Ecology pollution of nature. Large-scale problems of our time: pollution of our environment

Environmental pollution is a global problem of our time, which is regularly discussed in the news and scientific circles. Many international organizations have been created to combat the deterioration of natural conditions. Scientists have long sounded the alarm about the inevitability of an environmental catastrophe in the very near future.

At the moment, much is known about environmental pollution - a large number of scientific papers and books have been written, numerous studies have been carried out. But in solving the problem, mankind has advanced very little. Pollution of nature still remains an important and urgent issue, the postponement of which can be tragic.

History of biosphere pollution

In connection with the intensive industrialization of society, environmental pollution has become especially aggravated in recent decades. However, despite this fact, natural pollution is one of the most ancient problems in human history. Even in the era of primitive life, people began to barbarously destroy forests, exterminate animals and change the landscape of the earth to expand the territory of residence and obtain valuable resources.

Even then, this led to climate change and other environmental problems. The growth of the planet's population and the progress of civilizations was accompanied by increased mining, drainage of water bodies, as well as chemical pollution of the biosphere. The Industrial Revolution marked not only a new era in society, but also a new wave of pollution.

With the development of science and technology, scientists have received tools that make it possible to accurately and thoroughly analyze the ecological state of the planet. Weather reports, monitoring of the chemical composition of air, water and soil, satellite data, as well as smoking pipes everywhere and oil slicks on the water, indicate that the problem is rapidly aggravating with the expansion of the technosphere. No wonder the appearance of man is called the main ecological catastrophe.

Classification of nature pollution

There are several classifications of environmental pollution based on their source, direction, and other factors.

So, the following types of environmental pollution are distinguished:

Biological - the source of pollution is living organisms, it can occur due to natural causes or as a result of anthropogenic activities.
Physical - leads to a change in the corresponding characteristics of the environment. Physical pollution includes thermal, radiation, noise and others.
Chemical - an increase in the content of substances or their penetration into the environment. Leads to a change in the normal chemical composition of resources.
Mechanical - pollution of the biosphere with garbage.

In fact, one type of pollution may be accompanied by another or several at once.

The gaseous shell of the planet is an integral participant in natural processes, determines the thermal background and climate of the Earth, protects against harmful cosmic radiation, and affects relief formation.

The composition of the atmosphere has changed throughout the historical development of the planet. The current situation is such that part of the volume of the gas envelope is determined by human economic activity. The composition of the air is heterogeneous and differs depending on the geographical location - in industrial areas and large cities, a high level of harmful impurities.

The main sources of chemical pollution of the atmosphere:

chemical plants;
enterprises of the fuel and energy complex;
transport.

These pollutants cause heavy metals such as lead, mercury, chromium, and copper to be present in the atmosphere. They are permanent components of the air in industrial areas.

Modern power plants emit hundreds of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every day, as well as soot, dust and ash.

The increase in the number of cars in settlements has led to an increase in the concentration of a number of harmful gases in the air, which are part of the engine exhaust. Anti-knock additives added to vehicle fuels release large amounts of lead. Cars produce dust and ash, which pollute not only the air, but also the soil, settling on the ground.

The atmosphere is also polluted by very toxic gases emitted by the chemical industry. Wastes from chemical plants, such as nitrogen and sulfur oxides, are the cause of acid rain and are capable of reacting with biosphere components to form other hazardous derivatives.

As a result of human activities, forest fires regularly occur, during which huge amounts of carbon dioxide are released.

Soil is a thin layer of the lithosphere, formed as a result of natural factors, in which most of the exchange processes between living and non-living systems take place.

Due to the extraction of natural resources, mining, the construction of buildings, roads and airfields, large-scale areas of soil are being destroyed.

Irrational human economic activity has caused the degradation of the fertile layer of the earth. Its natural chemical composition changes, mechanical pollution occurs. The intensive development of agriculture leads to significant losses of land. Frequent plowing makes them vulnerable to flooding, salinization and winds, which cause soil erosion.

The abundant use of fertilizers, insecticides, and chemical poisons to kill pests and clear weeds leads to the ingress of toxic compounds that are unnatural for it into the soil. As a result of anthropogenic activity, chemical pollution of lands by heavy metals and their derivatives occurs. The main harmful element is lead, as well as its compounds. When processing lead ores, about 30 kilograms of metal is thrown out from each ton. Automobile exhaust containing a large amount of this metal settles in the soil, poisoning the organisms living in it. Drains of liquid waste from mines contaminate the earth with zinc, copper and other metals.

Power plants, radioactive fallout from nuclear explosions, research centers for the study of atomic energy cause radioactive isotopes to enter the soil, which then enter the human body with food.

The reserves of metals concentrated in the bowels of the earth are dissipated as a result of human production activity. Then they concentrate in the topsoil. In ancient times, man used 18 elements from the earth's crust, and today - all known.

Today, the water shell of the earth is much more polluted than one can imagine. Oil slicks and bottles floating on the surface are just what you can see. A significant part of the pollutants is in a dissolved state.

Water damage can occur naturally. As a result of mudflows and floods, magnesium is washed out of the mainland soil, which enters water bodies and harms fish. As a result of chemical transformations, aluminum penetrates into fresh water. But natural pollution is negligible compared to anthropogenic pollution. Through the fault of man, the following fall into the water:

surface-active compounds;
pesticides;
phosphates, nitrates and other salts;
medicines;
oil products;
radioactive isotopes.

The sources of these pollutants are farms, fisheries, oil platforms, power plants, chemical industries, and sewage.

Acid rain, which is also the result of human activity, dissolves the soil, washing away heavy metals.

In addition to chemical pollution of water, there is physical, namely thermal. Most of the water is used in the production of electricity. Thermal stations use it to cool turbines, and the heated waste liquid is drained into reservoirs.

Mechanical deterioration of water quality by household waste in settlements leads to a reduction in the habitats of living beings. Some species are dying.

Polluted water is the main cause of most diseases. As a result of liquid poisoning, many living beings die, the ocean ecosystem suffers, and the normal course of natural processes is disturbed. Pollutants eventually enter the human body.

Pollution control

In order to avoid an ecological catastrophe, the fight against physical pollution must be a top priority. The problem must be solved at the international level, because nature has no state borders. To prevent pollution, it is necessary to impose sanctions on enterprises that emit waste into the environment, to impose large fines for placing garbage in the wrong place. Incentives to comply with environmental safety standards can also be implemented through financial methods. This approach has proven effective in some countries.

A promising direction in the fight against pollution is the use of alternative energy sources. The use of solar panels, hydrogen fuel and other energy-saving technologies will reduce the release of toxic compounds into the atmosphere.

Other pollution control methods include:

construction of treatment facilities;
creation of national parks and reserves;
increase in the number of green spaces;
population control in third world countries;
drawing public attention to the problem.

Environmental pollution is a large-scale global problem, which can be solved only with the active participation of everyone who calls the planet Earth their home, otherwise an ecological catastrophe will be inevitable.

Pollution of the natural environment is a physical and chemical change in the composition of a natural substance (air, water, soil), which threatens the state of health and life of a person, his natural environment. Pollution can be cosmic - natural, which the earth receives in significant quantities from space, from volcanic eruptions, and anthropogenic, committed as a result of human economic activity. Consider the second type of pollution committed by the will of man.

Anthropogenic pollution of the environment is divided into several types. These are dust, gas, chemical (including soil pollution with chemicals), aromatic, thermal (changes in water temperature), which adversely affects the life of aquatic animals. The source of environmental pollution is human economic activity (industry, agriculture, transport). Depending on the region, the share of one or another source of pollution can vary significantly. So, in cities, the largest share of pollution comes from transport. Its share in environmental pollution is 70-80%. Among industrial enterprises, metallurgical enterprises are considered the most "dirty". They pollute the environment by 34%. They are followed by energy companies, primarily thermal power plants, which pollute the environment by 27%. The remaining percentages fall on enterprises of the chemical (9%), oil (12%) and gas (7%) industries.

In recent years, agriculture has taken the lead in pollution. This is due to two circumstances. The first is an increase in the construction of large livestock complexes in the absence of any treatment of the resulting waste and their disposal, and the second is an increase in the use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides, which, together with rain flows and groundwater, enter rivers and lakes, causing serious damage to large river basins, their fish stocks and vegetation.

Every year, more than 20 tons of waste falls on one inhabitant of the Earth. The main objects of pollution are atmospheric air, water bodies, including the World Ocean, soils. Every day, thousands and thousands of tons of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur and other harmful substances are emitted into the atmosphere. And only 10% of this amount is absorbed by plants. Sulfur oxide (sulphurous gas) is the main pollutant, the source of which is thermal power plants, boiler houses, and metallurgical plants.

The concentration of sulfur dioxide in nitrogen oxides generates acid rain, which destroys crops, vegetation, and adversely affects the state of fish stocks. Along with sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, which is formed as a result of combustion, has a negative impact on the state of the atmosphere. Its sources are thermal power plants, metallurgical plants, transport. For all previous years, the share of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 20% and continues to increase by 0.2% per year. If such growth rates are maintained, by the year 2000 the proportion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will increase by 30-40%.

Such a physicochemical change in the atmosphere can lead to the phenomenon of the greenhouse effect. Its essence is that the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the upper layers of the atmosphere will interfere with the normal process of heat exchange between the Earth and Space, will restrain the heat accumulated by the Earth as a result of economic activity and due to certain natural causes, for example, volcanic eruptions.

The greenhouse effect is expressed in temperature increase, weather and climate change. We are already seeing similar phenomena. With modern anthropogenic loads, the temperature will rise by 0.5° every 10 years. The consequences of such a change in temperature are expressed in the rise in the level of the World Ocean and the flooding of part of the land, settlements. I must say that in 100 years the level of the World Ocean has risen by 10-12 cm, but with the greenhouse effect, such a rise can be accelerated by 10 times.

Another consequence of the greenhouse effect may be an increase in land desertification. Already, 6 million hectares of land annually turn into desert.

The state of the Earth's ozone layer is associated with atmospheric pollution, the main function of which is to protect humans and the Earth's natural environment from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation from space. Under the influence of ozone-depleting substances - fleron, freon, chlorine, carbon emitted by refrigeration units, cars, etc., this layer is gradually destroyed, in particular, in some places over densely populated areas, its thickness has decreased by 3%. It is known that the reduction of the ozone layer by 1% leads to an increase in the incidence of skin cancer by 6%.

Other equally important objects of pollution are reservoirs, rivers, lakes, and the World Ocean. Billions of tons of liquid and solid waste are dumped into the oceans every year. Among these wastes, oil that enters the ocean from ships, as a result of oil production in the marine environment, and also as a result of numerous tanker accidents, excels. An oil spill leads to the formation of an oil film in the ocean, the death of the living resources of the sea, including algae, plangton, which produce oxygen.

Oxygen in the atmosphere is replenished from two sources - vegetation (about 40%) and the oceans (60%). In the oceans, oxygen is produced by the smallest organisms - plangton. The death of plangton under the oil film reduces the ability of the ocean to replenish the Earth's atmosphere with oxygen reserves. As a result of oil and other pollution of the World Ocean, such negative phenomena are observed as the reproduction of unicellular golden algae, which, in the process of its development, absorbs oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. She is very prolific and develops at lightning speed. Usually its belt is up to 10 km wide and 35 m thick; speed of 25 km per day. In the process of movement, this mass of algae destroys all living life in the ocean - both plant and animal. Such phenomena are observed in the North Sea, in the south of Scandinavia.

In addition, pollution of the oceans leads not only to a reduction in food resources, fish stocks, but also to their contamination with substances harmful to humans. It was found that, for example, Baltic cod has up to 80 milligrams of mercury per 1 kg of weight, i.e. 5-8 times more than in a medical thermometer.

Chemicals used in agriculture have become a massive source of environmental pollution: mineral fertilizers, pesticides, growth stimulants. Over 5 million various kinds of chemicals and compounds are now distributed on the planet. The toxicity of their action is little studied (about 40 thousand substances).

These and other consequences of environmental pollution ultimately have a negative impact on the physical health of a person, on his nervous, mental state, and on the health of future generations. Some data: 20% of the population is constantly exposed to allergies as a result of the harmful effects of environmental pollution; 25,000 people die every day around the globe due to bad water, i.e. water, which contains concentrations of harmful substances in large doses; 35% of the population of industrial cities systematically suffer from various kinds of diseases caused by environmental pollution.

Depletion and destruction of the natural environment.

As a result of economic activity, there is a gradual depletion of the natural environment, i.e. the loss of those natural resources that serve as a source of human economic activity. We have already spoken about deforestation. The loss of forests is not only the loss of oxygen, but also of the most important economic resources necessary for a person for further activities.

At the current rate of consumption, the proven reserves of coal, oil, natural gas and other minerals are being used up at a faster rate than before, and the amount of these reserves is declining catastrophically. True, society has the prospect of using other, new types of energy, in particular, atomic energy, hydrogen energy, the reserves of which are inexhaustible. But the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, on a large scale, is hampered by the unresolved problem of the disposal of waste from the atomic industry. The development of hydrogen as an energy source is theoretically permissible and possible, but practically, more precisely, technologically, this problem has not yet been solved at the level of industrial production.

The rate of consumption of fresh water is increasing, which leads to the depletion of non-renewable water resources. For example, we can cite the following data: for all needs per day, one person spends an average of 150-200 liters of water; metropolitan resident 200-300 l; a resident of Moscow consumes 500-600 liters per day. Some countries are completely deprived of fresh water and use imported water. An attempt to solve the problem of providing fresh water by transporting icebergs from northern countries to southern countries, in particular Africa, was unsuccessful. Processing of sea water is underway in the city of Shevchenko in the Caspian Sea, but so far this problem of industrial desalination of sea water has not been widely developed not only in our country, but throughout the world. There are some difficulties here: for consumption, desalinated water needs to be diluted with ordinary water, and only in such a mixture can it be used for its intended purpose.

Depletion and pollution of the natural environment lead to the destruction of ecological ties, the formation of regions and regions with a completely or partially degraded natural environment that is not capable of exchanging substances and energy. The most striking example of such degradation is the Aral, which is slowly dying due to the lack of the necessary water flow from two powerful Central Asian rivers. The steppes of Kalmykia have been degraded as a result of the irrational use of land, overloading with grazing, which completely deprived the soil of vegetation that held the soil cover.

Pollution of the Earth's atmosphere- bringing new uncharacteristic physical, chemical and biological substances into the atmospheric air or changing their natural concentration.

Types of pollution

According to the sources of pollution, there are two types of air pollution

natural

anthropogenic

According to the nature of the pollutant, air pollution can be of three types:

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 (for example, emissions of warm air and etc.)

chemical - pollution by gaseous substances and aerosols. To date, the main chemical air pollutants are: carbon monoxide (IV), nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbons, aldehydes, heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, Cr), ammonia, dust and radioactive isotopes

biological - mainly microbial contamination. For example, air pollution by vegetative forms and spores of bacteria and fungi, viruses, as well as their toxins and waste products.

Abstract on the topic:
"Environmental pollution"
Specialty "accounting and audit" 080110

Performed:
2nd year student 252 groups
Belova Galina

Moscow 2010
Content:

The problem of environmental pollution

Atmospheric pollution and its consequences

Pollution of the oceans. The problem of lack of fresh water.

FOREST as the most important plant resource of the planet

The role of the state and public organizations in environmental protection

Introduction.
In the coming age of high rates of all types of material production, the problem of nature protection has acquired exceptional importance on our planet. In Russia, it has become one of the most important state tasks. The practical implementation of the ideas of nature protection largely depends on environmental education of the population. Special responsibility for its implementation lies with general education schools.
The changes introduced by man into nature have become so large-scale that they have become a serious threat of disruption of the relative balance existing in nature.
For a long time, man looked at nature as an inexhaustible source of material goods necessary for him. But, faced with the negative results of his impact on nature, he gradually came to the conviction of the need for a more reasonable use and protection of it.
At equal times, the concept of "nature conservation" has smoldered a different meaning. At the end of the XIX-beginning of the XX century. nature conservation was considered as the protection of individual depleting objects of nature by withdrawing them from economic use. And the forms of nature conservation were reduced to the creation of nature reserves, the prohibition of obtaining rare animals, and the protection of natural monuments.
At present, "nature protection" is commonly understood as a system of international, state and public activities aimed at the rational use, reproduction and protection of natural resources, the protection of the natural environment from pollution and destruction in the interests of meeting the material and cultural needs of both existing and future generations. of people.
At the same time, the problem of nature protection and environmental pollution is becoming more and more not only a natural science problem, but also an acute social and political problem.

The problem of environmental pollution.
Man and nature are inseparable from each other and are closely interconnected. For a person, as well as for society as a whole, nature is the environment of life and the only source of resources necessary for existence. Nature and natural resources are the basis on which human society lives and develops, the primary source of meeting the material and spiritual needs of people.
The state of the human environment, the natural environment is one of the most pressing global problems of our time. The scale of the impact of human activity on the natural environment has increased extraordinary and continues to grow rapidly. In a number of cases, they reach a global dimension and are comparable to the planetary scales of many natural processes, or even exceed them.
The withdrawal from the system of anthropogenic exchange into nature of all kinds of waste, garbage and used products is called environmental pollution.
About 30-50 years ago, the volume and toxicity of technogenic emissions as a whole did not exceed the ability of the biosphere to absorb and neutralize them. Today they reach the limit of natural ecosystems' ability to self-purify.
Mass destruction of forests caused profound changes in the hydrology of the land and the water regime of the soil. As a result, erosion processes have intensified, destructive floods have appeared, rivers have become shallow and a problem of fresh water has arisen, and the drying effect of the climate has intensified in many regions.
In addition to the depletion of natural resources, the development of industry has created a new problem - the problem of environmental pollution. Reservoirs, atmospheric air, and soil turned out to be heavily polluted with predominantly industrial waste. These pollution not only had an extremely negative impact on soil fertility, vegetation and wildlife, but also began to pose a significant threat to human health. To date, not a single corner on the Earth has been preserved where there would be no human influence on nature. Even in Antarctica, radioactive fallout has been noted.
More than 4 million tons of sulfur and 1.25 million tons of nitrate nitrogen fell on the territory of Russia during the last goal along with precipitation. The strongest acid rains occur in the central (industrial) regions of the country. For example, in Moscow and adjacent regions, as well as St. Petersburg, with such rains, more than 1 ton of sulfur per square km falls on the skin per year. The acidity of precipitation decreases in the coastal zone of the northern, western and eastern Siberian seas. The most prosperous region in this respect is the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) ("Moskovsky Komsomolets", 09/17/97)
Harmful industrial waste, pesticides, excess fertilizers, radioactive substances, overheated water from power plants and other wastes have been introduced into the biosphere. These wastes cannot be naturally recycled and enter the further circulation of substances. They become a source of pollution of the biosphere, preventing the self-restoration of natural conditions and the renewal of resources.
The problem of nature protection has become one of the most important natural-science and socio-economic problems of our time, on the correct solution of which the prosperous existence of mankind largely depends. The importance and severity of this problem are determined by the process of ever-increasing depletion of natural resources and environmental pollution. The significance of this problem is enhanced by the emergence of such global changes in the biosphere as excessive accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, increased background radiation, a sharp reduction in the green cover of the globe, etc., which can endanger the existence of life on Earth.
However, nature can be used in different ways. You can leave barren, lifeless, hostile spaces behind you. But it is also possible to ennoble nature, to help it reveal its vitality more fully.

Atmospheric pollution and its consequences
Life on earth without an atmosphere is impossible. But it is impossible without water, and without nutrients, and without many other things. A person can live without food for weeks, without water - days, without air - minutes, without atmospheric protection - seconds. The human body is unarmed against poisonous gases without color, reserve and taste, which are many in man-made emissions, nitric oxide, lead in car exhausts, carbon monoxide and many others. Our respiratory passages pass unhindered both the elixir of life and the deadly poison, having no means of distinguishing between them. Therefore, a person needs clean air every minute.
The reduction in oxygen reserves is practically imperceptible so far. But this process is growing. The supply of oxygen is reduced due to the reduction of the green cover of the Earth, deforestation, alienation of land for construction, highways, etc. Pollution of the oceans with oil, mercury, chlorides and many other substances can lead to mass death of ocean green algae. This is one of the most acute global environmental problems of our time.
Gaseous sulfur compounds are also always present in the atmosphere, but today almost half of its total is introduced by industry. In the air of industrial regions, the volume of sulfur emissions of industrial origin is many times greater than the amount of its natural compounds.
The most severe consequences were caused by the poisonous smog that enveloped London more than 40 years ago. Due to its complete immobility in the air, the content of harmful impurities has sharply increased, the number of respiratory diseases has risen, and then mortality. Such cases were repeated after another 4 years. After that, legislative and practical measures were taken by special commissions to prevent such high levels of air pollution.

Pollution of the oceans. The problem of lack of fresh water.
The hydrosphere also occupies a large and important place. Water vapor present in the atmosphere acts as a filter for solar radiation, and water on the earth's surface serves as a kind of midge buffer system that softens the effects of extreme temperatures. "Water is the main factor determining the climate on the Earth's surface. Water is constantly moving, while three types its movements: general circulation in the atmosphere, sea currents and river runoff.Until recently, man satisfied his needs in fresh water and did not feel a lack of it.At present, due to the rapid growth of the population and its industrial activity, in many places of the planet arose acute problem of lack of fresh water.
The threat to the cleanliness of water bodies is created by the use of pesticides that are not biodegradable for a long time, accumulate in plankton, fish, and then pass into the human body along the chain, acting depressingly on the organs and the entire body. A special type of pollution is the overgrowth of water bodies with algae, the decay of which gives the water an unpleasant odor. By releasing biologically active substances, they cause diseases in some fish. The fight against this pollution is difficult. The quality of water sources is affected by erosion products, chlorides used to de-ic the roads, and salts washed out of river channels. Mole rafting of the forest is of great danger, it is the mole rafting of the forest, previously treated with potent pesticides used to free the wood from the bark. And, of course, household drains attract special attention. Dysentery, infectious viral hepatitis, etc. are transmitted through this water.

FOREST as the most important plant resource of the planet.
The forest is a wealth of nature, the importance of which is difficult to overestimate. The forest is called green gold, meaning its special value and universal economic importance. In addition, the forest has a great impact on the biosphere as a whole. Rest in the forest leaves a deep impression on a person, calms the nervous system, improves health, and raises the overall energy of life. The beneficial effect of pine forests on tuberculosis patients is known, caused by the disinfecting properties of terpenes evaporating from the resin. Tree plantations in cities absorb carbon dioxide released into the air and restore oxygen in it. They serve as a good dust filter in parks! The amount of dust in the air is ten times less than on city streets. The leaves and flowers of many trees emit odorous substances - phytoncides, which neutralize the city air, kill not only harmful microorganisms, but also delay the development of large carriers of infection (for example, flies), preventing many types of infectious diseases. Green spaces absorb sounds well, contribute to the struggle for silence in cities.
The EU is an excellent accumulator of moisture, delays snowmelt, blocks the way for spring and rain water, contributing to the replenishment of groundwater and the normal flow regime of lowland and mountain rivers. With the destruction of forests, destructive spring floods and summer floods of rivers arise. Spring and rain waters, without encountering obstacles in the form of a forest, quickly flow down ravines into rivers and then into the seas. As a result, groundwater is poorly replenished and its level drops, and they cannot make up for the loss of water in rivers and lakes, which occurs due to evaporation in the summer. As a result, reservoirs become shallow, rivers become unnavigable.
The protection of forests implies, first of all, their rational use and reproduction, which is the main task of our forestry. The main measures for the rational use of forests include the economical and full use of wood, protection of forests from fires, pests, etc. In each individual area, felling is carried out only after 80-100 years, when the forest reaches full maturity. Harm is caused by the so-called conditionally clear cuttings, when only the most valuable species and the best trees are cut down, and all deciduous species, diseased and low-quality conifers are left on the vine.
The forest has always attracted the attention of people: hunters, pickers of mushrooms and berries, who want to relax. This factor should be taken into account when protecting the forest. A huge army of visitors to the forest brings changes to his life. Natural reforestation has a negative effect on the places of fires and trampled areas around them.

The role of the state and public organizations in environmental protection
The deterioration of the state of the environment as a result of its pollution and changes in the course of natural processes gave rise to statements about an impending ecological crisis. * This concept is widely used in scientific literature. Scientists comprehensively analyze the conditions for its possible manifestation and, most importantly, prevention. This major problem is social, and its analysis must be carried out from clear sociopolitical positions, clearly defining its general theoretical essence. Science and technology have faced the difficult and controversial task of using natural resources while maintaining the optimal quality of the natural environment.
An important prerequisite is the development of a system of long-term environmental forecasting, i.e. a comprehensive consideration of the possible impacts on the environment of large industrial, agricultural energy and other projects in order to find options that are optimal in economic and environmental terms.
A radical technological solution to the problem of preserving the optimal natural environment is to create systems of cyclic waste-free production.
The emergence of public environmental formations expands the opportunities for citizens to exercise their rights in the field of environmental protection, in the field of creating safe working conditions. Such associations are endowed by the Law with a number of additional powers in the field of environmental protection.
etc.................

The most common type of negative human impact on the biosphere is pollution, which is associated in one way or another with the main most acute environmental situations. by pollution refers to the entry into the environment of any solid, liquid, gaseous substances, microorganisms, energy (in the form of sound waves, radiation) in quantities that are harmful to human health, animals, plants and other life forms.

pollutant- this is a substance, physical factor, biological species that are in the environment in an amount that goes beyond their natural content in nature. In other words, a pollutant is everything that is present in the environment in the wrong place, at the wrong time, in the wrong quantity.

Any substance or factor can become a pollutant under certain circumstances. For example, sodium cations are necessary for the body to maintain electrolytic balance, conduct nerve impulses, and activate digestive enzymes. However, sodium salts are poisonous in large quantities; so, 250 g of table salt is a lethal dose for humans.

Consequences of pollution of any type can become:

- violation of life support systems at the local, regional, global levels: climate change, a decrease in the natural rate of circulation of substances and energy necessary for the normal functioning of humans and other living beings;

- harm to human health: the spread of infectious diseases, irritation and diseases of the respiratory tract, changes at the genetic level, changes in reproductive function, cancerous cell transformations;

– causing damage to vegetation and wildlife; reduced productivity of forests and food crops, harmful effects on animals, leading to their extinction;

– damage to property: corrosion of metals, chemical and physical destruction of materials, buildings, monuments;

– unpleasant and aesthetically unacceptable impact: unpleasant smell and taste, reduced visibility in the atmosphere, soiling of clothes.

Pollution of the natural environment can be controlled at the entrance and exit. Inlet control prevents a potential pollutant from entering the environment or drastically reduces its entry. For example, sulfur impurities can be removed from coal before it is burned, which will prevent or drastically reduce the release of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, which is harmful to plants and the respiratory system. Exit control aims to eliminate waste already released into the environment.

Classification of pollutants

Distinguish natural and anthropogenic sources of pollution. natural pollution is associated with the activity of volcanoes, forest fires, mudflows, the release of polymetallic ores to the surface of the earth; the release of gases from the bowels of the earth, the activity of microorganisms, plants, animals. Anthropogenic pollution is associated with human activities.

Classification of anthropogenic (technogenic) impacts caused by environmental pollution includes the main categories:

1.Material and energy characteristics of impacts: mechanical, physical (thermal, electromagnetic, radiation, acoustic), chemical, biological factors and agents, their various combinations. In most cases, emissions (i.e. emissions - emissions, sinks, radiation, etc.) of various technical sources act as such agents.

2.Quantitative characteristics of the impact: strength and degree of danger (intensity of factors and effects, masses, concentrations, characteristics such as "dose-effect", toxicity, acceptability according to environmental and sanitary and hygienic standards); spatial scales, prevalence (local, regional, global).

3.Time parameters of impacts by the nature of the effects: short-term and long-term, persistent and unstable, direct and indirect, with pronounced or hidden trace effects, reversible and irreversible, actual and potential, threshold effects.

4.Categories of impact effects: various living recipients (capable of perceiving and reacting) - people, animals, plants, as well as environmental components, which include: the environment of settlements and premises, natural landscapes, soil, water bodies, atmosphere, near-Earth space; structures.

Within each of these categories, a certain ranking of the environmental significance of factors, characteristics and objects is possible. In general, in terms of the nature and scale of actual impacts, chemical pollution is the most significant, and the greatest potential threat is associated with radiation. Recently, not only the growth of pollution, but also their total impact, often exceeding in the final effect the simple summation of impacts, which has a “peak” effect, is of particular danger. synergy. As for the objects of influence, the person is in the first place.

Sources anthropogenic environmental pollution are enterprises of industry, energy, agriculture, construction, transport, production and consumption of food, the use of household items.

Sources of technogenic emissions can be organized and unorganized, stationary and mobile. Organized sources are equipped with special devices for the directed emission of emissions (pipe, ventilation shafts, waste channels), emissions from unorganized sources are arbitrary. The sources also differ in geometric characteristics (point, line, areal) and in the mode of operation - continuous, periodic, salvo.

Sources of chemical and thermal pollution are thermochemical processes in the energy sector - fuel combustion and related thermal and chemical processes. Associated reactions are associated with the content of various impurities in the fuel, with the oxidation of air nitrogen and with secondary reactions already in the environment.

All these reactions accompany the operation of thermal power plants, industrial furnaces, internal combustion engines, gas turbine and jet engines, metallurgy processes, and the firing of mineral raw materials. The greatest contribution to energy-dependent pollution of the environment is made by energy and transport. On average, about 150 kg of pollutants are emitted per 1 ton of standard fuel in the fuel heat power industry.

Consider the balance of substances of an "average" passenger car with a fuel consumption of 8 liters (6 kg) per 100 km. With optimal engine operation, burning 1 kg of gasoline is accompanied by the consumption of 13.5 kg of air and the emission of 14.5 kg of waste substances. Up to 200 compounds are registered in emissions. The total mass of pollution - an average of about 270 g per 1 kg of gasoline burned, in terms of the entire volume of fuel consumed by passenger cars in the world, will be about 340 million tons; for all road transport - up to 400 million tons.

By scale pollution can be local, local, characterized by an increased content of pollutants in small areas (city, industrial enterprise); regional when large areas are affected (river basin, state); global when pollution is found anywhere on the planet (pollution of the biosphere) and space(garbage, spent spacecraft stages).

As a rule, many anthropogenic pollutants are no different from natural ones, with the exception of xenobiotics, substances alien to nature. These are artificial and synthetic compounds produced by the chemical industry: polymers, surfactants. In nature, there are no agents for their decomposition, assimilation, so they accumulate in the environment.

Distinguish primary and secondary pollution. At primary In pollution, harmful substances are formed directly in the course of natural or anthropogenic processes. At secondary pollution, harmful substances are synthesized in the environment from primary ones; the formation of secondary pollutants is often catalyzed by sunlight (photochemical process). As a rule, secondary pollutants are more toxic than primary ones (phosgene is formed from chlorine and carbon monoxide).

All types of environmental pollution can be combined into groups: chemical, physical, physico-chemical, biological, mechanical, informational and complex.

chemical pollution associated with the release of chemicals into the environment. physical pollution associated with a change in the physical parameters of the environment: temperature (thermal pollution), wave parameters (light, noise, electromagnetic); radiation parameters (radiation and radioactive). form physical and chemical pollution is aerosol (smog, smoke).

biological pollution is associated with the introduction into the environment and reproduction of organisms undesirable for humans, with the penetration or introduction of new species into natural systems, which causes negative changes in biocenoses. Clogging of the environment with materials that have an adverse mechanical effect without physical and chemical consequences (garbage) is called mechanical pollution. Complex pollution environments - thermal and and informational, due to the combined action of various types of pollution .

Some pollutants acquire toxic properties after entering the body during the chemical transformations taking place there. The same substance or factor can cause multiple effects on the body.

The effect of pollutants on the human body manifests itself differently. Poisons act on the liver, kidneys, hematopoietic, blood, respiratory systems. Carcinogenic and mutagenic effects - as a result of changes in the information properties of germ and somatic cells, fibrogenic- the appearance of benign tumors (fibromas); teratogenic- deformities in newborns; allergenic- causing allergic reactions: damage to the skin (eczema), respiratory tract (asthma); n neuro- and psychotropic effect associated with the effect of a toxicant on the central nervous system of the human body.

According to the mechanism of action of the pollutant on the body, there are:

- irritant substances that change the pH of the mucous membrane or irritate nerve endings;

- substances or factors that change the ratio of oxidative and reduction reactions in the body;

- substances that irreversibly bind to organic or inorganic compounds that make up tissues;

- fat-soluble substances that disrupt the functions of biological membranes;

- substances that replace chemical elements or compounds in the cell;

– factors affecting electromagnetic and mechanical oscillatory processes in the body.

At all stages of development, man was closely connected with nature. But with the emergence and formation of an industrial society, pollution of the environment is increasingly becoming a problem in the modern world.

The types of pollution are quite diverse in terms of their impact and are characterized by the danger of spreading in the air space, as well as in the water element and with the help of the soil.

natural causes

There are two types of sources of harmful emissions into the atmosphere - natural and anthropogenic. These are its main types. the scheme of which is given below is an important problem that needs to be addressed.

The first type is in no way connected with the activities of people and occurs according to certain laws of nature. It should be noted that pollution of this type took place long before mankind appeared, so the environment copes with such "garbage" perfectly.

This is due to the fact that natural disasters (storms, volcanic eruptions, forest fires, decomposition of dead animals and plants) are already incorporated in evolution. Natural pollution can be considered as biological pollution of the environment. Types of pollution of this kind include, first of all, nature itself as a whole.

Natural pollution can be illustrated by the following examples:

Death Valley. At the foot of the Kikhpinych volcano (Kamchatka) there is a valley filled with volcanic hydrogen sulfide gases. In the absence of wind above ground level, the gas accumulates and all animals and birds that enter the area die. Scientists involved in the study of Death Valley, not only study this phenomenon, but also clear the territory of corpses. This is necessary due to the fact that scavengers do not come to the valley, which can harm not only living animals, but also spread the infection from the dead. Thus, this type of pollution has quite clear signs that similar types of environmental pollution have.

- Red Tide. A brown coating forms on the surface of the seas, strongly resembling blood. This happens due to the reproduction of a certain type of algae, which are very toxic in nature. Poisonous substances enter the food chain into the inhabitants of the sea, causing the latter to die.

There are cases when the crews of ships passing in such areas received severe poisoning by eating fish or shellfish caught in "poisonous" places. Scientists attribute the appearance of toxic algae to a large amount of chemical releases into the ocean waters.

Anthropogenic sources

The saturation of nature with harmful substances by man deserves special attention, since it is not limited to decomposition or fires through the fault of people. The classification of types of environmental pollution in this case may be as follows:

Fallout;

Inorganic water pollution;

organic;

Thermal views;

Soil pollution;

Saturation with pesticides;

- (as a result of the relationship with the water cycle in nature).

All of these methods are types of anthropogenic pollution of the environment, that is, the result of human activity.

Aerosol emissions

In the atmosphere, in connection with the functioning of mankind, there is a mass of impurities that can be called technogenic dust. It is expressed in the form of fog, haze or ordinary smoke. As a result of the combustion of certain substances in production, toxic fumes and carcinogenic compounds are released into the environment.

The main sources of technogenic dust are metallurgical plants, oil refineries, soot and other similar plants that use heat treatment of raw materials. Also, the main types of environmental pollution by aerosol include the release of dust and toxic substances in the mining industry.

During the formation of artificial embankments (dumps) from overburden during mining, a huge amount of processing results is emitted into the atmosphere. Harmful particles are released into the environment and during blasting.

For example, in an explosion of medium power, up to 2 thousand cubic meters of carbon monoxide and about 150 tons of dust are released. During the technological processes of processing semi-finished products for the production of cement, a lot of chemicals and technological dust are also released into the air.

Aerosol can also be called types of environmental pollution by transport. As a result of the combustion of a substance (gasoline or diesel fuel), gases are released: carbon oxides, hydrocarbons and nitrogen. The duration of these mixtures in the atmosphere before their natural decomposition ranges from several hours to several years.

Photochemical fog

Smog is formed by combining chemically harmful emissions into the atmosphere with solar radiation energy. The result is a photochemical reaction of nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and other harmful substances.

Fog, thus, represents such a category of saturation with harmful substances, which is contained in the types of chemical pollution of the environment.

The chain reaction of converting nitrogen dioxide into nitrogen oxide and atomic oxygen should result in ozone (a combination of molecular and atomic oxygen). The reaction of nitrogen oxidation with this compound should give molecular oxygen and, as a result, nitrogen dioxide. However, ozone, when it occurs, immediately reacts with exhaust gases in the atmosphere, resulting in the formation of a certain number of combined oxygen atoms and molecules.

This compound, reacting with impurities in the air, forms oxidants and free radicals, which are characteristic of smog. The compounds with which the air is literally saturated have an extremely negative effect on the circulatory and respiratory systems of the inhabitants, as a result of which a person can die.

Fallout

This type of pollution is the most dangerous for mankind and for all living things in the world. Precipitation, which contains radioactive particles, is atmospheric moisture and dust.

The heaviest particles of radioactive elements immediately settle on the surface of the earth, while lighter ones tend to linger in the atmosphere and be transported over fairly long distances.

Due to the radionucleotides contained in the air, they fall to the ground in the form of rain, snow or fog.

When such precipitation gets on human skin, radioactive atoms penetrate into the body, destroying it gradually from the inside.

Inorganic types

Types of environmental pollution are also represented by inorganic "methods".

In connection with the development of industry, wastes that are generated during the activities of factories and enterprises for the harvesting and processing of timber, during the performance of work in mines, in mines, as well as as a result of the use of transport, enter the water.

For example, wastewater that then enters water bodies contains a large amount of residues of synthetic detergents. These elements, getting into the water treatment system, are not removed and returned to the water supply.

Types of chemical environmental pollution include, in this case, wastewater pollution with compounds of such elements as cadmium, arsenic, lead, mercury and other equally hazardous substances.

These compounds are absorbed by low-organized inhabitants of water bodies and are transferred along the food chain to highly organized organisms.

Chemical pollution tends to change the pH of water to such a state that the inhabitants of the aquatic environment cannot live and multiply in such water.

However, many invertebrate organisms that inhabit the water element are able to accumulate radioactive elements and poisons in themselves. That is why they serve as an indicator of what the main types of environmental pollution caused the pollution of the reservoir.

Despite the fact that water has the ability to self-purify, due to the ingress of a large number of chemical compounds into it, the organisms that provide purification die. Accordingly, additional methods for separating harmful particles from water are required, but, unfortunately, this is not enough.

Organic "garbage"

Types of pollution of the environment surrounding a person include their organic nature. These include oil, consisting mainly of saturated hydrocarbons.

In the presence of water on the surface, the inhabitants of the seas, as well as animals and plants of the coastal zone, die.

This is due to the fact that oil, falling on fish or waterfowl, envelops them with a thin black-brown film, and therefore the natural streamlining of the plumage surface of birds (or fish scales) is disturbed.

Long before people learned how to extract this natural resource, oil also hit the surface of the water. However, in the seas and oceans, there are microscopic bacteria that can process "black gold", feeding on it. Gradually, the stain disappears from the surface, and the bacteria become food for highly organized creatures.

The difficulty today in the natural destruction of stains is the huge amount of oil that spills out during the collapse of tankers or accidents on platforms. Bacteria do not have time to process it, and a combustible substance can get into other water bodies over the course, spreading through the oceans.

thermal type

Emissions of thermally unstable wastewater into rivers and lakes by power plants - this example illustrates such a category as types of energy pollution of the environment.

At first glance, a small increase in water temperature should not harm the ecosystem as a whole. However, the amount of such runoff and the constant change and instability of the temperature of the liquid in reservoirs leads to an artificial limitation of water exchange between the surface and the bottom.

Since there is a violation of the circulation necessary for the rational functioning of phytoplankton and algae, the species constancy of the water structure changes.

Soil pollution

The soil of the Earth is the most important component of the biosphere. This shell accumulates not only organic matter, but also energy. The existence of soil as an element of the biosphere is one of the important links in its functioning. Therefore, the problems of pollution of the earth's surface with chemicals (organic and inorganic), as well as a special kind of substances (pesticides) require special attention from scientists.

Pesticide pollution

Since special pesticides for plant treatment are produced and used by man, it can be said that contamination of the soil with these elements can illustrate the types of environment.

Despite the fact that this group of chemicals is an important element in agriculture for the large-scale cultivation of plant foods, such poisons pose a huge danger to the soil.

Pesticides tend to accumulate in the body into which they have entered and, like radioactive elements, destroy human health from the inside, and also lead to the death of many microorganisms. Violation of the natural course of the evolutionary process occurs, among other reasons, also due to the fact that environmental pollution is observed.

Types of pollution, which include saturation with pesticides, cause imbalance and, as a result, natural selection. Along the food chain, chemicals penetrate the human body and are found not only in the internal organs of adults, but also in newborns. This means that pesticides accumulated in the course of life can be transmitted vertically from mother to child.

To date, such chemicals are being developed and tested, which, after application, having had the necessary effect, independently decompose into safe elements. At the same time, it is important to observe the order of the chemical reaction, excluding the presence of such catalysts that could disrupt the natural course of decomposition of harmful substances into elemental ones.

acid rain

As a result of human functioning, a large amount of oxides of chemical elements is released into the atmosphere, which causes environmental pollution. Types of pollution can be conditionally defined as domestic and industrial.

When burning combustible materials intended for domestic and industrial needs, oxides of nitrogen, sulfur, carbon and hydrogen sulfide are released. When interacting with moisture contained in the atmosphere, these mixtures degenerate into acids, which then fall out as precipitation.

With the threat of such anomalies, it is necessary to be extremely careful, since the effect of acid on people, even in small concentrations, causes a chemical burn. Being exposed to acid rain, a person can not only lose part of his hair or ruin his hat, but also get burned on his face or entire body.

Acid, falling out, harms not only people, but also the soil, that is, it causes environmental pollution. Types of pollution that are associated with the characteristics of the circulation of water in nature cause a glut of the earth with these compounds. The soil in the future is not able to retain useful natural properties. In the event that vegetation appears on such soil, which is then taken as food, it can be detrimental to human health.

In addition, acid rainwater, penetrating deep into the soil, enters the groundwater. It is they who spread chemical compounds over long distances, which in the future can harm even those areas that are far enough away from the area where acid rain fell.

Noise pollution

A person cannot live in absolute silence, as well as with rather loud sounds. This imbalance changes intracranial pressure and can lead to disruption of the entire body.

In connection with these features of human essence, it is possible to single out the environment, which cannot be seen.

The noise produced by numerous factories, machinery, trains, cars, has an extremely negative effect on residents of large cities or people who are forced to be close to such “noisy” achievements of mankind.

Exposure to such sounds disrupts the natural functioning of internal organs, blood vessels, etc., which in the worst case can lead to premature aging and death.

Ways to fight

The types of sources of environmental pollution are quite diverse. However, it can be noted that all of them are associated with human activity. Some sources directly pollute the atmosphere, soil or water with toxic substances, while others only disrupt the natural course of events in nature. At the same time, the system often weakens, important food and other chains break, mutations occur.

Genetically modified organisms are individuals that are fully adapted to survive in conditions of severe environmental pollution. With each attack by pesticides, the cells changed so much that they could (already in future generations) withstand the destructive action of the most powerful substances.

But do not forget that our Earth is not adapted to absorb the "conveniences" of civilization, therefore, today, not new chemically hazardous substances are being developed, but their neutralizers.

The latest preparations or cultures of microorganisms are designed not only not to cause harm, but also to contribute to the fastest decomposition into safe elements of those substances that are planned to be used.

Sakhalin buckwheat

The natural properties of plants and organisms are identified and used in the struggle for the purity of the planet. For example, Sakhalin buckwheat has an excellent property - it can germinate and bloom on soil that is saturated with heavy metals.

According to the results of numerous experiments, such plants can “pick up” up to 1 kg of cadmium, 24 kg of lead and 322 kg of zinc from the soil in just 1 year. And an experiment at one of the military ranges where chemical weapons were tested showed that 2 years after the buckwheat was planted in the ground, the soil was completely clean.