Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus

Educational institution

"Gomel State medical University»

Department of General Hygiene, Ecology and Radiation Medicine

Impact of pollution atmospheric air on human health and sanitary living conditions

Performed by the student gr. L-226

A.V. Korzon

Checked:

Stratyeva T.G.

Gomel 2012

Introduction 2

1. Sources of air pollution 4

2.1 Influence greenhouse effect to nature and people 7

3.1 Impact of ozone holes on human health and nature 8

4.1 The impact of acid rain on nature and humans 9

5.1 Impact of smog on nature and humans 11

Conclusion 13

List of used literature 14

Introduction

The economic activity of mankind over the past century has led to a serious pollution of our planet with a variety of industrial wastes. The air, water and soil in the areas of large industrial centers often contain toxic substances, the concentration of which exceeds the maximum permissible level. Since cases of significant excess of the permissible concentration are quite frequent and there is an increase in the incidence of diseases associated with environmental pollution, in recent decades, specialists and funds mass media, and after them, the population began to use the term "environmental crisis".

At the end of the century before last, Friedrich Engels warned: “We will not, however, delude ourselves too much with our victories over nature. second and third, completely different, unforeseen consequences, which very often destroy the consequences of the first. "

An unrelenting degradation of the environment is taking place on a global scale. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing, the ozone layer of the Earth is being destroyed, acid rains are falling, harming all living things, the loss of species of living things is accelerating, fishing is withering, the decline in the fertility of the earth undermines efforts to feed the hungry, water is poisoned, and the forest cover of the Earth is getting smaller.

All these problems affect not only the state of the environment, but also the health of the person himself. Consideration of these basic environmental problems in modern world and this work will be dedicated.

1. Sources of air pollution

Atmospheric air is polluted by introducing or forming pollutants in it in concentrations that exceed the quality standards or the level of natural content.

Pollutant - an impurity in the atmospheric air that, at certain concentrations, has an adverse effect on human health, flora and fauna and other components of the environment natural environment or damaging material assets.

In recent years, the content in the atmospheric air Russian cities and industrial centers of such harmful impurities as suspended solids, sulfur dioxide, significantly decreased, as with a significant decline in production, the number of industrial emissions decreased, and the concentrations of carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide increased due to the growth of the car fleet.

The most significant influence on the composition of the atmosphere is exerted by enterprises of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical industries, construction industry, energy enterprises, pulp and paper industry, motor transport, and in some cities also boiler houses.

Ferrous metallurgy. The processes of smelting pig iron and processing it into steel are accompanied by the release of various gases into the atmosphere. The emission of dust per 1 ton of pig iron is 4.5 kg, sulfur dioxide - 2.7 kg, manganese - 0.1-0.6 kg.

Sintering factories are the source of air pollution with sulfur dioxide. During the agglomeration of the ore, sulfur is burned out from the pyrites. Sulfide ores contain up to 10% sulfur, and after agglomeration, it remains 0.2-0.8%. In this case, the emission of sulfur dioxide can be up to 190 kg per 1 ton of ore (i.e., the operation of one draw frame gives about 700 tons of sulfur dioxide per day).

Emissions from open-hearth and converter steel-making shops significantly pollute the atmosphere. Melting of steel is accompanied by the burnout of some amounts of carbon and sulfur, and therefore the exhaust gases of open-hearth furnaces with oxygen blast contain up to 60 kg of carbon monoxide and up to 3 kg of sulfur dioxide per 1 ton of smelted steel.

Non-ferrous metallurgy. Harmful substances are formed during the production of alumina, aluminum, copper, lead, tin, zinc, nickel and other metals in furnaces on crushing and grinding equipment, in converters, places of loading, unloading and shipment of materials, in drying units, in open warehouses. Basically, non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises pollute the atmosphere with sulfur dioxide (SO2) (75% of the total emissions into the atmosphere), carbon monoxide (10.5%) and dust (10.4%).

Chemical and petrochemical industry. Emissions into the atmosphere in the chemical industry occur during the production of acids, industrial rubber goods, phosphorus, plastics, dyes and detergents, artificial rubber, mineral fertilizers, solvents (toluene, acetone, phenol, benzene), and oil cracking.

The variety of raw materials for production determines the composition of pollutants - mainly carbon monoxide (28% of the total emissions into the atmosphere), sulfur dioxide (16.3%), nitrogen oxides (6.8%), etc. The emissions contain ammonia (3, 7%), gasoline (3.3%), carbon disulfide (2.5%), hydrogen sulfide (0.6%), toluene (1.2%), acetone (0.95%), benzene (0.7% ), xylene (0.3%), dichloroethane (0.6%), ethyl acetate (0.5%), sulfuric acid (0.3%).

Oil refining enterprises, the concentration of which is especially high in Bashkortostan, Samara, Yaroslavl and Omsk regions, pollute the atmosphere with emissions of hydrocarbons (23% of the total emissions), sulfur dioxide (16.6%), carbon monoxide (7.3%), nitrogen oxides (2%).

The development of oil and gas fields with an increased content of hydrogen sulfide poses a particular environmental hazard.

Building materials industry. The production of cement and other binders, wall materials, asbestos-cement products, construction ceramics, heat and sound insulation materials, construction and technical glass is accompanied by emissions of dust and suspended solids (57.1% of the total emissions), carbon monoxide (21.4%) into the atmosphere. ), sulfur dioxide (10.8%) and nitrogen oxides (9%). In addition, hydrogen sulfide is present in the emissions (0.03%).

Woodworking and pulp and paper industry. Most large enterprises industries are concentrated in the East Siberian, North, North-West and Ural regions, as well as in the Kaliningrad region.

Among the largest air pollutants, the Arkhangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill can be distinguished (7.5% of the total emissions in the industry). Typical pollutants produced by these enterprises are solids (29.8% of total atmospheric emissions), carbon monoxide (28.2%), sulfur dioxide (26.7%), nitrogen oxides (7.9%), hydrogen sulfide (0.9%), acetone (0.5%).

In rural areas, sources of air pollution are livestock and poultry farms, industrial complexes for the production of meat, enterprises serving equipment, energy and heat power enterprises. Over the territories adjacent to the premises for keeping livestock and poultry, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and other foul-smelling gases spread over considerable distances in the atmospheric air.

Clean air is necessary for a person to maintain and maintain normal health. Long time the issue of its pollution was not given the necessary attention. However, with the development of industry, the growth of transport per capita, the atmosphere in cities is rapidly becoming polluted, people breathe air poisoned by various poisonous chemical compounds.

Therefore, this problem concerns each of us directly. Indeed, according to the data The World Organization health care, air pollution and human health are directly related - the atmosphere filled with chemical waste is one of the main factors in the development of many dangerous diseases.

Impact of polluted air on human health

Doctors have long ago identified a connection between the atmosphere of large cities, filled with harmful substances, and an increase in the number of respiratory diseases. The city dweller inhales daily great amount gases, dust, solid particles. They are in direct contact with the surface of the lungs, and many times faster than through the stomach, penetrate the body, and act several tens of times stronger.

Therefore, the development of asthma, the appearance of allergies are directly associated with the inhalation of air, which contains sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and dust, as well as hydrocarbons, which contain chlorine and fluorine.

Chronic diseases of the upper respiratory tract, some skin diseases may appear due to the presence of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere. With this chemical compound also associate the appearance of angina pectoris.

Presence in the air high content iron is one of the reasons for the development urolithiasis, and the presence of copper contributes to obesity, leads to the occurrence of pathologies of the musculoskeletal system.

Air pollution is called one of the essential factors in the development of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. The most dangerous for humans are nitrogen dioxide, as well as fine dust. These harmful compounds, even at relatively low concentrations, increase the risk early death people under forty.

Near cities and towns are often located industrial enterprises, heating systems burning coal. Their emissions into the atmosphere, in conjunction with the exhaust of cars, saturate the city air with the smallest harmful particles, which, with constant inhalation, provoke excessive thickening of the blood. This, in turn, leads to the formation of blood clots in the cavity. blood vessels, significantly increases the risk of developing hypertension.

In addition, regular inhalation of air filled with various harmful substances provokes nervous disorders, reduces efficiency, has Negative influence on immune system, weakens the body as a whole.

According to statistics, approximately five percent of all hospitalizations in metropolitan areas occur precisely because there is a direct effect of air pollution on human health.

It should be noted the extremely negative impact of various harmful substances in the atmosphere on the health of newborns.

In addition, many substances affect intrauterine development fetus.
In particular, if a pregnant woman regularly inhales air in which the content of ozone and carbon monoxide is increased, the likelihood of having a baby with developmental defects - cleft lip, cleft palate, or various heart valve defects increases.
This is especially dangerous at the very beginning of pregnancy - the first three months.

Fighting air pollution or how to protect the air from pollution ...

In our country, a lot of work is being done to cleanse the atmosphere and prevent its pollution. So, with the adoption of the Law on the Protection of Atmospheric Air, various measures are being taken, in particular, to prevent urban air pollution. by car.

In addition, measures are being taken for landscaping, since green spaces help maintain the purity of the atmosphere - saturate it with oxygen, cleanse it of dust and particulate matter (harmful substances settle on the leaves). Poplars and lilacs are especially good in this sense.

To maintain clean air and prevent pollution, streets are watered in many cities in summer. Abundant watering prevents dust particles from rising into the air.

It is forbidden by law to burn garbage, dry grass, fallen leaves in parks and gardens, since when they are burned, many harmful and sometimes poisonous substances rise into the atmosphere.

In order to reduce the impact of the polluted atmosphere on health, city dwellers are advised to travel outside the city more often, to play sports feasible, to drink more clean, filtered water.

In order to purify the air, in many in public places- hospitals, large stores, theaters, concert halls, etc., install air conditioners. V educational institutions, kindergartens carry out wet cleaning several times a day, often ventilate game rooms, bedrooms, classrooms.

Experts recommend to residents of cities, pregnant women, as well as those who are suffering various diseases cardiovascular, respiratory systems, go out into nature more often, especially on hot, dry days, and spend vacations outside the city.

The effects of air pollutants on the human body can be both direct and indirect.

To direct harmful influence on the human body should be attributed to the impact of air saturated with dust of various origins - particles of rocks, soil, soot, ash. The total amount of dust annually entering the Earth's atmosphere is estimated at 2 billion tons, with anthropogenic aerosols accounting for 10-20%. With prolonged inhalation of dusty air, people and pets develop a disease called dusty pneumonia.

Dustiness of the air in cities should be attributed to indirect harmful effects. With an increase in the dust content of the atmosphere over large cities, direct solar radiation decreases. In their centers, the total solar radiation is 20-50% lower than in the suburbs. The intake of ultraviolet rays is significantly reduced. This leads to an increase in the urban air of pathogenic bacteria. In dusty air, the number of water condensation nuclei increases sharply. As a result, the number of foggy and cloudy days in large cities several times more than outside them.

Existing air pollution is a complex mixture. The atmosphere contains solid, liquid and gaseous substances, the results of many reactions. Therefore, the effect of ozone, nitrogen dioxide or PM particles taken separately is difficult to assess; it can be enhanced by a mixture of all other air pollutants. The mixture is created, for example, under the influence solar radiation when nitrogen dioxide interacts with organic components and ozone is formed.

A typical air pollutant that ranks first among others (about 30% of the total volume of pollution) is the product of incomplete oxidation of carbon - CO - carbon monoxide or carbon monoxide.

The concentration of this gas, exceeding the maximum permissible, promotes the deposition of lipids on the walls of blood vessels, impairing their conductivity, and leads to physiological changes in the human body. This is explained by the fact that CO is an extremely aggressive gas that easily combines with hemoglobin. When combined, carboxyhemoglobin is formed, an increase in the content of which in the blood (above the norm, equal to 0.4%) is accompanied by:

Deterioration of visual acuity and the ability to assess the duration of time intervals;

Violation of some psychomotor functions of the brain (with a content of 2-5%);

Changes in the activity of the heart and lungs (with a content of more than 5%);

Headaches, drowsiness, spasms, respiratory problems and, in some cases, death (if the content is more than 10%).

The degree of influence of carbon monoxide on the body depends not only on its concentration, but also on the time of stay (exposure) of a person in the air polluted with CO. Fortunately, the formation of carboxyhemoglobin in the blood is a reversible process: after the cessation of CO inhalation, its gradual removal from the blood begins; in a healthy person, the content of CO in the blood decreases by 2 times every 3-4 hours.

Carbon monoxide is a very stable substance; its lifetime in the atmosphere is 2–4 months. With an annual input of 350 million tons, the concentration of CO in the atmosphere should have increased by about 0.03 million tons / year. However, this, fortunately, is not observed, which mankind owes, mainly, to soil fungi, very actively decomposing CO (the transition of CO to CO 2 also plays a positive role).

Among sulfur compounds, the most toxic for human body are its dioxide (SO 2) and sulfuric anhydride (SO 3). In combination with suspended particles and moisture, they have the most harmful effect on living organisms. SO 2 is a colorless and non-combustible gas; in a mixture with solid particles (at a smoke concentration of 150-200 μg / m3) leads to an increase in the symptoms of shortness of breath and exacerbation of lung diseases, and at a smoke concentration of 500–750 μg / m3, the number of patients sharply increases and the number of deaths increases. Bronchial asthma- the most common disease in people breathing air with a high content of sulfur dioxide. A close relationship has been established between increased mortality from bronchitis with an increased concentration of sulfur dioxide in the air.

Nitrogen oxides and some other substances.

Nitrogen oxides (nitrogen dioxide is the most toxic - NO 2), combining with the participation of ultraviolet solar radiation with hydrocarbons (among which olefins have the highest reactivity), form peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) and other photochemical oxidants, including peroxybenzoyl nitrate (PBN), ozone, hydrogen peroxide, nitrogen dioxide. These oxidants are the main constituents of photochemical smog, which often occurs in highly polluted cities located in the low latitudes of the northern and southern hemispheres.

An assessment of the rate of photochemical reactions leading to the formation of PAN, PBN, and ozone shows that in a number of southern cities in summer at midday hours (when the influx of ultraviolet radiation is high) these rates exceed the values ​​at which smog begins to form. So, in Odessa and other cities, at the observed levels of air pollution, the maximum rate of CO formation reached 0.70-0.86 mg / m 3 per hour, while smog occurs already at a rate of 0.35 mg / m 3 per hour.

The presence of nitrogen dioxide and potassium iodide in PAN gives the smog a brown tint. At a high concentration, PAN falls to the ground in the form of a sticky liquid, which has a detrimental effect on the vegetation cover.

All oxidants - primarily PAN and PBN - strongly irritate the mucous membrane of the eyes and cause inflammation. In combination with ozone, these substances irritate the nasopharynx, lead to vasospasm, and at high concentrations (over 3-4 mg / m 3) they contribute to a strong cough.

Let us name some other air pollutants that are harmful to humans. It has been found that people who work professionally with asbestos have an increased likelihood of cancer. Beryllium has a harmful effect on Airways as well as on the skin and eyes. Mercury vapors disrupt the work of the central nervous system and kidneys. Since mercury can accumulate in the body, its exposure ultimately leads to a disorder of the human mental faculties. Lead compounds have a negative effect on the nervous system. Penetrating through the skin and accumulating in the blood, lead reduces the activity of enzymes involved in oxygenation of the blood. This, in turn, disrupts normal metabolic processes.

As noted above, the atmosphere contains a large number of various substances, a complex mixture of substances in solid, gaseous and liquid states.

Solids are not uniform in composition and size, they consist of organic and inorganic substances... The composition of solids in the atmospheric air contains benzo (a) pyrene, metals, their oxides, and many secondary reaction products. The sizes of solid particles in the atmosphere range from several tens of nanometers to hundreds of micrometers.

In the last decade, particles with a size of less than 10 microns have begun to be emitted among suspended solids. The International Organization for Standardization has developed definitions for these small particles. Particles with a diameter of 10 microns are isolated, which are called PM 10, and smaller ones with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns, called PM 2.5. Air Quality Monitoring for Health Impact Assessment, published by the WHO European Office (European Series, no. 85.293 p. 38) defines these particles.

Particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 microns or less mainly constitute the respirable fraction of total suspended particles, i.e. that part of them that enters the body, bypassing the larynx.

Particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 microns or less make up the respirable part of the total suspended particles that penetrate into the non-ciliary region of the respiratory tract in individuals from the groups high risk(children and adults with certain lung conditions).

In materials prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO), it is said that about 6.4 million years of healthy life is lost due to prolonged exposure to particles contained in the atmosphere.

In cities, due to the increasing air pollution, the number of patients suffering from chronic bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancer, and various allergic diseases is steadily growing.

In modern conditions, the human body is exposed to combined - simultaneous or sequential exposure to harmful substances with the same route of intake.

These actions are manifested as follows:

Additive action - the total effect of the mixture is equal to the sum of the effects of the active components, which indicates the unidirectionality of their action;

Potentiated action (synergism) - one substance enhances the action of another, as a result the joint action is more additive; observed only in acute poisoning;

Antagonistic action - one substance weakens the action of the other, as a result the joint action is less additive;

Independent action - the combined effect does not differ from the isolated action of each harmful substance; these are mixtures of combustion products, dust, etc.

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Anthropogenic pollution of the atmosphere is associated with mechanical, physical, chemical and biological factors, which are most noticeably manifested in places where people live compactly, especially in megalopolises, where weather also noticeably differ from similar parameters outside the city. Millions of tons of pollutants are constantly present in the atmosphere. For example, in our republic, according to the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Statistics, emissions of the most common harmful substances are growing every year (Table 1).

Table 1. Emissions of the most common hazardous substances from stationary industrial sources of air pollution.

Air pollution leads to an increase in diseases of both the respiratory system and the cardiovascular system. Almost 20% of all diseases of the respiratory system and 10% of diseases of the circulatory system are associated with air pollution. Currently industrial cities, where more than 50% of the population is concentrated, can be attributed to ecologically hazardous zones, since the content of pollutants in their atmosphere significantly exceeds the maximum permissible concentration. Big role This is also played by air pollution by emissions from vehicles, in particular by emissions of lead, which has significant toxicity and the ability to accumulate in the body. Accumulating in the human body, lead, along with other harmful substances, can cause adverse long-term effects, since it has mutagenic, carcinogenic, teratogenic and embryogonadal toxic properties. Chemical factors of health risk are also related to such physical factor, like radiation, the effects of which cannot be avoided. The radiation comes both from space and from radioactive substances contained in earth crust and in various objects of the environment.

Dose values ​​of internal radiation (intake of radioactive substances into the body with air or with contaminated food and water) from natural sources radiation is about two times higher than the doses of external radiation. The largest contribution to the internal radiation dose (about 80%) is made by the short-lived decay products of 222Rn and 220Rn, about 11% - 40K and 7% - 210Pb and 210Po. The main part of the radiation dose to the population from exposure to radon accumulates when people are in closed, unventilated rooms. Sources of radon can also be the soil on which houses are built, Construction Materials as well as artesian water and natural gas.

There are many regions on the planet where the consequences of radiation effects are clearly observed. Among them are test sites nuclear weapons: Semipalatinsk and North ( former USSR), Nevada (USA and Great Britain), Mururoa (France) and Lop Nor (China), on which 2059 explosions were made until 1991, including 715 in the USSR and 1085 in the USA; mining and enrichment of uranium, the explored reserves of which are about 2.2 million tons; so-called explosions for "peaceful purposes" (more than 200 ground and underground explosions); NPP impact; research reactor impact; impact of ship nuclear reactors; the possibility of exposure to repositories for the disposal of radioactive waste. Long-term action of small doses or short-term action large doses of radiation leads to the development of the so-called radiation sickness, which manifests itself in the defeat of mainly hematopoietic organs, gastrointestinal tract and the nervous system. Malignant neoplasms develop in the tissues most exposed to radiation. The occurrence of diseases in the offspring of irradiated parents (hereditary lesions) can be observed. Therefore, radioactive waste disposal sites and their transportation routes pose a potential threat to human health.

The pace of development of measures for the protection of atmospheric air in cities lags behind the pace of development of motor transport and industry. In this regard, it becomes very urgent problem long-term forecast risks of diseases of the population caused by chemical and radiation pollution.

Myrzalieva S.K.

National Center for Integrated Processing of Mineral Raw Materials of the Republic of Kazakhstan,

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Sangilbaeva Zh.O.

Kazakh National Medical University named after S.D. Asfendiyarov,

Almaty, Kazakhstan