in an accumulated effect (biodose).
Mixed cumulation. With such cumulation, both these and other effects take place. A situation is possible when a pollutant is completely eliminated from the body, but part of its molecule or metabolite becomes bound to the receptor.
There are several options for mathematical calculation of biodose. Without going into them detailed description, we note that all of them are based on the use of the following main indicators
maximum and/or average exposure concentrations;
duration of a single contact;
the proportion of a substance retained in the body during respiration;
cumulative characteristics of the impurity;
number of contacts with an impurity (exposure mode);
total duration of exposure;
body mass.
4.3. Assessing adverse effects (diagnosis)
The etiology and pathogenesis of environmentally caused conditions (discomfort, illness, death) require the use of both traditional and special methods diagnostics The following signs are grounds for suspicion of an environmental etiology of the disease:
identification in the clinical picture of characteristic symptoms that are not found in other nosological forms and are not related to the professional activities of the subject;
the group nature of non-communicable diseases in the area of ​​residence among persons not related by a common profession or place of work;
the presence of harmful or dangerous environmental factors in the area of ​​residence of the subject.
It is also necessary to take into account the possibility of developing a disease of environmental etiology after cessation of contact with a harmful factor. Diagnostic criteria for diseases of environmental etiology are:
sanitary and hygienic characteristics of the area of ​​residence;
length of residence in the area;
professional history;
general anamnesis;
taking into account nonspecific clinical signs that are also found in other nosological forms, but are pathogonic specifically for this disease;
study of the dynamics of the pathological process, taking into account both various complications and long-term consequences, and the reversibility of pathological phenomena, revealed after cessation of contact with the active agent.
Diagnosis of environmentally determined conditions is, as a rule, based on their retrospective analysis with the search for corresponding cause-and-effect relationships and the construction of probabilistic diagnostic models on their basis. At the same time, one of the important areas of research in this area should be considered the identification of factors or their combinations that cause, provoke, promote or accompany the occurrence of these conditions, which is subsequently used for the purposes of their prediction and prevention.
Such studies involve obtaining and analyzing quite voluminous and heterogeneous information. At the same time, modern medical and environmental data are characterized by rather complex relationships, as a result of which generally accepted traditional methods of statistical analysis often turn out to be insufficiently correct, since they rely on significantly simplified models of quantities and relationships between them (relationships, for example, are assumed to be linear, correlations - quadratic, etc. .). In real problems, as a rule, the connections are much more multidimensional, when the significance of a feature depends decisively on the context and the use of traditional methods for processing quantities becomes unacceptable. When performing medical and environmental studies in order to develop diagnostic rules for identifying environmentally caused diseases, it is advisable to use combined approaches based on the use of combinations of various methods.
An example of such an approach is the use of a combination of methods of mathematical logic and statistics. The initial data, on the basis of which it is supposed to develop a system of rules for diagnosing environmentally caused diseases, must contain information that relates to the conditions for the occurrence of various diseases (not only those discussed) and which would be described by logical signs. When analyzing such data, it is useful to ask three main questions.
1. What combinations of signs are typical for the group of cases in which certain diseases occurred? We will consider as characteristic those combinations that occur quite often in the group of cases describing a given disease, and never (or rarely) occur in the rest. The number of features in a characteristic combination is not limited. Note that each individual feature from their characteristic combination may not be specific in the traditional sense (i.e., it may occur equally often in the groups being compared). A feature acquires significance when participating in a characteristic combination, that is, in the context of other features included in the characteristic combination.
2. Do the characteristic combinations found allow us to reliably identify the entire group of cases of a particular disease and distinguish it from the rest?
3. Does the characteristic combination include features characterized as environmental factors?
The described approach allows us to obtain answers to all three questions, and if the answers to the second and third questions are positive, it becomes possible to construct a statistically reliable system of logical rules for diagnosing environmentally caused diseases.
Searching for combinations of features has a clear meaning only for data of the logical type, and this method works exclusively with this type of data. Therefore, before analyzing data using this method, it is necessary to transform it into a logical form. The term “combination” means a conjunction of logical features, which takes a positive value if all the features included in the conjunction also take this value. In other words, a combination of features in a case description is obvious only when all the features included in its composition are found in it.
The method assumes the implementation of the following condition: in the process of searching for combinations, a negative value is regarded not as a negation of a feature, but as a lack of information about it and is not taken into account in any way; characteristics with a negative value cannot be part of characteristic combinations.
This allows you to work with incomplete data in conditions of significant information uncertainty and helps to avoid the emergence of meaningless combinations when the absence of a feature is not informative and does not indicate anything. If the negative value of a certain attribute is nevertheless informative for solving a problem, then it is sufficient to explicitly define an additional attribute that will take on a positive value if and only if the original attribute takes on a negative value.
If we assume that reliability is an estimate of the assumption that the frequency of occurrence of a random event in a sample is equal to its probability, then reliability is determined by the number of cases in the sample and increases as the sample size increases. At the same time, the reliability of several events
(uniform estimation) is determined by the relationship between the number of events and the sample size. The difference between this approach and many other methods is that the reliability of the results does not depend on the dimension of the original feature space. It depends only on the number of characteristic combinations necessary to solve the problem: the fewer, the better.
The search for characteristic combinations involves searching through a sufficiently large volume of combinations of features, which can most successfully be done using computer technology. For this purpose, you can use both general-purpose software packages (table processors) and specialized packages (for example, Rule Maker).
4.4. Conclusions about effects and individual “health risks”
The final decision related to the diagnosis of an environmentally determined condition is made, as a rule, by a group of experts. If a person with signs of a disease of environmental etiology is identified, the medical institution sends a notification in the prescribed form to the center of state sanitary and epidemiological supervision at the patient’s place of residence. All persons with identified diseases, as well as persons who have not clearly expressed deviations from organs and systems, in the etiology of which the environmental factor plays a major role, should be monitored by appropriate specialists (therapist, neurologist, dermatovenerologist, etc.) .
The right to establish a disability group for a disease of a given etiology and determine the percentage of loss of ability to work is granted to medical and labor expert commissions. The expert opinion is the basis for the victim to file a claim for compensation for damage caused by the environmental situation.

ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
1. COST OF HEALTH RISK
In order for health risk assessment to become a management factor, it must be characterized by economic categories (price, profitability, efficiency, etc.).
Understanding how difficult it is to argue for the price of health, we propose a simplified scheme for determining it, based on the existing economic mechanisms of health care in our country.
Calculations carried out using the methods outlined in this publication allow us to determine the number of people who are at high risk of negative consequences. To do this, we need to know the impact zone, the number of people living in it and the Risk indicator. The necessary information can be obtained from: a) the system of social and hygienic monitoring, b) consolidated volumes of maximum permissible values ​​(VSV), c) inventory bureaus of the executive branch, d) statistical objects.

However, despite all the shortcomings of the proposed economic calculations, it is difficult to overestimate the importance of the risk price indicator itself - the most effective means in the risk management system. Below are some examples.
2. Risk management
Preventive sanitary supervision
According to existing rules, the project materials in the EIA section must contain information about the forecast of the impact on public health of the facility planned for construction or reconstruction. The health risk assessment system we offer will fully satisfy both the designer, the customer, and the expert. There are two options for calculating risk: a) the conditions of the existing situation, b) after the object (project) is put into operation.
The source material for predictive calculations is taken from the project itself. In principle, it is not the risk that is assessed here, but its dynamics during the implementation of the project, which is much more important in order to make a full conclusion.
If we continue economic calculations, determine the price of risk (the price of risk dynamics) and include the resulting value in the expense part of the business plan
(estimate), then if the risk associated with the object is large, the latter may turn out to be economically inappropriate (unprofitable). In this case, the “health” factor will work as an economic mechanism and will determine the final decision on the project without administrative coercive measures.
Current sanitary supervision
It would be appropriate to use a health risk assessment system to introduce a differentiated tax on land and real estate. It is obvious that the health risk of the population living in unfavorable environmental conditions is higher than in conditions of minimal exposure to environmental factors.
The different tax rates on land and, consequently, on real estate, justified in this way, make it possible, on the one hand, to compensate for the damage caused to public health by reducing taxes in environmentally unfavorable microdistricts, and on the other hand, to compensate the administration for its restraint in the development of industry and transport in microdistricts with favorable environmental conditions. In any case, the sanitary service constantly has a social order to conduct social and hygienic monitoring, calculation and assessment of risks to public health, which ultimately determines the strategy and tactics of the sanitary service.

Measures for sanitary protection of atmospheric air in populated areas

The problem of protecting the atmosphere from harmful emissions is complex and complex. Three main groups of activities can be distinguished:

Technological;

Planning;

From an economic point of view, it is cheaper to deal with harmful substances in the places of their formation - the creation of closed technological cycles, in which there would be no tail gases or exhaust gases. Application of the environmental principle rational use natural resources - maximum extraction of all useful components and waste disposal
(maximum economic effect and minimum waste polluting the environment).
This group also includes:
1) replacement of harmful substances in production with less harmful or harmless ones;
2) purification of raw materials from harmful impurities (desulfurization of fuel oil before its combustion);
3) replacement of dry methods of processing dust-producing materials with wet ones;
4) replacement of flame heating with electric heating (shaft furnaces with electric induction ones);
5) sealing processes, using hydraulic and pneumatic transport when transporting dust-producing materials;
6) replacement of intermittent processes with continuous ones.
2. Planning activities

The group of planning activities includes a set of techniques, including:

Zoning of the city territory,

Fight against natural dust,

Organization of sanitary protection zones (clarification of wind roses, landscaping of the zone)

Planning of residential areas (zoning of residential areas),

Greening populated areas.
3. Sanitary measures

Special protection measures using wastewater treatment plants:

Dry mechanical dust collectors (cyclones, multicyclones),

Filtration devices (fabrics, ceramic, metal-ceramic, etc.),

Electrostatic cleaning (electric precipitators),

Wet cleaning devices (scrubbers),

Chemical: catalytic gas purification, ozonation.

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