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Emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere
The industrial and economic development is accompanied, as a rule, by the growth of environmental pollution. Most large cities are characterized by a significant concentration of industrial facilities in relatively small areas, which poses a danger to human health.
One of the environmental factors that have the most significant impact on human health is air quality. Particular danger is currently represented by air emissions of pollutants. This is due to the fact that toxicants enter the human body mainly through the respiratory tract.
Emissions to the atmosphere: sources
There are natural and anthropogenic sources of pollutants entering the air. The main impurities that contain airborne emissions from natural sources are dust of cosmic, volcanic and vegetable origin, gases and fumes generated as a result of forest and steppe fires, products of destruction and weathering of rocks and soils, etc.
Levels of air pollution by natural sources are background. They vary little with time. The main sources of pollutants entering the air basin at the present stage are man-made, namely, industry (various sectors), agriculture and motor transport.
Emissions of enterprises into the atmosphere
The largest "suppliers" of various pollutants to the air basin are metallurgical and energy enterprises, chemical production, construction industry, engineering.
During the combustion of fuels of various types by energy complexes, large amounts of sulfur dioxide, carbon oxides and nitrogen, and soot are released into the atmosphere. Also in emissions (in smaller quantities) there are a number of other substances, in particular hydrocarbons.
The main sources of dust and gas emissions in the metallurgical industry are melting furnaces, bottling plants, etching units, agglomeration machines, crushing equipment, unloading and loading of materials, etc. The largest proportion among the total amount of substances entering the atmosphere is occupied by carbon monoxide, dust, sulfurous anhydride, Nitric oxide. Manganese, arsenic, lead, phosphorus, mercury vapors, etc., are discharged in somewhat smaller quantities. Also, during the steelmaking process, emissions to the atmosphere are contained in steam-gas mixtures. They include phenol, benzene, formaldehyde, ammonia and a number of other dangerous substances.
Harmful emissions into the atmosphere from chemical industry enterprises, in spite of small volumes, pose a particular danger to the environment and human being, as they are characterized by high toxicity, concentration and considerable diversity. Depending on the type of products produced, air mixtures may include sulfur oxides, volatile organic compounds, fluorine compounds, nitrous gases, solids, chloride compounds, hydrogen sulphide, etc.
In the production of building materials and cement, emissions to the atmosphere contain significant amounts of various dusts. The main technological processes leading to their formation are grinding, processing of charge materials, semi-finished products and products in hot gas streams, etc. Around the plants producing various building materials, contamination zones with a radius of up to 2000 m can be formed. They are characterized by a high concentration of dust in the air containing Particles of gypsum, cement, quartz, and a number of other pollutants.
Emissions of vehicles
In large cities, a large number of pollutants enter the atmosphere from vehicles. According to various estimates, they account for 80 to 95%. Exhaust gases consist of a large number of toxic compounds, in particular nitrogen oxides and carbon, aldehydes, hydrocarbons, etc. (total about 200 compounds).
The largest volumes of emissions are noted in the areas of traffic lights and intersections, where cars move at low speed and idle. Calculation of emissions into the atmosphere shows that the main components of exhaust in this case are carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons.
It should be noted that, unlike stationary sources of emissions, the work of vehicles leads to air pollution on city streets at the height of human growth. As a result, the harmful effects of pollutants are exposed to pedestrians, residents of houses along roads, and vegetation growing in the surrounding areas.
Agriculture
Emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere in rural areas are mainly the result of the activities of livestock complexes and poultry farms. From the premises in which poultry and livestock are kept, hydrogen sulphide, ammonia and some other gases spread over considerable distances into the air. Also dangerous toxicants get into the air as a result of the activities of crop plants when spraying pesticides and fertilizers in the fields, etching seeds in warehouses, etc.
Other sources
In addition to the above sources, emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere are produced by oil and gas refineries. It also occurs as a result of the extraction of mineral raw materials and its processing, the release of gases and dust from underground mine workings, the burning of rocks in dumps, the operation of incineration plants, and so on.
Effects on humans
According to various sources, there is a direct link between air pollution and a number of diseases. For example, the duration of the course of respiratory diseases in children living in relatively contaminated areas is 2-2.5 times higher than in those living in other areas.
In addition, in cities characterized by an unfavorable ecological situation, the children noted functional deviations in the system of immunity and blood formation, violations of compensatory-adaptation mechanisms to environmental conditions. Many studies have also identified the relationship between air pollution and human mortality.
The main components of emissions coming into the air from various sources are suspended substances, nitrogen oxides, carbon and sulfur. It was revealed that the zones exceeding the maximum allowable concentration limit for NO 2 and CO cover up to 90% of the urban area. The resulted macro components of emissions are capable to cause serious diseases. The accumulation of these contaminants leads to damage to the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, the development of pulmonary diseases. In addition, increased concentrations of SO 2 can cause dystrophic changes in the kidneys, liver and heart, and NO 2 - toxicoses, congenital anomalies, heart failure, nervous disorders, etc. Some studies have revealed a relationship between the incidence of lung cancer and concentrations of SO 2 and NO 2 in the air.
conclusions
Pollution of the environment and, in particular, the atmosphere, has adverse health consequences not only of the present, but also of subsequent generations. Therefore, we can safely say that the development of measures aimed at reducing emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere is one of the most urgent problems of mankind today.
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