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The effects of pollution are not always felt immediately. Abrupt manifestations of pollution are often preceded by hidden, not immediately detectable forms. That is why timely indication of contamination is necessary at its very initial moments.
The effects of pollution are aggravated by fogs, when the concentration of mixtures in the lower layer increases, and the effect of some of them, for example, sulfur dioxide, becomes more toxic. Specific combinations of smoke and fog (smog) are especially hazardous to human health.
The consequences of water basin pollution negatively affecting agricultural production can be conditionally1 divided into two groups.
Many of the effects of environmental pollution can be detected quickly and easily, such as the black smoke from the factory chimney that spoils your Monday morning wash. Other influences are less noticeable and last longer, such as a slowdown in the growing season, changes in lichen growth patterns, and the gradual disappearance of fish from rivers. The effects of environmental pollution on human health can also be acute or chronic, ranging from a headache that occurs whenever a terrible smell comes from a factory or factory, to a number of distant manifestations, which include mental disorders, lung diseases, and crayfish. Since cancer is probably the most dangerous of these remote manifestations of pollution environment and since the World Health Organization has determined that at least 75% of human cancers are caused by environmental factors, this chapter focuses primarily on the techniques used to link certain environmental agents or substances to cancer many years later. ... These techniques are used in cancer epidemiology, but they are equally useful for the study of any other acute or chronic disease if it is assumed to be related to environmental factors.
However, the consequences of body pollution and the ingestion of a-active substances into the body can be very serious. It is shown in FIG. It consists of a fluorescent screen (ZnS), a prism-shaped light guide and a photomultiplier, which are enclosed in a light-tight housing.
It is possible to assess the consequences of ecosystem pollution and outline ways to eliminate these consequences only taking into account the above factors.
Let us consider the most typical consequences of human pollution of the atmosphere. Typical consequences are acid precipitation, greenhouse effect, ozone shield disruption, dust and aerosol pollution from large industrial centers.
Elimination of the consequences of pollution becomes necessary when neither preventive measures nor control have taken effect. This pollution control method is very expensive.
The severity of the consequences of contamination of the environment and living organisms with radionuclides depends not so much on their concentration as on the effect ionizing radiation(radiation) accompanying the decay of radioactive elements. As a dosimetric quantity characterizing the absorbed radiation energy, 1 rad is the absorbed dose (D), at which 1 kg of a substance absorbs 10 2 J of energy.
Of all the consequences of water pollution by various substances, scale is the most significant in thermal power plants.
A theoretical analysis of the consequences of environmental pollution, the study of damage assessment, including economic damage, and the creation on the basis of these studies of methodological foundations for determining the economic efficiency of investments in environmental protection measures are impossible without sufficient knowledge of the processes occurring under the influence of pollution in wildlife and objects created by man ... Economic science in the field of environmental protection is currently going through the stage of knowledge accumulation and creation information base... Information about changes in the equilibrium state of the ecological system is the foundation for constructing methods for the practical calculation of economic damage.
One of the main consequences of air pollution is the effect of pollutants on the biosphere and, above all, on human health. Air pollution can lead to mass death of animals and beneficial insects (for example, bees), cause significant damage to agricultural production, gardens and parks, slowing down the growth and development of plants, as well as the process of photosynthesis in them. Smoke in the atmospheric air causes a deterioration in the microclimate of cities: an increase in the frequency of formation of fogs and cloudy days per year, a decrease in the transparency of the atmosphere, and in this regard, a decrease in visibility and illumination. And this leads to the fact that dawn comes much later, twilight deepens earlier and there is a need for additional consumption of electricity.
To study the consequences of pollution of ground vegetation by oil and oil products, American scientists examined several areas along one of the product pipelines in Alaska.
Considering the causes and consequences of environmental pollution by human economic activities, some authors rightly note that pollution is associated not so much with the scale of human intervention as with the qualitative differences in the cycle of substances in natural ecosystems and in artificial biological systems formed by modern production. Consequently, there are two possible ways to eliminate the harmful effects on nature: the first is imitation of nature - the creation of waste-free (low-waste) technological processes (closed technologies) that utilize all (or almost all) substances harmful to the biosphere, or the second is the purification of harmful emissions. Obviously, the most promising are waste-free, closed technologies.
The problem of environmental pollution is becoming acute both due to the growth in industrial and agricultural production, and in connection with qualitative changes in production under the influence of scientific and technological progress. It should be noted that only 1-2% of the used natural resource remains in the final product, and most of it goes to waste, not assimilated by nature. Waste from industrial activities is increasingly polluting the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere of the Earth. The adaptive mechanisms of the biosphere cannot cope with the neutralization of a significant amount of harmful substances, and natural ecosystems begin to collapse.
Carbon dioxide(carbon dioxide) - one of the components of the gas composition of the atmosphere, plays an important role not only in the life of humans, plants and animals, but also in the performance by the atmosphere of the function of preventing overheating or hypothermia of the Earth's surface. Economic activity has disturbed the natural balance of CO emission and assimilation in nature, as a result of which its concentration in the atmosphere increases. From 1959 to 2000, the amount of carbon dioxide increased by 10%. Some important elements of the CO2 cycle are not yet fully understood. The relationship between its concentration in the atmosphere and the ability to retain excess heat from the Sun has not been established. However, an increase in CO2 concentration indicates a deep disturbance of the global balance in the biosphere, which, in combination with other disturbances, can have very serious consequences.
Pollution entering the oceans disturbed, first of all, the natural balance of the marine environment in the coastal zone of the continental shelf, where 99% of all marine biological resources extracted by man are concentrated. Anthropogenic pollution of this zone caused its biological productivity to decrease by 20%, and the world fishery was missing 15-20 million tons of catch. According to the UN, 50 thousand tons of pesticides, 5000 tons of mercury, 10 million tons of oil and many other pollutants are annually in the oceans.
The amount of substances that annually fall from anthropogenic sources with river runoff into the waters of the seas and oceans - iron, manganese, copper, zinc, lead, tin, arsenic, oil - exceeds the volume of these substances as a result of geological processes. The bottom of the World Ocean, including deep-sea depressions, is increasingly used for the disposal of especially dangerous toxic substances (including "obsolete" chemical warfare agents), as well as radioactive materials. For example, from 1946 to 1970 the United States buried about 90,000 containers with waste with a total radioactivity of about 100,000 curies on the country's Atlantic coast, and European countries dumped waste with a total radioactivity of 500,000 curies into the ocean. As a result of the depressurization of containers, there are cases of dangerous contamination of water and the natural environment in the places of these burials.
In the sea oil pollution has various forms. It can cover the water surface with a thin film, and during spills, the oil slick layer may initially be several centimeters long. Over time, an oil-in-water or water-in-oil emulsion forms. Later, lumps of heavy oil fraction appear, oil aggregates that are able to float on the sea surface for a long time. Various small animals are attached to floating lumps of fuel oil, which fish and baleen whales readily feed on. Together with them, they swallow oil. Some fish die from this, others are soaked through with oil and become unsuitable for human consumption due to an unpleasant smell and taste.
All components of oil are toxins for marine organisms. Oil affects the structure of the marine animal community. With oil pollution, the ratio of species changes and their diversity decreases. So, microorganisms that feed on petroleum hydrocarbons develop abundantly, and the biomass of these microorganisms is poisonous for many marine life. It has been proven that long-term chronic exposure to even small concentrations of oil is very dangerous. At the same time, the primary biological productivity of the sea gradually decreases. Oil has another unpleasant side effect. its hydrocarbons are capable of dissolving in themselves a number of other pollutants, such as pesticides, heavy metals, and together with oil they concentrate in the near-surface layer and poison it even more. The aromatic fraction of oil contains substances of a mutagenic and carcinogenic nature.
The largest amount of oil is concentrated in a thin near-surface layer sea water... It contains many organisms, this layer plays the role of a "kindergarten" for many populations. Surface oil films disrupt gas exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean. The processes of dissolution and release of oxygen, carbon dioxide, heat exchange change, the reflectivity (albedo) of sea water decreases.
Chlorinated hydrocarbons, which are widely used for the control of pests in agriculture and forestry, with vectors of infectious diseases, have been entering the oceans along with river runoff and through the atmosphere for many decades. DDT and its derivatives are found throughout the oceans, including the Arctic and Antarctic.
They dissolve easily in fats and therefore accumulate in the organs of fish, mammals, and seabirds. As xenobiotics, that is, substances of completely artificial origin, they do not have their "consumers" among microorganisms and therefore hardly decompose in natural conditions, but only accumulate in the oceans. At the same time, they are acutely toxic, affect the hematopoietic system, suppress enzymatic activity, and strongly affect heredity.
Together with river runoff, heavy metals enter the ocean, many of which have toxic properties. The total volume of river flow is 46 thousand m3 of water per year. Together with it, 2 million tons of lead, up to 20 thousand tons of cadmium, and up to 10 thousand tons of mercury enter the World Ocean. Coastal waters and inland seas have the highest pollution levels. The atmosphere also plays a significant role in the pollution of the oceans. For example, up to 30% of all mercury and 50% of lead entering the ocean is transported annually through the atmosphere.
Mercury poses a particular hazard due to its toxicity in the marine environment. Under the influence of microbiological processes, toxic inorganic mercury is converted into much more toxic organic forms of mercury. Methylated mercury compounds accumulated due to bioaccumulation in fish or shellfish pose a direct threat to human life and health.
Mercury, cadmium, lead, copper, zinc, chromium, arsenic and other heavy metals not only accumulate in marine organisms, thereby poisoning marine food, but also negatively affect the inhabitants of the sea. Accumulation factors for toxic metals, i.e. their concentration per unit weight in marine organisms in relation to seawater varies widely - from hundreds to hundreds of thousands, depending on the nature of metals and types of organism)). These coefficients show how harmful substances accumulate in fish, molluscs, crustaceans and other organisms.
The beginning of the space age gave rise to the problem of preserving the integrity of another earth shell - spacespheres(near-earth space). The penetration of man into space is not just a heroic epic, it is also a purposeful long-term policy of mastering new resources of nature and the natural environment.
The outer shell of the Earth performs a number of functions important for the life of the planet and for life on the planet, related to the maintenance of its radiation - heat balance, the course of some geophysical processes. Therefore, the preservation of natural equilibria and the original properties of the Earth's cosmosphere in the process of human penetration into it is a large, vital, general planetary task.
Space activities cover a wide range of applied areas: research natural resources Lands, environmental control, communications, navigation, meteorology, geodesy, cartography, television broadcasting, rescue of ships and aircraft in distress; technological, biological and others scientific experiments, are preparing the ground for an even more intensive, in particular industrial, use of space.
Space is increasingly becoming an arena for diverse and fruitful peaceful cooperation. Intensive research and civilian experiments are currently underway in space. All this involves the launch of a large number of space objects. In the early 1980s, more than 100 objects were launched into space a year. Currently, there are about 10-15 thousand large artificial objects and 40,000 small ones (approximately 2.5 centimeters in diameter) in the Earth's orbit.
Some of the current and future species space activities should become an object of regulation in order to exclude pollution and other forms of disruption of the natural balance in outer space. At present, international forums are discussing, in addition to the issue of non-militarization of space, such aspects of regulation as: reducing the number of satellites that have exhausted their reserves (so-called space waste), dumping all kinds of dangerous "terrestrial" waste into space, launching large rocket boosters solid fuel.
One of the most acute global problems of our time is the problem of increasing acidity. atmospheric precipitation and soil cover. Acid rain causes more than acidification groundwater e top layers pounds. Acidity with precipitation spreads over the entire soil profile and causes significant acidification of groundwater. Acid rain results from economic activity human, accompanied by the emission of oxides of sulfur, nitrogen, carbon. These oxides, entering the atmosphere, are transported over long distances, interact with water and turn into solutions of a mixture of sulfurous, sulfuric, nitrous, nitric and carbonic acids, which fall in the form of "acid rains" on land, interacting with plants, soils, and waters. The main sources of the accumulation of oxides in the atmosphere are the burning of shale, oil, coal, gas in industry, agriculture, and everyday life. Human economic activity has almost doubled the release of sulfur oxides, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide into the atmosphere. Naturally, this affected an increase in the acidity of atmospheric precipitation, surface and ground waters.
Aerosol pollution of the atmosphere. Aerosols are solid or liquid particles suspended in air. In some cases, solid components of aerosols are dangerous to organisms, and in humans they cause specific diseases. In the atmosphere, aerosol pollution is perceived as smoke, fog, if I can. The average size of aerosol particles is 1-5 microns.
The main sources of artificial aerosol air pollution are thermal power plants, which consume high-ash coal, concentration factories, metallurgical, cement, magnesite soot plants. Aerosol particles from these sources are very diverse. chemical composition... Most often, compounds of silicon, calcium and carbon are found in their composition, less often metal oxides: iron, magnesium, manganese, zinc, copper, nickel, lead, antimony, bismuth, selenium, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, molybdenum, and also asbestos. An even greater variety is characteristic of organic dust, including aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, acid salts. Bona is formed during the incineration of residual oil products, in the process of pyrolysis at oil refineries, petrochemical and other similar enterprises. Industrial dumps are constant sources of aerosol pollution - artificial embankments from overburden, formed during the extraction of minerals or from waste from processing industry enterprises, thermal power plants. Mass blasting operations are a source of dust and poisonous gases. So, as a result of one explosion of average weight (250 - 300 tons of explosives), about 2 thousand m3, conditional carbon monoxide and more than 150 tons of dust are emitted into the atmosphere. The production of cement and other building materials is also a source of dust pollution in the atmosphere.
Violation of the ozone layer. Ozone- one of the forms of existence chemical element oxygen in earthly atmosphere- its molecule consists of three oxygen atoms 03 for the formation of ozone, the preliminary formation of free oxygen atoms is necessary.
With an increase in the amount of atomic oxygen, the ozone content in the atmosphere also increases. However, with altitude, ultraviolet radiation also increases, destroys ozone faster than its formation proceeds, so the concentration of ozone in the atmosphere begins to decrease. Measurements show that ozone in the atmosphere has a layered structure and its bulk is concentrated in a layer at an altitude of 20-25 km, and starting from an altitude of 55 km, its concentration actively decreases, therefore, ozone is present in the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere.
"The ozone hole" is the phenomenon of a decrease in the total amount of ozone. A systematic decrease in the concentration of B 3 in the spring was noted by about 1.5 - 2 times. Chlorine and fluorocarbons (PCF) have been used for more than 60 years as refrigerants in refrigerators and air conditioners, propellants for aerosol mixtures, foaming agents in fire extinguishers, cleaners for electronic devices, in dry cleaning of clothes, in the production of foam plastics. The inertness of these compounds makes them hazardous to atmospheric ozone. CFCs do not decay rapidly in the troposphere (the lower atmosphere, extending from the Earth's surface to an altitude of 10 km), as happens, for example, with most nitrogen oxides, and eventually penetrate into the stratosphere, the upper boundary of which is located at an altitude of about 50 km. When CFC molecules rise to an altitude of 25 km, where the ozone concentration is maximum, they are exposed to intense exposure to ultraviolet radiation, not penetrating to lower altitudes due to the action of ozone, which screens. Ultraviolet light destroys normally stable CFC molecules, which break down into components that have a high reactivity, in particular atomic chlorine. Thus, CFCs carry chlorine from the Earth's surface through the troposphere and the lower atmosphere, where less inert chlorine compounds are destroyed, into the stratosphere, to the layer with the highest ozone concentration. It is very important that chlorine acts like a catalyst in the destruction of ozone: during the chemical process, its amount does not decrease. As a result, one chlorine atom can destroy up to 10,000 ozone molecules before being turned off and returning to the troposphere. Today, CFC emissions into the atmosphere are estimated at millions of tons, and the effects of those that have already entered the atmosphere will last for several decades.
Many countries have begun to take measures to reduce the production and use of CFCs. Since 1978 The US banned the use of CFCs in aerosols. Unfortunately, the use of CFCs in other areas has not been restricted. In September 1987, 23 leading countries of the world signed a convention in Montreal obliging them to reduce the consumption of CFCs. For use as a pro-solvent in aerosols, a substitute has already been found - propane - butane mixture. In terms of physical parameters, it is practically not inferior to freons, but, unlike them, it is flammable. The situation is more complicated with refrigeration equipment - the second largest consumer of freons. The fact is that, due to the polarity, the CFC molecules have a high heat of vaporization, which is very important for the working fluid in refrigerators and air conditioners. The best known substitute for freons today is ammonia, but it is toxic and still inferior to CFCs in physical parameters.
The use of freons continues and is still far from even stabilizing the level of CFCs in the atmosphere. So, according to the Global Monitoring of Climate Change network, in background conditions - on the shores of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and on islands, far from industrial and densely populated areas - the concentration of freons is currently growing at a rate of 5 - 9% per year. The content of photochemically active chlorine compounds in the stratosphere is currently 2-3 times higher than the level of the 1950s, before the accelerated production of freons began.
The largest ozone hole was found over Antarctica and is largely a consequence of meteorological processes. The formation of ozone is possible only in the presence of ultraviolet radiation, and during the Polar Night it is not produced. In winter, a stable vortex forms over Antarctica, preventing the flow of ozone-rich air from mid-latitudes. Therefore, by spring, even a small amount of active chlorine can cause serious damage to the ozone layer. Such a vortex is practically absent over the Arctic, therefore, in the northern hemisphere, the drop in ozone concentration is much less. Many researchers believe that polar stratospheric clouds affect the ozone depletion process. These high-altitude clouds are much more often observed over Antarctica than over the Arctic; they form in winter when, in the absence of sunlight and under conditions of meteorological isolation of Antarctica, the temperature in the stratosphere drops below -80 °
Nitrogen fertilizers are a powerful source of ozone destruction. Once in the soil, such fertilizers are sprayed, and some of the molecules get into the ground air. Further, a whole chain of processes occurs: turbulence in the surface air layer, the transfer of gas enriched with nitric oxides to low sprats, the reverse horizontal transfer of gas to higher latitudes already in the stratosphere.
Nitrogen oxides are also released into the atmosphere during the combustion of industrial fuels. According to available estimates, the amount of nitrous oxide that gets into the air with the smoke of power plants operating on conventional (non-nuclear) fuel is quite large in itself and amounts to 3-4 megatons per year, although it is not as dangerous as compared to nitrogenous fertilizers.
Many hydrogen compounds are involved in the hydrogen cycle. Hydrogen enters the atmosphere as water.
Human activities also bring water into the upper atmosphere. During the ascent of large rockets into the atmosphere, a large number of H 2 0 molecules are emitted; there is an ejection of water and during flights of stratospheric aviation.
Hydrogen enters the atmosphere as methane LPG Natural source of methane - moist forests, swamps and rice fields, where it is formed as a result of the activity of anaerobic bacteria.
American scientists have invented that it is the chlorine cycle of ozone destruction that poses the greatest real danger to the existence of the ozone layer.
The development of civilization leads to more and more emissions of chlorine compounds into the atmosphere, and freons (chlorofluorocarbons, such as CFC1 3 CF 2 Cl 2) play a leading role in this process. The growth in the production of freons continues at a tremendous pace (this is the production of refrigeration equipment, aerosols, polystyrene, etc.). their release into the atmosphere is associated with technological losses.
Two ways of ozone layer recovery have been identified: removal of ozone-depleting substances from the atmosphere and ozone production.
The first way - removing catalysts from the atmosphere - does not yet have real solutions. It was proposed to use laser irradiation of ozone layers of the atmosphere in order to dissociate freon molecules. But the slow decay of freon molecules still saves us from the accelerated destruction of the ozone layer, and only a small part of the laser energy will work to achieve the set goal, most of it will be scattered in space.
The second way is the freezing of ozone in refrigeration devices on Earth - for this it would be necessary to pass a significant fraction of the atmosphere through them.
The most realistic is the project providing for the creation of electrical discharges in the stratosphere using high-frequency radio waves. The discharge is created using fixed phased antenna arrays located on the ground. The dimensions of the required antenna are about a hundred meters, the phase control of individual elements allows for the focusing of radiation and scanning at a certain height. Power supply can be provided from nuclear power plants with a capacity of tens of MW, and the efficiency of the radio engineering part relative to the primary source can reach 80%. The mechanism of ozone formation during the discharge is plasma-chemical and thermal.
In the plasma-chemical mechanism, oxygen molecules are destroyed by electrons generated in an electric discharge.
The thermal mechanism for ozone recovery can have a significant impact on energy savings. There is an assumption about the emergence of an ozone "hole" only at t - 80 ° C. If this is so, assuming that such a temperature exists only in certain places of the "hole", it becomes possible to compensate for the ozone deficiency only in these places. Thus, there is a theoretical possibility of ozone layer recovery.
ANTHROPOGENIC ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES
Environmental pollution- an undesirable change in its properties as a result of anthropogenic intake of various substances and compounds. It leads or may lead in the future to harmful effects on the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, vegetation and animal world, on buildings, structures, materials, on the person himself. It suppresses the ability of nature to self-heal its properties.
Human pollution of the environment has a long history. The inhabitants of Ancient Rome also complained about the pollution of the waters of the Tiber River. The inhabitants of Athens and Ancient Greece worried about the pollution of the water area of the port of Piraeus. Already in the Middle Ages, environmental laws appeared.
The main source of pollution is the return to nature of that huge mass of waste that is formed in the process of production and consumption of human society. Already in 1970 they amounted to 40 billion tons, and by the end of the XX century. increased to 100 billion tons.
In this case, one should distinguish between quantitative and qualitative pollution.
Quantitative pollution of the environment arises as a result of the return into it of those substances and compounds that occur in nature in a natural state, but in much smaller quantities (for example, these are compounds of iron and other metals).
Qualitative pollution of the environment associated with the entry into it of substances and compounds unknown to nature, created primarily by the organic synthesis industry.
Pollution of the lithosphere (soil cover) occurs as a result of industrial, construction and agricultural activities. In this case, the main pollutants are metals and their compounds, fertilizers, pesticides, radioactive substances, the concentration of which leads to a change in the chemical composition of soils. The problem of household waste accumulation is becoming more and more complex; it is no coincidence that in the West, in relation to our time, the term "garbage civilization" is sometimes used.
And this is not to mention the complete destruction of the soil cover as a result, first of all, of open-pit mining, the depth of which - including in Russia - sometimes reaches 500 m and even more. The so-called badlands ("bad lands"), which have completely or almost completely lost their productivity, already occupy 1% of the land surface.
Pollution of the hydrosphere occurs primarily as a result of the discharge of industrial, agricultural and domestic wastewater into rivers, lakes and seas. By the end of the 90s. the total world volume of wastewater has approached 5 thousand km3 per year, or 25% of the "water ration" of the Earth. But since dilution of these waters requires an average of 10 times more volume pure water, in fact, they pollute a much larger volume of channel waters. It is not hard to guess that it is precisely in this, and not only in the growth of direct water intake, that is the main reason for the exacerbation of the problem of fresh water.
Many rivers are heavily polluted - the Rhine, Danube, Seine, Thames, Tiber, Mississippi. Ohio, Volga, Dnieper, Don, Dniester. Nile, Ganges, etc. Pollution of the World Ocean is also growing, the "health" of which is threatened simultaneously from the coast, from the surface, from the bottom, from rivers and the atmosphere. A huge amount of waste enters the Ocean every year. The most polluted inland and marginal seas are the Mediterranean, Northern, Irish, Baltic, Black, Azov, inland Japanese, Javan, Caribbean, as well as the Biscay, Persian, Mexican and Guinean gulfs.
The Mediterranean Sea is the largest inland sea on Earth and the cradle of several great civilizations. On its shores there are 18 countries, 130 million people live, 260 ports are located. In addition, the Mediterranean Sea is one of the main zones of world shipping: 2.5 thousand deep-sea vessels and 5 thousand coastal vessels are simultaneously located in it. 300-350 million tons of oil passes annually along its routes. As a result, this sea in the 60-70s. turned almost into the main "cesspool" of Europe.
Pollution affected not only inland seas, but also central parts oceans. The threat to deep-sea basins is growing: there have been cases of burial of toxic substances and radioactive materials in them.
But oil pollution poses a particular danger to the Ocean. As a result of oil leakage during its production, transportation and processing, from 3 to 10 million tons of oil and oil products gets into the World Ocean annually (according to various sources). Space images show that already about 1/3 of its entire surface is covered with an oily film, which reduces evaporation, inhibits the development of plankton, and limits the interaction of the Ocean with the atmosphere. Most contaminated with oil Atlantic Ocean... Motion surface waters in the Ocean leads to the spread of pollution over long distances.
Air pollution occurs as a result of the work of industry, transport, as well as various furnaces, which together annually throw billions of tons of solid and gaseous particles "into the wind". The main air pollutants are carbon monoxide (CO) and sulfur dioxide (SO 2), which are formed primarily during the combustion of mineral fuels, as well as oxides of sulfur, nitrogen, phosphorus, lead, mercury, aluminum and other metals.
Sulfur dioxide is the main source of the so-called acid rain, which is especially widespread in Europe and in North America... Acidic precipitation reduces yields, destroys forests and other vegetation, destroys life in river reservoirs, destroys buildings, and adversely affects human health.
In Scandinavia, which receives acidic precipitation mainly from Great Britain and the Federal Republic of Germany, life in 20 thousand lakes died, salmon, trout and other fish disappeared from them. In many countries Western Europe there is a catastrophic loss of forests. The same destruction of forests began in Russia. Not only living organisms, but also stone cannot withstand the effects of acid precipitation.
A particular problem is created by the increase in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2) into the atmosphere. If in the middle of the XX century. worldwide, СО 2 emission was about 6 billion tons, then at the end of the century it exceeded 25 billion tons. The main responsibility for these emissions is borne by the economically developed countries of the northern hemisphere. But in recent years, carbon emissions have also increased significantly in some developing countries due to the development of industry and especially energy. You know that such emissions threaten humanity with the so-called greenhouse effect and global warming. And the growing emission of chlorofluorocarbons (freons) has already led to the formation of huge "ozone holes" and the partial destruction of the "ozone barrier". The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 testifies to the fact that cases of radioactive contamination of the atmosphere also cannot be completely ruled out.
Basic concepts: geographic (environment) environment, ore and non-metallic minerals, ore belts, basins of minerals; structure of the world land fund, southern and northern forest belts, woodiness; hydropower potential; shelf, alternative energy sources; resource availability, natural resource potential(PRP), territorial combination of natural resources (TPSR), areas of new development, secondary resources; environmental pollution, environmental policy.
Skills and abilities: be able to characterize the natural resources of the country (region) according to the plan; use various methods of economic valuation of natural resources; to characterize the natural prerequisites for the development of industry, agriculture of the country (region) according to the plan; to give brief description allocation of the main types of natural resources, to single out the countries "leaders" and "outsiders" in terms of the provision of this or that type of natural resources; provide examples of countries that do not have rich natural resources, but have reached a high level economic development and vice versa; give examples of rational and irrational use of resources.
Pollution is the introduction into the environment or the appearance in it of new, usually not typical for it, physical, chemical, informational or biological agents, or an excess of the given time the long-term level (within the limits of extreme fluctuations) of the concentration of agents in the environment, leading to negative consequences. Pollution also leads to an increase in the total concentration of physical, chemical, informational and biological agents previously observed. In the most general view pollution is something that is in the wrong place, at the wrong time and in the wrong amount, which is natural for nature. This throws ecosystems out of balance, differs from the usually observed norm and from the level that is desirable for humans. [...]
The consequences of pollution of coastal waters are the deterioration of their sanitary and epidemiological state, loss of recreational properties, decrease in the quality of seafood and biological productivity, eutrophication of coastal shallow waters. Surge rise in sea level causes backwater in deltaic sections of river channels, pollution of estuarine parts of rivers, canals and collectors, reduces migration activity and worsens conditions for fish reproduction. With a high level of seawater pollution, processes of secondary pollution of flooded areas with phenols, oil products, etc. can occur. The accumulation of pollutants, as a rule, occurs in the area of mixing of fresh and salt waters, in coastal lagoons and along coastal zones of deposition of finely dispersed material. Bottom sediments are capable of accumulating most of the incoming pollutants. During storm surges, active mixing of water masses occurs, and part of the turbid bottom sediments falls on the shore, which increases the degree of its pollution. [...]
The consequences of water pollution. The pollution of ocean waters has led to the fact that over the past decades about a thousand species of marine animals have disappeared forever in the ocean, and the stocks of valuable species of commercial fish, crustaceans and molluscs have sharply decreased. A serious problem is the possibility of the ocean losing its stabilizing role in maintaining the balance of the modern composition of atmospheric air due to the oppression of the flora of the World Ocean, which accounts for 80% of the photosynthesis reactions taking place on the planet, more than 50% of the annual oxygen production, about 90% of the assimilation of the resulting carbon dioxide ... The role of the ocean is also important as a source of various food and industrial products. [...]
Pollution of the marine environment is a significant environmental factor affecting the vital activity of biological systems at different levels of their organization. Studying the peculiarities of functioning, diseases and pathology of aquatic organisms living in a chronically polluted environment is one of the urgent problems of ecology. Bottom invertebrate and fish species are receiving the most attention due to their wide distribution, important role in coastal biocenoses and great commercial value. Information about the health status of these animals is very important for assessing the ecological situation in water areas subjected to anthropogenic impact. At present, ecologists realize that it is impossible to fully determine the concentration of the entire spectrum of substances in the components of the marine environment by methods of physical and chemical monitoring, to study the processes of their transformation, transfer and accumulation, and even more so to predict the environmental consequences of pollution. To identify the presence and determine the degree of impact of anthropogenic pollution, methods of bioindication are being developed, which make it possible to judge the nature and strength of the effect of pollution by the responses of biological systems themselves, and methods of biomonitoring, with the help of which they control the ecological situation in marine coastal waters, the state of health of individual organisms, their populations. and coastal ecosystems in general. [...]
The severity of the consequences of contamination of the environment and living organisms with radionuclides depends not so much on their concentration as on the effect of ionizing radiation (radiation) accompanying the decay of radioactive elements. As a dosimetric quantity characterizing the absorbed radiation energy, 1 rad is the absorbed dose (O), at which 1 kg of a substance absorbs 10 2 J of energy. In SI, the unit of absorbed dose is 1 fei (1 Gy = 100 rad). [...]
DAMAGE FROM ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION - actual and potential losses National economy associated with environmental pollution, including direct and indirect impacts, as well as additional costs for the elimination of the negative consequences of pollution, as well as losses associated with the deterioration of public health, a reduction in the work period and the life of people. The emission of contaminants contributes to the corrosion of equipment and building structures, brings losses to related areas of economic activity. Energy production is the main contributor to the global anthropogenic impact on the environment. In most cases, its impact is characterized as a change in the natural level of fluxes of chemicals (methane, lead, cadmium, mercury, etc.) in the natural environment. [...]
The consequences of heavy metal pollution in various vegetative parts of plants have been investigated. The content of copper, nickel, cadmium, lead, zinc, iron, chromium, and manganese was analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Sanitary rules and norms for the quality of foodstuffs regulate the content of lead, cadmium and zinc. Samples were taken in places with different traffic intensities in the central, northern, western regions of Kirov: Diorama, Circus, Alye Parusa cultural complex, Central Department Store (TSUM), Bus Station, Central Market, Lepse plant, Trifonov neighborhood monastery. In all samples of C. carvi, the content of lead and cadmium turned out to be higher than the permissible value (1.6 and 0.12 mg / kg, respectively). The maximum cadmium content was determined in caraway shoots collected in the vicinity of " Scarlet sails”And the bus station in Kirov (5.0 mg / kg). The lead content in the shoots of caraway seeds growing near the bus station is the highest among the selected samples of this species; here the content of zinc (40.5 mg / kg) and copper (18.1 mg / kg) is overestimated. In the vicinity of the Lepse plant, a high iron content was recorded in the shoots of C. carvi (243.4 mg / kg). The maximum chromium content in C. carvi is in the Central Department Store (5.6 mg / kg). The greatest amount of manganese in shoots was found in C. carvi collected near Circus, its content was 32.5 mg / kg. [...]
So, the study of the consequences of pollution of the ground vegetation cover with drilling waste shows that at all in-na- i -puxji.iy yti £ TKäx there is only a slight reduction of the vegetation cover. Even after 15 years, less than half of the vegetation is restored. In all cases, immediately after the spill of drilling waste, especially those containing oil, the vegetation cover is almost completely destroyed. The main cause of plant death is the displacement of oxygen from the soil. [...]
The environmental consequences of acidic air pollution can be severe. Sulfur and nitrogen dioxides are the cause of the so-called "acid rain". [...]
The ecological consequences of pollution of the biosphere during technogenic accidents caused by certain ingredients are manifested mainly in its second and third phases, i.e. when pollutants are included in biomass and their biological accumulation. However, even with the spread of pollutants in various environments, i.e. during the first phase, environmental impacts often occur as well. In particular, in the process of spreading radioactive substances, even before they are included in the biomass, beta and gamma irradiation of tissues of organisms of animate and inanimate nature occurs. [...]
The experience of eliminating the consequences of pollution of the Vanta River and the success of the reintroduction of lost populations of valuable fish into it is not narrowly regional and can find application in many rivers of different latitudes, where the social and legal ground has been prepared for the implementation of specific environmental measures. [...]
The physiological effects of pollution can be adaptive. In this case, they lead to more efficient functioning of aquatic organisms in their habitat. It is known that the adaptation of enzymatic systems to organic substances new to microorganisms has led to the emergence of indicator microflora. [...]
A specific form of the consequences of pollution is the overconsumption of oxygen in the water as a result of its consumption for the oxidation of impurities, respiration of rapidly multiplying organisms (first of all, blue-green algae). A measure of the threat of eutrophication is the characteristics of oxygen consumption in both waste and natural waters. These are called chemical and biochemical oxygen demand (COD and BOD). These issues are considered in detail in special courses, and we restrict ourselves here only to their normative definitions necessary for further consideration of some issues related to ecology. [...]
A theoretical analysis of the consequences of environmental pollution, the study of damage assessment, including economic damage, and the creation on the basis of these studies of methodological foundations for determining the economic efficiency of investments in environmental protection measures are impossible without sufficient knowledge of the processes occurring under the influence of pollution in wildlife and objects created by man ... Economic science in the field of environmental protection is currently going through the stage of accumulating knowledge and creating an information base. Information on changes in the equilibrium state of the ecological system is the foundation for the construction of methods for the practical calculation of economic damage. [...]
Vronsky V.A. Environmental consequences of air pollution // Geography in school. - 1991 (a). - No. 2. - P. 9-13. [...]
At present, the nature and consequences of pollution of natural environment objects during drilling of wells are practically not studied. The available individual publications of domestic and foreign authors do not cover the entirety of the problem; in a number of cases, the studies are superficial, descriptive, differ either by the incompleteness and lack of specificity of developments, or do not solve individual particular issues. Also, the depth theoretical studies lags behind modern requirements dictated by the current pace and volume of drilling operations. [...]
Lake Erie (USA) is a typical example of the harmful effects of industrial pollution of water bodies. This huge lake was the water resource of several cities with a population of 13 million, fishing flourished on it. [...]
All these different in nature effects of pollution will be discussed in more detail in the relevant sections. [...]
One of the most costly consequences of atmospheric pollution with sulfur dioxide is the acceleration of metal corrosion. This effect is determined by the costs not only for the repair or replacement of destroyed units, but also for anti-corrosion treatment. A significant part of the costs is usually associated with the corrosion of iron and its alloys, however, in the presence of D02, corrosion is observed and other important metals used in atmospheric conditions, -2n, Cu and A1. [...]
Let us consider the most typical consequences of human pollution of the atmosphere. Typical consequences are acid precipitation, greenhouse effect, ozone shield disruption, dust and aerosol pollution from large industrial centers. [...]
The following negative consequences of soil pollution with pesticides are noted: the possibility of intoxication of humans and animals; violation of the composition of populations of biocenoses and suppression of useful fauna; the emergence of pest populations resistant to pesticides; changes in the biological activity of soils, etc. [...]
Antipenko E.N., Kogut N.H. Genetic consequences of environmental pollution and prospects for their prevention. [...]
In this regard, it should be noted that oil pollution differs from many other anthropogenic impacts in that it gives not a gradual, but, as a rule, a salvo load on the environment, causing a quick response. In predicting the consequences of such pollution, it is not always possible to say with certainty whether the ecosystem will return to a stable state or will be irreversibly degraded. Therefore, in all measures related to the elimination of the consequences of pollution and the restoration of damaged ecosystems, it is necessary to proceed from the main principle: not to cause more damage to the ecosystem, even the one that has already been done. [...]
The main tasks of the monitoring of contaminated soils being created are to register the level of soil contamination and changes in their chemical composition, to determine trends in the chemical composition of soil over time, to assess the environmental consequences of pollution (the latter also applies to mechanically damaged, uncontaminated soils) on the basis of biodiagnostics. [...]
In the opinion of Russian environmental economists, damage from environmental pollution in this case should be understood as additional costs arising in society due to environmental pollution. If these costs are taken into account in full, then payments for environmental pollution, as it were, perform compensatory functions. They should be spent on full compensation for all consequences of pollution - restoration of the lost quality of the habitat, payment of compensation to affected recipients. In such a situation, polluting enterprises bear full economic responsibility for neutralizing the effects of pollution. [...]
Economic damage Y is equal to the cost of compensating for the consequences of air pollution, rubles / year. [...]
In 1897-1899. GV Khlopin studied the causes and consequences of pollution of the river. Volga with oil and together with his students conducted a large number of laboratory studies, which, even now, are not devoid of practical importance. [...]
When considering such a vast problem as the consequences of atmospheric air pollution, it is necessary to take into account numerous aspects, among which the following can be distinguished: a) harmful effects on human and animal health; b) harmful effects on plant growth; c) damage to objects used by humans (through pollution, increased corrosion, etc.); d) interfering or even causing damage as a result of some emissions certain industries industry; e) unpleasant sensations caused by the appearance of thick and sometimes harmful fog and smoke, which traps the sun's rays, etc. All these issues are the subjects of special studies that clarify the exact nature of the damage inflicted, their prevalence, mechanism and degree of intensity. [... ]
The atmosphere, like other spheres of the Earth, is polluted with all the ensuing consequences, both natural (weathering, volcanoes) and anthropogenic pollutants (accidents of reactors, technology, mining, industry, energy, transport, everyday life). The consequences of atmospheric pollution include the destruction of the ozone layer (its destruction by 50% increases ultraviolet radiation and 10 times the temperature). [...]
At present, it is extremely important to prevent and eliminate the consequences of environmental pollution, which are carried out, among other things, by conducting an environmental examination of pre-design, design and regulatory documentation. [...]
In 1968, a meeting of environmental scientists took place in Paris, at which the question of the consequences of environmental pollution and the responsibility of science, industry and politics for the state of the biosphere was raised for the first time. The UN conference in Stockholm (Sweden) in 1972 adopted a declaration containing 26 principles that should guide all states in their activities aimed at nature conservation and rational use of natural resources. This conference established World Environment Day, which is celebrated annually on June 5. [...]
Mottgoriig - information system for observation and analysis of the state of the natural environment; first of all, the level of its pollution and the effects caused by them in the biosphere, as well as forecasting the consequences of pollution. [...]
At the same time, the well-known concepts make it possible to generalize and systematize the available data on the nature and consequences of environmental pollution caused by drilling processes. [...]
The successes achieved in a number of countries for last years, give reason to believe that the assumptions about the threat of an ecological crisis and the catastrophic consequences of biosphere pollution for the fate of mankind are sharply exaggerated. However, the protection and well-being of nature requires vigorous efforts by the governments and peoples of all countries. The health of peoples must be actively protected, and one of the front lines of this protection are cities, where large masses of people are concentrated and the main polluters of the external environment are formed. Human health is considered as a state of maximum balance with the natural and social environment (G. I. Tsaregorodtsev, E. Apostolov, 1975). Consequently, the state of these environments must meet the high requirements for the optimal life of the human body. [...]
In fig. 46 the object of the study is the water supply and spillway system, and the subject is the formation of waste waters, their purification (neutralization) and dilution by the waters of the reservoir, as well as the consequences of water pollution in the biocenosis and ecotope. [...]
The third stage of engineering and environmental studies consists in examining the zone of influence of production on the natural and human environment. The purpose of this stage is to determine the consequences of pollution of the components of communities of noobiogeocenoses with harmful substances of noocenoses. [...]
As part of bioscological (sanitary and hygienic) monitoring, much attention is paid to observing the growth of birth defects in human populations and the dynamics of the genetic consequences of biosphere pollution, primarily by mutagens. It is difficult to overestimate their ecological danger, for, as D. P. Nikitin and Yu. V; Novikov (1980), “mutagens affect the most precious thing created by the evolution of living matter - the human genetic program, as well as the gene pools of populations of all kinds of animals, plants, bacteria and viruses inhabiting the biosphere.” [...]
The third stage is a theoretical and economic assessment of environmental damage in several ways: determining the amount of losses of material and labor resources by calculating the costs of measures to eliminate the consequences of pollution; determination of the amount of losses, damage, negative changes; determination of the amount of losses, damage, negative changes based on the analysis of the effective demand of the population (in accordance with special sociological studies, the population is polled about their willingness to pay a certain amount of money for improving the landscape, cleanliness of the air basin, water quality, etc.). [...]
Insurance authorities say the demand for more comprehensive environmental insurance coverage has mainly come from European firms in industries with a higher risk of pollution. But even when an enterprise interested in carrying out this insurance tried to conclude an insurance contract (as, for example, in the Netherlands), it was forced to refuse it. due to high rates and insurers' requirements to strictly adhere to the risks stipulated by the insurance contract. It is still difficult to judge how other enterprises feel about this - whether or not they have realized the degree of their exposure to risk or simply ignore the consequences of pollution because of their low probability. In this regard, two leading brokerage firms in London tried to find out the opinion of policyholders. It turned out that mainly their clients want to acquire not so much an insurance contract for liability for damage caused to the environment, but for damage caused as a result of pollution to their own property of the enterprise. [...]
Finally, it is necessary to emphasize the fact that the role of law, its potential are not unlimited. No matter what laws are adopted, no matter how well the governing structures and their activities are organized, the irreversible consequences of environmental pollution cannot be eliminated. It is inconceivable to sue for compensation for all past environmental damage, to ensure full environmental protection in military conflicts, to envisage all consequences in the environmental impact standards. This is a very important point, often underestimated by lawyers, according to their mentality, consciousness and modus operandi, law is a panacea, a blessing and the highest value. We have to reckon with the limitations imposed by the real situation - its political, economic and other features in this moment, and in relation to environmental law - and the characteristics (indicators) of the environmental situation in a given state, region. There is no question here of abandoning the application of legal prescriptions, neglecting the principles of environmental law, under the influence of the moment, on the contrary, they must be observed to the maximum. But at the same time, in expectation of positive effects, one should take into account the real reality and the strength of the obstacles that reduce the potential of environmental law and negatively affect the functioning of individual links of its mechanism. [...]
The protection of water bodies is associated with the solution of many problems and therefore has a complex multi-sectoral nature. One of the important problems is the rational use of water resources, prevention and elimination of the consequences of water pollution. [...]
Environmental auditing is carried out, as a rule, at the initiative of the polluter itself. A feature of the environmental audit is that it is not carried out for punishment, its task is to search for opportunities to avoid the negative consequences of pollution with hazardous substances, which can result in a polluted enterprise not only losing part of the profit, but sometimes also closing it. [...]
It has been repeatedly noted that such non-degradable substances can biologically concentrate as they enter the food cycle and can react with others. chemicals forming sustainable end products. It should also be recalled that if pollution enters the hydrosphere, then the only possible way to remove it depends on natural systems. But nature cannot cope with non-degradable materials, so it is imperative that the possible consequences of pollution be investigated before the discharge of pollution is allowed. [...]
The objects of study of the functional structure of natural industrial systems in Fig. 45 is the zone of influence of the waste dump, which determines the existence of a natural-industrial system, and the subject of research is the process of blowing dust from the waste dump, its spread in the atmosphere and the consequences of contamination of all components of the system with this dust. [...]
As already noted, hazardous substances under environmental conditions undergo chemical, physicochemical and other transformations. Under the influence of specific landscape-geochemical conditions, in one case, they can persist for a long time and accumulate, in the other, they can quickly collapse and be removed from the system under consideration. At the same time, the key role in determining the nature and danger of long-term environmental consequences of environmental pollution with hazardous chemicals is played by the rate of self-cleaning of territories, and in relation to soils - the persistence of a hazardous substance, which characterizes the time of its destruction or removal from the soil under the influence of processes of various nature. [...]
In our time, all the living nature of the planet is involved in human activity, in the very life support of human society. This state of affairs conceals another major priority of modern environmental education, to which special attention should be paid. The fact is that the impoverishment of the gene pool, the irrecoverable loss of animal species and flora destroy wildlife gradually. And this destruction is not so obvious, it doesn’t seem to concern us. If, say, the consequences of pollution of water bodies with industrial wastes are completely obvious, then this allows us to consider this topic already in elementary school. It is more difficult to understand that the purity of natural waters, the gas composition of the atmosphere, the processing of household and industrial waste, their return to the biological circulation system, the restoration of disturbed biosphere communities are provided by living organisms. Inclusion in educational process the idea that the main condition for the effectiveness of these processes is the diversity of life forms is very difficult, requiring a high ideological level and pedagogical skill, but an absolutely necessary task of modern environmental education. [...]
Federal Law No. 96-FZ of May 4, 1999 "On the Protection of Atmospheric Air" 1 replaced the last of the existing acts of environmental legislation of the Soviet period. It is quite complex both in structure (consists of nine chapters, 34 articles) and in content, regulating the protection of a vital component of the environment, an integral part of the human, plant and animal habitat - atmospheric air. Chapter I "General Provisions" consists of only two articles, but contains important norms - definitions of the basic concepts: air itself, harmful substances, pollution and transboundary pollution, maximum permissible levels of harmful effects, loads, emissions, temporarily agreed emissions, etc. Chapter II regulates management issues in this area, establishing its principles, in particular, preventing irreversible consequences of atmospheric air pollution for the environment; mandatory state regulation of emissions of harmful substances and the provision of harmful physical influences; publicity, completeness and reliability of information on the state of atmospheric air, its pollution, etc., as well as the powers of environmental management bodies. [...]
Risk transfer is usually carried out in the form of insurance of one's own possible losses from adverse events or liability to third parties for damage caused to them, for example, as a result of an industrial accident or any other actions that led to a deterioration in the quality of the environment and related losses at other facilities ... There is a special sub-sector of insurance - environmental insurance and insurance in the field of environmental management, which deals specifically with the insurance of losses and losses caused by environmental degradation and changes (deterioration) in environmental management conditions. Compensation for damage caused by the deterioration of the quality of the environment implies compensation for losses to a third party if this deterioration occurred due to the fault of the object in question. Such compensation often includes the costs of eliminating the consequences of pollution (cleaning water bodies, restoring forest plantations, landscapes, etc.). [...]
Deep-sea bottom drilling is carried out from the vessel, held in one point with the help of spinning propellers controlled by a computer using satellite navigation data. As a result of drilling, there is a local (in a circle with a radius of several tens of centimeters) disruption of the bottom continuity to a depth of 1 000 m or more. Drilling fluid components are pumped into the well from the vessel to facilitate the drilling process. Various hydrothermal solutions penetrate to the bottom surface from the depth of the well. The process of lowering and lifting a string of metal drill pipes and geophysical instruments for conducting downhole geophysical surveys leads to forced circulation of fluid inside and at the wellhead, contributing to the additional penetration of foreign impurities into the bottom layer. The bottom of a well can penetrate into oil, gas (or other kinds) accumulations, which, due to the lower density along the well, will reach the bottom and will contribute to pollution not only of the bottom, but also of the entire water column, including the sea surface, for many kilometers around. These circumstances are critical factors environmental pollution. The issues of eliminating the consequences of environmental pollution when drilling wells in the sea at great depths are underdeveloped. Their solution is often determined by the technical capabilities of a person's work at depth.
A person is inextricably linked with the environment that surrounds him. Pollution is a global problem. In connection with the development of industry, transport and scientific and technological progress, human intervention in the environment has become more significant. This sometimes leads to disastrous consequences. The decision takes place on the highest level... But even in this case, it is not possible to control this process.
The most damaging effect is chemical pollution. They are released into the atmosphere in huge quantities. industrial enterprises, boiler houses and other organizations. In addition, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air has increased, which can lead to an increase in temperature on the planet. This can be attributed to global problem humanity.
The oil refining industry is causing great harm to the oceans. Waste from this area is released into the environment and can cause disruption in the exchange of water and gases between the atmosphere and the hydrosphere.
Agriculture also harms nature. Pesticides, getting into the soil, destroy its structure, and, as a result, the ecological system is destroyed. All these factors are the main reasons for the pollution of the environment.
There is also biological pollution of the environment. In this case, the destruction of the ecological system characteristic of each separate region occurs. Atypical and bacteria appear in it, which negatively and even destructively affect the entire system. The cause of biological pollution is the release of industrial waste into nearby water bodies, landfills, irrigation measures, and sewerage. It is from there that destructive microorganisms penetrate into the soil, and then into underground waters.
Mankind, engaged in new biotechnologies and experiments at the genetic level, can cause irreparable harm to nature and all living organisms. Neglect of basic safety rules leads to the release of hazardous substances and microorganisms into nature. In this case, the gene pool of humanity may suffer.
The environment is one of the most dangerous. The consequences of such a catastrophe can become irreparable. As a result, the radioactive background, which is natural for the atmosphere, increases. This happens at the time of accidents at facilities with increased danger, as a result of coal mining (during explosions of deposits). And again a person becomes the initiator of these phenomena.
The development of science has led to the discovery of new sources of radiation, which are created artificially. This has become a potential threat to the entire world. The possibilities of such sources are much greater than natural ones, to which the environment has adapted.
The increase was the result of the use of some technical and scientific developments (X-rays, medical diagnostic devices, etc.). Development of new deposits and the extraction of certain minerals can also be called the reason. Reactions with the use of radioactive substances lead to a disturbance in the general background. Use and production nuclear weapons became a problem for the entire world community.
Thus, pollution of the environment occurs through the fault of people. To prevent a catastrophe, you should be more careful with nature.
