Pollution of the surrounding atmosphere. Types of atmospheric pollution. How the air is polluted

From the elementary grades we are taught that man and nature are one, that one cannot be separated from the other. We learn about the development of our planet, the features of its structure and structure. These areas affect our well-being: the atmosphere, soil, water of the Earth - these are, perhaps, the most important components of a normal human life. But why, then, every year environmental pollution goes further and more and more on an ever larger scale? Let's take a look at the main environmental issues.

Environmental pollution, which is also understood as the natural environment and the biosphere, is an increased content of physical, chemical or biological reagents in it that are not typical for this environment, brought in from the outside, the presence of which leads to negative consequences.

Scientists have been sounding the alarm about an imminent environmental disaster for several decades in a row. The studies carried out in various fields lead to the conclusion that we are already facing global climate and environmental changes under the influence of human activities. The pollution of the oceans due to the leakage of oil and oil products, as well as garbage has reached enormous proportions, which affects the decline in populations of many animal species and the ecosystem as a whole. The growing number of cars every year leads to large emissions into the atmosphere, which, in turn, leads to land drainage, heavy rainfall on the continents, and a decrease in the amount of oxygen in the air. Some countries are already forced to bring in water and even buy canned air as production has damaged the country's environment. Many people have already realized the danger and are very sensitive to negative changes in nature and major environmental problems, but we still perceive the possibility of a disaster as something unrealizable and distant. Is this really so or the threat is close and something needs to be done immediately - let's figure it out.

Types and main sources of environmental pollution

The main types of pollution are classified by the sources of environmental pollution themselves:

• biological;
• chemical
• physical;
• mechanical.

In the first case, environmental pollutants are the activities of living organisms or anthropogenic factors. In the second case, there is a change in the natural chemical composition of the polluted area by adding other chemicals to it. In the third case, the physical characteristics of the environment change. These types of pollution include thermal, radiation, noise and other types of radiation. The latter type of pollution is also associated with human activities and waste emissions into the biosphere.

All types of pollution can be present both separately by themselves, and flow from one to another or exist together. Consider how they affect individual areas of the biosphere.

People who have come a long way in the desert will probably be able to name the price of every drop of water. Although most likely these drops will be priceless, because human life depends on them. In everyday life, alas, we do not attach such great importance to water, since we have a lot of it, and it is available at any time. Only in the long term this is not entirely true. In percentage terms, only 3% of the world's total fresh water supply remained unpolluted. Understanding the importance of water for people does not prevent a person from polluting an important source of life with oil and oil products, heavy metals, radioactive substances, inorganic pollution, sewage and synthetic fertilizers.

Polluted water contains a large amount of xenobiotics - substances alien to the human or animal body. If this water enters the food chain, it can lead to serious food poisoning and even death for everyone in the chain. Of course, they are also contained in the products of volcanic activity, which pollute water even without human help, but the activities of the metallurgical industry and chemical plants are of predominant importance.

With the advent of nuclear research, nature has suffered quite significant harm in all areas, including water. Charged particles trapped in it are very harmful to living organisms and contribute to the development of oncological diseases. Wastewater from factories, ships with nuclear reactors, and simple rain or snow in a nuclear test area can contaminate water with decomposition products.

Sewer drains, which carry a lot of garbage: detergents, food residues, small household waste and others, in turn, contribute to the reproduction of other pathogenic organisms, which, when ingested, give a number of diseases, such as typhoid fever, dysentery and others.

Perhaps it makes no sense to explain how the soil is an important part of human life. Most of the food that a person eats comes from the soil: from cereals to rare types of fruits and vegetables. For this to continue in the future, it is necessary to maintain the condition of the soil at the proper level for the normal water cycle. But anthropogenic pollution has already led to the fact that 27% of the planet's land is subject to erosion.

Soil pollution is the ingress of toxic chemicals and debris into it in high quantities, which impede the normal flow of the cycle of soil systems. The main sources of soil pollution:

• residential buildings;
• industrial enterprises;
• transport;
• agriculture;
• nuclear power.

In the first case, soil pollution occurs due to ordinary garbage that is thrown out in the wrong places. But the main reason should be called landfills. The incinerated waste leads to the clogging of large areas, and the combustion products spoil the soil irrevocably, contaminating the entire environment.

Industrial enterprises emit a variety of toxic substances, heavy metals and chemical compounds that affect not only the soil, but also the life of living organisms. It is this source of pollution that leads to technogenic soil pollution.

Transport emissions, hydrocarbon, methane and lead, getting into the soil, affect food chains - they enter the human body through food.
Excessive plowing, pesticides, pesticides and fertilizers, which contain enough mercury and heavy metals, lead to significant soil erosion and desertification. Abundant irrigation also cannot be called a positive factor, since it leads to soil salinity.

Today, up to 98% of radioactive waste from nuclear power plants is buried in the ground, mainly uranium fission products, which leads to the degradation and depletion of land resources.

The atmosphere in the form of a gaseous shell of the Earth is of great value, since it protects the planet from cosmic radiation, affects the relief, determines the Earth's climate and its thermal background. It cannot be said that the composition of the atmosphere was homogeneous and only with the advent of man began to change. But it was after the beginning of the vigorous activity of people that the heterogeneous composition was "enriched" with dangerous impurities.

The main pollutants in this case are chemical plants, the fuel and energy complex, agriculture and cars. They lead to the appearance of copper, mercury, and other metals in the air. Of course, air pollution is felt the most in industrial areas.

Thermal power plants bring light and heat to our homes, however, at the same time, they emit huge amounts of carbon dioxide and soot into the atmosphere.
Acid rain is caused by waste emitted from chemical plants, such as sulfur or nitrogen oxide. These oxides can react with other elements of the biosphere, which leads to the appearance of more destructive compounds.

Modern cars are good enough in design and technical characteristics, but the problem with the atmosphere has not yet been solved. Ash and fuel products not only spoil the atmosphere of cities, but also settle on the soil and make it unusable.

In many industrial and industrial areas, use has become an integral part of life precisely because of the pollution of the environment from factories and vehicles. Therefore, if you are concerned about the state of the air in your apartment, with the help of a breather you will be able to create a healthy microclimate at home, which, unfortunately, does not eliminate glider problems of environmental pollution, but at least helps to protect yourself and your loved ones.

There are four environments of life, without which man cannot exist: air, water, soil and the living organisms surrounding him. The environment directly or indirectly affects the state, development and survival of all living organisms in this environment.

Environmental pollution has recently become an increasingly relevant topic, because with the acceleration of technological progress, especially in recent decades, environmental pollution has also increased. Its active pollution began about 200 years ago, with the beginning of the scientific and technological revolution in Europe. This influence became especially noticeable in England. Factories and factories in this country at that time ran on traditional fuel - coal. Coal dust and soot heavily polluted the air and even influenced the development of evolution. In those parts of Europe where industry has developed especially intensively, some species of butterflies have changed their color over the past 200 years in order to adapt to new conditions of existence. Previously, these butterflies had a lighter color and hid from the birds hunting them in the light bark of trees, but due to the long-term settling of coal dust, the tree trunks turned black, and the butterflies, to be invisible on the blackened bark, also changed their color, turned black.

In the 20th century, with the development of industry, emissions of harmful gases also increased, coal ceased to be the main fuel, it was replaced by oil and gas, which emit completely different substances during combustion. This gave rise to another, even more complex problem, the fact that nitrites and sulfites, which are products of combustion of oil, entering the atmosphere, cause acid rain. The wind is capable of carrying clouds with acid rain over distances of many hundreds of kilometers from the plant that emitted gas, that is, acid rain can fall at a considerable distance from the place of pollution.

Acid rain causes great harm to plants, kills beneficial microorganisms in the soil, thereby destroying its fertile layer.

It is a well-known fact that because of acid rain in Germany half of the forests die, and in Sweden, for the same reason, in four thousand lakes, the fish are completely extinct. The famous ancient Greek temple of the Parthenon, as a result of acid rain, has undergone more destruction in thirty years than in the previous two millennia.

Emissions of gases into the atmosphere of the chlorofluorocarbon group, which contain freon used in refrigeration plants and aerosols, destroy the ozone layer, which protects the earth from the effects of ultraviolet radiation. The harmful ultraviolet radiation of the sun can cause skin cancer in humans, provoke eye diseases, and it also has a harmful effect on the marine fauna and vegetation of the earth.

The Arctic zones are particularly affected by ultraviolet radiation, because the ozone layer is the thinnest there. The fact that the ozone hole over Antarctica is constantly increasing is a well-known fact.

An excessive amount of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, formed during the breathing of all living things and during the combustion of any products, contributes to the formation of the so-called greenhouse effect, in which the formed film of carbon dioxide does not allow part of the sun's rays reflected from the ground to escape, as a result, a greenhouse effect arises. As a result of the accumulation of excess heat, a general rise in temperature occurs, it causes the polar ice to melt, while the sea level rises. Scientists have calculated that if all the polar ice melts, the ocean level will rise 61 meters, as a result of which cities such as New York and London, and not only cities, will be submerged, entire states may be flooded, such as, for example, Bangladesh and the Netherlands.

A significant rise in the level of the world's oceans will entail a catastrophe of all flora and fauna, especially in the polar and circumpolar regions.

Water and soil pollution also has a great detrimental effect on the state of the ecosystem as a whole. Hydrogen sulfide is dissolved in large quantities in the waters of the Black Sea at depths of more than seventy meters, and at these depths of all living organisms, only special bacteria live. In addition, in the depths of the Black Sea, in addition to hydrogen sulfide, there are also methane deposits.

Until now, this phenomenon of the Black Sea has not yet been fully studied, however, it has been established that in the process of formation of hydrogen sulfide and methane, mineral fertilizers are involved, washed out from chernozem soils, which have entered the Black Sea with the waters of the Dnieper, Don and other rivers. If the soil was not oversaturated with fertilizers, then perhaps there would not have been such consequences for the Black Sea.

Water used for technical needs by industrial enterprises, in most cases, also gets back into water bodies either poorly purified or not purified at all. As a result, fish in reservoirs die, poisoned water harms the health of people and animals. Here is an example, the Vikhorevka river - a tributary of the Angara and the Bratsk reservoir is used for technical needs by the Bratsk timber industry complex, due to severe pollution in it all valuable fish species have died out.

Many natural reservoirs in Europe are so polluted that people living next to a large reservoir are forced to buy bottled water. An example of such a polluted body of water is the River Thames, its waters have been used by British industry since the beginning of the scientific and technological revolution.

Violation of the water balance of nature by a person sometimes leads to serious consequences. The result of this interference? peat fires in the Moscow region last summer, when our capital was plunged into smog from burning peat, just like London was shrouded in in the 19th century.

No less important factor is soil pollution. Man, polluting the soil, destroys its fertile layer, the earth becomes dead, microorganisms participating in natural processes occurring in the soil die.

As mentioned above, soil pollution leads to the pollution of other environments of life. In the process of his life and work, a person creates tons of garbage, giant landfills created by man decompose right on the ground, in order to prevent the consequences of this decomposition, a person burns them, but as a result, many harmful substances enter the atmosphere.

Contamination of the three environments leads to the death of the fourth environment: microorganisms useful for a person participating in his life.

At this point in time, air pollution is the most serious problem facing the entire world. This phenomenon is the mixing of many harmful substances in the air and the subsequent negative impact on the environment.

There are many contaminants that contribute to the spread of this problem. Examples include carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and more. All of these pollutants can cause many diseases such as cancer, birth defects, brain and nervous system damage, long-term injuries, etc.

Also worth mentioning is lead, which is an integral part of any car. This metal is extremely toxic. True, it is important to note that lead is gradually being eliminated from gasoline, but there are other sources that contain it. For example, paints, lead-acid batteries, water pipes, and various dyes. Car exhaust can also produce nitric oxide, a volatile organic compound that is also a product of fuel combustion. Factories and power plants “produce” the same pollutants as cars, but they produce larger quantities, as well as some other compounds, such as sulfur dioxide, which is produced during papermaking, coal combustion in power plants, or smelting. metal. Burning other fuels, such as wood or natural gas, can also severely pollute our atmosphere.

Another problem closely related to industrialization, which is a problem in large cities. The problem of air pollution is increasing precisely in big cities due to the large number of cars, buses and trucks. During traffic jams, all types of pollutants are released outside, and people living near roads must subsequently breathe this "dirty" air.

We use all kinds of chemicals that damage our air. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) spray depletes the ozone layer in the atmosphere. The use of pesticides and other chemicals to protect some plants produces the desired benefits, but they generally have no positive effect on our air.

Through the efforts of every person around the world, we will be able to control the level of air pollution. Industrial installations should be away from residential areas. Tall chimneys should be used instead of small ones. The use of high temperature incinerators, etc. should also be promoted.

Option 2

Pollution is any introduction into the ecological environment of abiotic and biotic components or structural changes that are not characteristic of it, or structural changes that change the material-energy and informational properties of the environment, as well as its physicochemical and biological, which, in turn, lead to a decrease in the productivity of the ecosystem, to its degradation and destruction.

Currently, there are many pollutants in the world, this is due to technical progress. More and more factories are being built, man is mastering large territories. In the process of assimilation, people change the environment. This is what causes pollution.

There are several types of contamination:

• Natural pollution is associated with natural changes that are not affected by humans. Forest fires, weathering of rocks, volcanic activity - all this is attributed to natural pollution;
• Anthropogenic pollution depends on the person. The source of these environmental pollution is precisely man and human activity. Most often, this group of pollution includes the construction of various industrial production, which, when working, emit harmful substances that pollute the environment.

Also, atmospheric pollution is divided according to the scale of pollution:

• Local pollution occurs in a small area;
• Regional pollution can occur at the level of one country or several countries;
• Global pollution is the most dangerous, as it covers the whole world, the entire planet and threatens all of humanity.

Modern sources of atmospheric pollution:

• Heat power engineering is the main source, since in modern times there are a lot of nuclear power plants, thermal power plants, hydroelectric power plants that emit harmful substances into the atmosphere;
• Oil industry. During the extraction of oil and gas, a huge amount of hazardous substances also enter the atmosphere;
• The chemical industry is one of the most dangerous sources of pollution, since the ingress of chemically hazardous substances into the atmosphere gradually destroys it;
• Mechanical engineering;

Exhaust gases emitted by cars, vehicles. This is a particularly dangerous type of pollution, since gases accumulate in the atmosphere and, when exposed to the human body, can cause unpleasant consequences up to the development of serious diseases.

The Mississippi is one of the most famous rivers in the world, and for many interesting reasons. The name "Mississippi" is translated from the Indian language as "great river".

Climate - message report

Climate is a long-term weather regime established in a certain territory. There are a number of factors that characterize each type.

A large amount of harmful impurities and gases has a strong negative impact on the environment and human health. The main air pollutants are carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, benzo (a) pyrene, and mercury, cadmium, lead, nickel, more than 50 hydrocarbons and other impurities, most of which are highly toxic, are present in the air of large cities. Here are the characteristics and impact on the human body of only some of them.

Carbon monoxide is a colorless and odorless gas.

Internal combustion engines account for the bulk of global CO emissions.

Our senses are not able to detect it, nevertheless, it is present in the air in fairly high concentrations. Carbon monoxide is inhaled along with air or tobacco smoke and enters the bloodstream, where it binds to hemoglobin molecules more strongly than oxygen. The more carbon monoxide in the air, the more hemoglobin binds to it and the less oxygen reaches the cells. Consequently, a picture of oxygen deficiency develops. The secondary effect of CO action is similar to the mechanism of action of cyanide compounds, leading to disruption of cellular respiration and death of the body (at a concentration of 1%, within a few minutes). Carbon monoxide is one of the factors that cause heart attacks.

Sulfur dioxide is a colorless gas with a suffocating odor.

The global emission of SO2 into the atmosphere is about 147 million tons.

In contact with the moist surface of the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, SO2 forms unstable sulfurous acid, oxidizing to sulfuric, which determines the primary nature of its toxic effect. The irritating effect of sulfur dioxide on the mucous membranes leads to the development of chronic rhinitis, inflammation of the ear canal and Eustachian tube, chronic bronchitis, mainly with asthmatic components. At high concentrations, sulfur dioxide causes irritation of the mucous eyes, in rare cases even loss of consciousness. With prolonged exposure to low concentrations, changes in the digestive system are observed, and functional disorders of the thyroid gland take place.

Lead is a cumulative poison. It gradually accumulates in the human body, since the rate of its elimination is very low.

The air in cities is filled with lead particles from the combustion of gasoline (50% of the total inorganic lead that enters the body). Street dust, which also contains high levels of lead compounds, is another source of lead ingestion.

The lead content measured in urban air over a month is 5 μg / m3. At this concentration, urban dwellers reach the lead thresholds at which signs of lead poisoning appear faster. Lead decreases the rate of red blood cell formation in the bone marrow; it also blocks hemoglobin synthesis. Children have a threshold level of half that of adults and are much more susceptible to lead poisoning. The development of the disease in a child is characterized by constant constipation, vomiting, seizures and fainting.

Mercury - a substance at room temperature is a heavy, silvery-white volatile liquid, the vapors of which are extremely toxic.

The only metal that under normal conditions is in a liquid state of aggregation. It is used in various fields of science, technology and medicine. The most common sources that can release mercury into the environment include mercury thermometers, mercury lamps, energy-saving discharge lamps, industrial processes and equipment, and construction and decoration materials. Among other things, mercury is released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels (coal, oil) and their derivatives are burned.

Impact on the body: The degree of the toxic effect of mercury is determined primarily by the amount of metal that had time to react in the body before it was removed from there, i.e. it is not the mercury itself that is dangerous, but the compounds that it forms. When entering the body in high concentrations, mercury has the ability to accumulate in the internal organs: kidneys, heart, brain. Intoxication occurs mainly through the respiratory tract, about 80% of inhaled mercury vapor is retained in the body. Salts and oxygen in the blood promote the absorption of mercury, its oxidation and the formation of mercury salts. Acute poisoning with mercury salts manifests itself in intestinal upset, vomiting, and swelling of the gums. A decline in cardiac activity is characteristic, the pulse becomes rare and weak, fainting is possible. In case of chronic poisoning with mercury and its compounds, a metallic taste appears in the mouth, loose gums, severe salivation, slight excitability, and weakening of memory. The likelihood of such poisoning is in all rooms where mercury is in contact with air. Long-term exposure to even relatively low concentrations (on the order of hundredths and thousandths of mg / m3) damages the nervous system. The main symptoms are characterized by headache, increased excitability, irritability, decreased performance, fatigue, sleep disturbance and memory impairment.

Cadmium is one of the most toxic heavy metals. It enters the environment through the processes of dispersion of minerals and fertilizers, the combustion of plastics, to which it is added to increase the strength characteristics, and through the combustion of practically all types of fuel. High-temperature technological processes, typical of many industrial areas, are also sources of cadmium release into the atmospheric air. It is used in various fields of science and technology.

Effects on the body: Cadmium is a substance classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a first class carcinogen. Cadmium compounds are poisonous. Inhalation of its oxide vapor (CdO) is a particularly dangerous case. Cadmium is a cumulative poison, it can accumulate in the body. The half-life of cadmium in the body is 10 years. After being absorbed into the blood, soluble cadmium compounds affect the central nervous system, liver and kidneys, and disrupt phosphorus-calcium metabolism. Chronic poisoning leads to anemia and bone destruction. There is evidence to support the effect of inhaled cadmium on the development of lung cancer in humans and animals. Cadmium also enters the human body during smoking.

Nickel is metal.

The main sources that pollute the atmosphere are mining enterprises, metallurgical plants, machine-building, metal-working, chemical enterprises, energy enterprises and other industries that use fossil hydrocarbon fuels and their derivatives as an energy source. Among other things, sources of nickel are tobacco smoke, construction and decoration materials.

Impact on the body: Nickel is a carcinogen belonging to the second hazard class. Solid metal nickel is not dangerous for living organisms. Dust, vapors of nickel and its compounds are toxic. In addition to general toxic effects, chronic intoxication leads to diseases of the nasopharynx, lungs, the appearance of malignant neoplasms and allergic lesions in the form of dermatitis and eczema.

Hydrocarbons - Emitted into the atmosphere as droplets and vapors.

A third of the annual emissions of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere comes from exhaust gases from internal combustion engines. Another source is the work of oil refineries.

The impact on the body of gasoline-range hydrocarbons is expressed in disorders of the functional state of the central nervous system. The highest nervous activity suffers the most, which is associated with the narcotic effect of hydrocarbons. Even at very low concentrations, the action of hydrocarbons leads to functional disorders of the nervous system, neurasthenia, vegetative neuroses, irascibility and irritability - up to severe dizziness with sudden head movements. Hydrocarbons emitted into the air during the operation of vehicles with gas-cylinder installations cause general weakness, headaches, less often - a feeling of noise in the head.

PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - anthracene, phenanthrene) - are a part of various mastics for waterproofing (tar-based), parquet stickers, some adhesives, plasticizers, some impregnations for natural wood, parquet / laminate backing. Are a part of: plastic and resin products, insulation.

Styrene is a substance of hazard class II (highly hazardous), which is a part of solvents, plastics.

It can stand out from adhesives, varnishes, plastics (polystyrene), rubber products. The most common sources: rubber linoleums, foam rubber carpet bases, polystyrene, styrene polymers, ABS plastics, expanded polystyrene, fiberglass, varnishes and adhesives based on polyester resins; PAHs and styrene have a reflex-resorptive effect that characterizes the direction of the biological action of a substance. Reflex action is understood as a reaction from the receptors of the upper respiratory tract - a sense of smell, irritation of the mucous membranes, breath holding, etc. These effects occur with short-term exposure to harmful substances. Resorptive action is understood as the possibility of developing general toxic, gonadotoxic, embryotoxic, mutagenic, carcinogenic and other effects, the occurrence of which depends not only on the concentration of a substance in the air, but also on the duration of its inhalation.

To prevent the negative consequences of the effects of pollutants, it is necessary to know their limit levels at which normal vital activity and functioning of the organism is possible. The main value of the environmental regulation of the content of harmful chemical compounds in the components of the natural environment, in particular in the atmospheric air, is the MPC - the maximum permissible concentration. MPCs for pollutants in the air are established by law or recommended by competent institutions. In Russia, the MPC of a pollutant in the ambient air is a hygienic standard approved by a resolution of the Chief State Physician of the Russian Federation on the recommendation of the Commission on State Sanitary and Epidemiological Standardization under the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (Ministry of Health of Russia, Hygienic Standards GN 2.1.6.695-98).

Changes associated with the impact of climatic factors often lead to the development of so-called seasonal diseases or seasonal exacerbations of chronic diseases.

Seasonal diseases are more often recorded during the transitional season (spring and autumn), when climatic conditions are unstable and subject to sharp fluctuations. As a rule, these include colds: acute respiratory infections, tonsillitis, inflammatory diseases of the bronchopulmonary system. Greatest mortality

from tuberculosis

lungs fall in winter and early spring, from cardiovascular diseases - in November-December. In the autumn-winter period, there is a maximum mortality from myocardial infarction and stroke. In the summer, there is an increase in gastrointestinal diseases due to violation of personal hygiene rules against the background of overheating of the body, as well as seasonal outbreaks of diseases transmitted by pathogens or vectors of infections, the activity of which coincides with a certain season (amoebic dysentery, malaria, etc.)

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PREVENTION Clinical types of weather:

1) Optimal-day-to-day fluctuations T up to 2, air speed up to 3m / s, change in atmospheric pressure up to 8mbar

2) Irritant - fluctuations T up to 4, air speed up to 9m / s, change in atmospheric pressure up to 8mbar

3) Acute fluctuations T more than 4, the speed of movement is more than 9m / s, the change in atmospheric pressure is more than 8mbar

The influence of weather on the person is diverse, climatic factors affect the biological rhythms of various physiological systems of the orgma. Under the influence of these factors, seasonal diseases and exacerbations of chronic diseases, essentially meteotropic diseases, occur, deterioration of health and a decrease in working capacity are associated with a sudden change in weather.

Prevention:

1) limit the workload for a period of unfavorable weather for threatening patients

2) to use medicines for the contradictory therapy of chronic diseases.

3) isolate threatening patients in biotrons (wards with controlled weather)

4) hardening of org-ma

Gone are the days when mankind could calmly enjoy those earthly benefits that nature has endowed our planet in abundance. Every year on the globe there are fewer and fewer areas where clean air, crystal clear water could be preserved, flora and fauna remained intact. This is facilitated by a number of factors, each of which has its own nature of origin. However, not only man is guilty of the fact that his home planet Earth is gradually ceasing to be an earthly paradise, turning into a hostile and aggressive environment. Nature itself, in the course of natural processes, participates in atmospheric pollution, producing substances that pollute the air, changing river beds, surface relief and landscape. The combination of many natural and artificially created factors, the growth of their number becomes the main reason for the deterioration of the ecological situation in the environment. The danger of air pollution, polluted air is already becoming the norm of life today.

The problem of air pollution is a challenge to human civilization

The problem of deteriorating air quality is no less urgent today than the arms race and the fight against the global terrorist threat. If the world community is able to cope with deadly types of weapons and terrorism on its own, then atmospheric pollution poses the threat of total extinction to mankind. Such problems are protracted and global in nature, endangering the existence of future generations.

The main danger lies in the fact that as a result of the ingress of harmful substances and components into the air envelope of the planet, the chemical composition of the air changes. This leads to the fact that the living conditions of man and living organisms change significantly, the climatic situation on the planet changes catastrophically.

If we talk about the role of humans in the outlined deterioration of air quality, then the rapidly developing industry is to blame. Human activities, aimed mainly at creating civilizational benefits, have caused artificial pollution of the atmosphere. The industrial revolution that began in the 19th century led to a rapid increase in emissions. Over the past 200 years, the concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by 30-35%. This was facilitated by large-scale deforestation and the burning of huge quantities of fossil fuels. Ultimately, global industrialization entailed large-scale environmental problems, polluted air has become a constant companion of today's human civilization.

Nearly all human activities affect air quality. In addition to industrial emissions, the products of thermal power plants and an increase in the number of cars were added. When fossil fuels are burned, sulfur dioxide is released in huge quantities, and millions of working car engines emit hundreds of tons of nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere. In addition to chemicals harmful and dangerous to living organisms, as a result of human activity, our air is rapidly filled with soot and dust.

For a long time, the situation in this regard has not changed. Human civilization was too keen on the pursuit of improving the quality of life and creating consumer products. It was only at the end of the 20th century that the gravity of the planet's environmental problems became apparent. In order to understand the problematic of the issue, it is enough to look at the current statistics. In 150 cities around the world, the maximum permissible concentration of harmful substances in the air is 5 times higher. More than 100 cities of the planet in terms of the concentration of compounds of harmful substances in the air can generally be ranked as unsuitable for humans.

In this aspect, it is important to consider air pollution as it affects the quality of our life. An increase in the content of harmful impurities in the air immediately affects the work of the human body. Inhaling carbon monoxide (carbon dioxide) can cause severe poisoning, bordering on death. Heavy metals in high concentrations are harmful to humans. Penetrating into the atmosphere, they are highly toxic. Fertile ozone, which is so necessary for our planet, in high concentration also poses a threat to the human body. Dust, fumes and fine particles are carcinogenic, slowly poisoning the environment.

A change in the chemical composition of the air invariably leads to a change in the planet's climate. The familiar picture of the smooth change of the seasons is becoming a rarity today. In those regions of the planet where warm and mild winters were previously observed, low temperatures and large-scale cold snaps are frequent occurrences. In the tropics, instead of the wet monsoon season, there is a sharp increase in dry periods. Climate change leads to a decrease in the area of \u200b\u200bagricultural land, to a decrease in the number of pastures. Against this background, the problem of providing the world's population with food arises. Hunger is becoming almost the main secondary factor in changing the climate situation on the planet. A sharp change in climate contributes to the development of a number of dangerous diseases that humans face today.

A direct consequence of the climate change is an intensive reduction in the area of \u200b\u200bglaciers in mountain systems, an intense melting of the Greenland ice shell and the Antarctic ice sheet. These processes entail an increase in the level of the world ocean, changes in the hydrological situation in coastal areas. Inert gases present in the products of the chemical industry have an indirect effect on the state of the atmosphere. Getting into the upper atmosphere, they destroy the ozone layer, which is a human shield for us from the hard cosmic ultraviolet radiation.

Causes of air pollution

Basically, the quality of the air mass is affected by an increase in the concentration of chemical, physical and biological components that are not typical for natural natural gas exchange. These processes have occurred and continue to occur naturally, but in recent years, human participation in air pollution has increased markedly.

In other words, the reasons contributing to the pollution of the Earth's atmosphere can be divided into two types:

• natural;
• artificial (man-made).

Against the background of this division, there is also a classification of pollution sources, which can also be of a natural and artificial nature.

For billions of years, the earth's atmosphere has been influenced by the active geological activity of our planet. Volcanoes constantly emitted millions of tons of harmful and toxic impurities into the atmosphere. There are many tragic moments in the history of the Earth when large-scale eruptions led to catastrophic consequences. Clouds of poisonous ash fell into the upper atmosphere, polluted air became an obstacle to solar radiation. As a result, the hot and humid climate was replaced by a sharp cold snap, which ended in mass extinctions of some species and the appearance of others. Volcanic activity has the character of thermal pollution of the atmosphere, as a result of which there is a significant violation of the temperature balance on the planet's surface.

The catastrophic eruption of the Krakatoa volcano, which occurred in 1883, not only changed the relief and landscape of the entire island, but also led to a significant release of billions of tons of ash and dust into the earth's atmosphere. As a result of the spread of such an amount of solid particles in the lower and middle layers of the atmosphere, the level of natural illumination of the surface of the entire planet has noticeably dropped. Over the next two years, early twilight was observed around the world, and the air temperature dropped by 0.5-1 degrees.

Together with volcanoes, forest fires, sandstorms, and natural soil erosion can be safely ranked as natural sources of air pollution. Finally, the chemical composition of the air mass is influenced by the centuries-old decomposition of organic matter accumulated in the upper layers of the earth's surface. The source of pollution is forest fires, blazing at all times in vast areas, which fill the air with carbon monoxide and a huge amount of burning and ash. Sandstorms mix the lower air layer with millions of tons of sand and dust, reducing the humidity of the air and making it unbreathable.

Despite this, nature itself has adapted to deal with such negative phenomena, maintaining the necessary balance of components in the atmosphere. As for the human factor, artificially created factors of pollution of the earth's air envelope enter the arena. This category of pollution factors is characterized by the presence of anthropogenic sources. These primarily include industrial emissions, transport infrastructure, extensive agriculture, and household waste. These sources are the most dangerous for our air, since nature is not always able to quickly cope with negative consequences. Pollutants entering the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources are, in turn, divided into three types:

• solid;
• gaseous;
• semi-liquid state.

The negative and harmful effect of solid particles and substances in a semi-liquid state is short-lived, often local in nature. As for gaseous impurities, they make up 90% of all harmful substances that enter the planet's atmosphere.

Major anthropogenic sources of air pollution

To date, artificial sources of pollution that have a negative impact on the chemical, physical composition of the air are classified by origin. It looks like this:

• technological, industrial sources of pollution;
• household infrastructure;
• transport;
• sources of radioactive air pollution.

One of the first positions among artificial sources of pollution is occupied by the chemical industry, which is distinguished by an increased concentration of objects in a limited area. This leads to intense and rapid air pollution in certain areas. In this case, we are dealing with a unique phenomenon. Polluted air becomes dangerous for humans not only due to large volumes of harmful emissions. Chemical substances trapped in the air layer react with each other, forming highly toxic substances and compounds. A striking example is the formation and concentration of ozone in the lower atmosphere, which is dangerous and harmful to humans.

Heavy industry leaves a significant negative footprint in the atmosphere. An increase in the number of mining and processing plants, ferrous metallurgy enterprises and thermal power plants leads to an increase in the concentration of carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and a number of other heavy components in the air mass.

In the domestic sphere, the use of freon certainly makes a significant contribution to air pollution. Mass production and operation of refrigeration units, the use of aerosols in everyday life contributes to a high concentration of inert gases in the mesosphere and stratosphere of our planet, destroying the ozone layer.

The transport infrastructure is characterized by a high intensity of harmful emissions, among which millions of tons of carbon monoxide, nitrogen compounds and hydrocarbons prevail. The pollution of the atmosphere from exhaust gases occurs against the background of the daily operation of hundreds of millions of vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines. The air is filled with heavy metals, including tetraethyl lead, cadmium and mercury, which are dangerous to human health. According to the latest data from environmental organizations, in every large metropolitan area, polluted air contains lead and mercury compounds 20-40 times more than the established norm.

The latter, radioactive sources of air pollution pose a latent threat. The effect of radioactive elements and contaminated particles on living organisms manifests itself over time. Radioactive contamination of the atmosphere is, as a rule, technogenic in nature and is associated with nuclear weapons tests, accidents at nuclear power plants and at facilities where radioactive components are used as research material.

Air pollution is an environmental problem

To date, a person has directly faced the negative consequences that a sharp deterioration in air quality entails. The main effect of what is happening is harm to human health and other living organisms. The habitat in which the population of huge cities and densely populated areas of the planet finds itself today is becoming unsuitable for a comfortable life. Inhaling, on average, up to 20 thousand liters of air throughout the day, a person with him gets inside up to 1-2 liters of harmful solid impurities and 5-50 mg. heavy metals. Most of this amount remains in the body, having a negative effect on human health.

Photochemical fog is becoming an obligatory attribute of big cities today. What is the reason for this? Gases, which appear in huge quantities as a result of the life of the metropolis, cannot arbitrarily rise to the upper atmosphere and settle in the surface layer. Under the influence of temperature, high humidity and solar radiation, toxic compounds are formed in such a gas-dust cloud, which disrupt the functioning of the human lungs, interfering with the photosynthesis of plants. Photochemical fog is a new phenomenon and is associated with a high concentration in the lower atmosphere of primary and secondary compounds consisting of aerosols, sulfur oxide, nitrogen and organic substances.

At the same time, touching upon the problem of atmospheric pollution on a global scale, one should talk about the increased frequency of acid rain and the greenhouse effect, which have become the scourge of the 21st century. Acid rains make huge tracts of agricultural land unsuitable for use, causing the death of huge forests. An excess of carbon dioxide concentration in the planet's atmosphere leads to the formation of a greenhouse effect. The temperature of the lower air layers increases, and the meteorological situation in the lower and middle air layers changes accordingly.

Contamination control measures

The problem with air pollution and the Earth's atmosphere is now becoming global. To overcome the ecological crisis, a person throws huge funds aimed at finding solutions to problematic issues and eliminating the consequences that have occurred. At present, atmospheric pollution is being actively monitored both at the domestic level and in the international, national context. Constant monitoring of air pollution is carried out.

In many countries, where the dimensions of the ecological crisis have assumed alarming proportions, various programs are being carried out to reduce the level and intensity of industrial emissions. A number of states have strengthened control over the operation of nuclear facilities and chemically hazardous industries. Deforestation of tropical forests, which are responsible for replenishing the air with oxygen, is decreasing. In parallel with this, intensive reclamation of land and water resources in agriculture is being carried out, aimed at restoring natural resources. The use of chemically harmful reagents and biologically active components in agriculture is decreasing.

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