Freshwater pollution examples. Sources of water pollution

Water pollution

Any actions performed by a person with water lead to a change in both its physical properties (for example, when heated), and chemical composition(in places of industrial wastewater). With the passage of time, substances that have got into the water are grouped and remain in it in the same state. The first category includes household and most industrial wastewater. The second group includes different kinds salts, pesticides, dyes. Let's take a closer look at some of the pollutants.

Settlements

This is one of the main factors affecting the condition of the water. Fluid consumption per person per day in America is 750 liters. Of course, this is not the amount to drink. A person consumes water when washing, using it for cooking, using the toilet. The main drain goes to the sewer. At the same time, water pollution increases depending on the number of residents living in the settlement. Each city has its own treatment facilities, in which sewage is purified from bacteria and viruses that can seriously harm the human body. The purified liquid is discharged into rivers. The contamination of water by household waste is also intensified by the fact that, in addition to bacteria, it contains food debris, soap, paper and other substances that negatively affect its condition.

Industry

Any developed state should have its own factories and plants. This is the largest contributor to water pollution. The liquid is used in technological processes, it serves both for cooling and for heating the product, various aqueous solutions used in chemical reactions. More than 50% of all discharges come from four main consumers of the liquid: oil refineries, steel and blast furnace shops, and the pulp and paper industry. Due to the fact that the disposal of hazardous waste is often an order of magnitude more expensive than their primary treatment, in most cases, together with industrial wastewater, a large amount of a variety of substances is discharged into water bodies. Chemical pollution water leads to a violation of the entire ecological situation in the whole region.

Thermal impact

Most power plants operate using steam energy. In this case, water acts as a cooler; after passing through the process, it is simply discharged back into the river. The current temperature in such places can rise by several degrees. Such an impact is called thermal water pollution, but there are a number of objections to this term, since in some cases, an increase in temperature can lead to an improvement in the environmental situation.

Oil pollution of water

Hydrocarbons are one of the main sources of energy on the entire planet. Wrecks of tankers, gusts on oil pipelines form a film on the water surface through which air cannot enter. Spilled substances envelop marine life, which often leads to their death. Both volunteers and special equipment are involved in the elimination of pollution. Water is a life-giving source. It is she who gives life to almost every creature on our planet. A negligent and irresponsible attitude towards it will lead to the fact that the Earth will simply turn into a desert scorched by the sun. Already, some countries are experiencing a lack of water. Of course, there are projects for the use of Arctic ice, but the best solution the challenge is to reduce overall water pollution.

For a long time, the problem of water pollution was not acute for most countries. The resources available were sufficient to meet the needs of the local population. With the growth of industry, the increase in the amount of water used by humans, the situation has changed dramatically. Now the issues of its cleaning and quality preservation are being dealt with at the international level.

Methods for determining the degree of contamination

Water pollution is usually understood as a change in its chemical or physical composition, biological characteristics... This determines the restrictions on further use of the resource. The pollution of fresh waters deserves great attention, because their purity is inextricably linked with the quality of life and human health.

In order to determine the state of water, it is measured whole line indicators. Among them:

chromaticity;
the degree of turbidity;
smell;
pH level;
content of heavy metals, trace elements and organic substances;
E. coli titer;
hydrobiological indicators;
the amount of oxygen dissolved in water;
oxidizability;
the presence of pathogenic microflora;
chemical oxygen consumption, etc.

In almost all countries there are supervisory bodies that must, at regular intervals, depending on the degree of importance of the pond, lake, river, etc., determine the quality from the contents. If deviations are found, the reasons that could provoke water pollution are identified. Then measures are taken to eliminate them.

What provokes resource pollution?

There are many reasons that can cause water pollution. This is not always associated with human or industrial activities. Natural disasters that occur periodically in different areas can also disrupt environmental conditions. The most common reasons are considered to be:

Domestic and industrial waste water. If they do not pass the synthetic cleaning system, chemical elements and organic substances, then, getting into water bodies, are capable of provoking a water-ecological disaster.
Acid rain. This problem is not spoken about so often so as not to provoke social tension. But the exhaust gases that enter the atmosphere after emissions from automobile transport, industrial enterprises, along with the rains, end up on the ground, polluting the environment.
Solid waste, which can not only change the state of the biological environment in the reservoir, but also the flow itself. This often leads to flooding of rivers and lakes, obstruction of the flow.
Organic pollution associated with human activities, natural decomposition of dead animals, plants, etc.
Industrial accidents and man-made disasters.
Floods.
Thermal pollution associated with the production of electrical and other energy. In some cases, the water heats up to 7 degrees, which causes the death of microorganisms, plants and fish, for which a different temperature regime is needed.
Avalanches, mudflows, etc.

In some cases, nature itself is able to purify water resources over time. But the period of chemical reactions will be long. Most often, the death of inhabitants of water bodies and pollution of fresh waters cannot be prevented without human intervention.

The process of moving pollutants in water

If we are not talking about solid waste, then in all other cases, pollutants may exist:

in a dissolved state;
suspended.

They can be droplets or small particles. Bio-pollutants are observed as live microorganisms or viruses.

If solid particles get into the water, then they do not necessarily settle at the bottom. Depending on the current, storm phenomena, they are able to rise to the surface. An additional factor is the composition of the water. It is almost impossible for such particles to sink to the bottom in the sea. As a result of the current, they easily move long distances.

Experts draw attention to the fact that due to the change in the direction of the current in the coastal zones, the level of pollution is traditionally higher.

Regardless of the type of pollutant, it can enter the body of fish that live in the reservoir, or birds looking for food in the water. If this does not lead to the direct death of the creature, then it can affect the further food chain. There is a high likelihood that this is how water pollution poisons people and worsens their health.

The main results of the impact of pollution on the environment

Regardless of whether the pollutant enters the human body, fish, animal, a protective reaction is triggered. Certain types of toxins can be rendered harmless by immune cells. In most cases, a living organism needs help in the form of treatment so that the processes do not become serious and do not lead to death.

Scientists determine, depending on the source of pollution and its influence, the following indicators of poisoning:

Genotoxicity. Heavy metals and other trace elements are ways to damage and alter the structure of DNA. As a result, serious problems are observed in the development of a living organism, the risk of diseases increases, etc.
Carcinogenicity. Oncology problems are closely related to what kind of water a person or animals uses. The danger lies in the fact that a cell, having turned into a cancerous one, is able to quickly regenerate the rest in the body.
Neurotoxicity. Many metals, chemicals can affect nervous system... Everyone knows the phenomenon of the release of whales, which is provoked by such pollution. The behavior of sea and river inhabitants becomes inadequate. They are not only able to kill themselves, but also begin to devour those who were previously uninteresting to them. Getting into the human body with water or food from such fish and animals, chemicals can provoke a slowdown in the reaction of the brain, destruction of nerve cells, etc.
Violation of energy exchange. By acting on mitochondrial cells, pollutants can alter energy production. As a result, the body ceases to carry out active actions. Lack of energy can cause death.
Reproductive failure. If water pollution causes the death of living organisms not so often, then it can affect the state of health in 100 percent of cases. Scientists are especially concerned that their ability to reproduce a new generation is being lost. Solving this genetic problem can be tricky. Artificial renewal of the aquatic environment is required.

How does water control and treatment work?

Realizing that pollution of fresh waters endangers human existence, government authorities at the national and international level create requirements for the operation of enterprises and the behavior of people. This framework is reflected in the documents regulating the procedures for water control and the operation of treatment systems.

There are the following cleaning methods:

Mechanical or primary. Its task is to prevent large objects from entering the reservoirs. To do this, special grids and filters are installed on the pipes through which the drains go. It is required to clean the pipes in a timely manner, otherwise the blockage can cause an accident.
Specialized. Designed to capture one type of pollutant. For example, there are traps for fats, oil spills, flocculent particles that are deposited with the help of coagulants.
Chemical. Implies that waste water will be reused in a closed cycle. Therefore, knowing their composition at the outlet, they select chemicals that can return water to its original state. This is usually industrial water, not drinking water.
Tertiary purification. In order for water to be used in everyday life, in agriculture, in the food industry, its quality must be impeccable. For this, it is processed special formulations or powders capable of retaining heavy metals, harmful microorganisms and other substances during the multi-stage filtration process.

In everyday life, more and more people are trying to install powerful filters that get rid of pollution caused by old communications and pipes.

Diseases that dirty water can provoke

Until it became clear that pathogens and bacteria can enter the body with water, humanity was faced with global problems... After all, the epidemics that were observed periodically in a particular country claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

The most common diseases that can lead to bad water, relate:

cholera;
enterovirus;
giardiasis;
schistosomiasis;
amoebiasis;
congenital deformities;
mental abnormalities;
intestinal disorders;
gastritis;
skin lesions;
burns of mucous membranes;
oncological diseases;
decreased reproductive function;
endocrine disorders.

Purchasing bottled water and installing filters is a means of preventing diseases. Some people use silver items that also partially disinfect the water.

Water pollution can change the planet and make the quality of life completely different. That is why the issue of preserving water bodies is constantly being raised by environmental organizations and research centers. This allows you to attract the attention of enterprises, the public, government agencies To existing problems and stimulate the initiation of proactive action to prevent disaster.

Water pollution is a serious problem for the ecology of the Earth. And it should be addressed both on a large scale - at the level of states and enterprises, and in small - at the level of each human being... After all, do not forget that responsibility for the Pacific garbage patch lies on the conscience of everyone who does not throw garbage in the trash can.

Domestic wastewater often contains synthetic detergents that end up in rivers and seas. Clusters inorganic substances affects aquatic life, and reduces the amount of oxygen in the water, which leads to the formation of so-called "dead zones", of which there are already about 400 in the world.

Often, industrial wastewater containing inorganic and organic waste is discharged into rivers and seas. Thousands of people enter the water sources every year. chemical substances, the effect of which on the environment is not known in advance. Many of them are new compounds. Although industrial wastewater is pretreated in many cases, it still contains toxic substances that are difficult to detect.

Acid rain

Acid rain occurs as a result of the release of exhaust gases from metallurgical plants, thermal power plants, oil refineries, as well as other industrial enterprises and road transport into the atmosphere. These gases contain oxides of sulfur and nitrogen, which combine with moisture and oxygen in the air to form sulfuric and nitric acid... Then these acids fall to the ground - sometimes at a distance of many hundreds of kilometers from the source of atmospheric pollution. In countries such as Canada, the USA, the Federal Republic of Germany, thousands of rivers and lakes were left without vegetation and fish.

Solid waste

If the water contains a large amount of suspended solids, they make it opaque to sunlight and thereby interfere with the process of photosynthesis in water bodies. This, in turn, causes disturbances in the food chain in such pools. In addition, solid waste causes siltation of rivers and shipping channels, which necessitates frequent dredging.

Oil leak

In the United States alone, approximately 13,000 oil spills occur annually. V sea water annually up to 12 million tons of oil falls. In the UK, over 1 million tonnes of used engine oil is poured down the drain every year.

Oil spilled into seawater has many adverse effects on the life of the sea. First of all, birds die: they drown, overheat in the sun or are deprived of food. Oil blinds seals and seals living in the water. It reduces the penetration of light into confined bodies of water and can raise the temperature of the water.

Unidentified sources

It is often difficult to identify the source of water pollution - it can be an unauthorized release harmful substances an enterprise, or pollution caused by agricultural or industrial work. This leads to water pollution with nitrates, phosphates, toxic heavy metal ions and pesticides.

Thermal water pollution

Thermal water pollution is caused by thermal or nuclear power plants. Thermal pollution is introduced into the surrounding waterways by the waste cooling water. As a result, an increase in the temperature of the water in these reservoirs leads to an acceleration of some biochemical processes in them, as well as to a decrease in the content of oxygen dissolved in the water. Finely balanced breeding cycles are disrupted different organisms... In conditions of thermal pollution, as a rule, there is a strong growth of algae, but the extinction of other organisms living in the water.

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Availability of fresh pure water – necessary condition the existence of all living organisms on the planet.

The share of fresh water suitable for consumption accounts for only 3% of its total amount.

Despite this, a person in the process of his activities mercilessly pollutes it.

Thus, a very large volume of fresh water has now become completely unusable. A sharp deterioration in the quality of fresh water occurred as a result of its pollution with chemical and radioactive substances, pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and sewage and that's already.

Types of pollution

It is clear that all types of pollution that exist are also present in aquatic environment.

This is a fairly extensive list.

In many ways, there will be a solution to the problem of pollution.

Heavy metals

In the course of the operation of large factories, industrial wastewater is discharged into fresh water, the composition of which is replete with various kinds of heavy metals. Many of them, getting into the human body, have a detrimental effect on it, leading to severe poisoning and death. Such substances are called xenobiotics, that is, elements that are alien to a living organism. The class of xenobiotics includes elements such as cadmium, nickel, lead, mercury and many others.

Sources of water pollution by these substances are known. These are, first of all, metallurgical enterprises, automobile plants.

Natural processes on the planet can also contribute to pollution. For example, harmful compounds are found in large quantities in the products of volcanic activity, which from time to time enter the lakes, polluting them.

But, of course, the anthropogenic factor is of decisive importance here.

Radioactive substances

The development of the nuclear industry has caused significant harm to all life on the planet, including reservoirs with fresh water. In the course of the activities of nuclear enterprises, radioactive isotopes are formed, as a result of the decay of which particles with different penetrating ability (alpha, beta and gamma particles) are released. All of them are capable of causing irreparable harm to living beings, since when they enter the body, these elements damage its cells and contribute to the development of oncological diseases.

Sources of contamination can be:

atmospheric precipitation in areas where nuclear tests are carried out;
waste water discharged into a reservoir by nuclear industry enterprises.
ships operating using nuclear reactors (in case of an accident).

Inorganic pollution

The main inorganic elements that worsen the quality of water in reservoirs are compounds of toxic chemical elements. These include toxic metal compounds, alkalis, salts. As a result of the ingress of these substances into the water, its composition changes for consumption by living organisms.

Wastewater is the main source of pollution large enterprises, factories, mines. Some inorganic pollutants increase their negative properties when in an acidic environment. So, acidic wastewater coming from a coal mine contains aluminum, copper, zinc in concentrations that are very dangerous for living organisms.

Every day, a huge amount of water from sewage flows into reservoirs.

Such water contains a lot of pollutants. These are particles of detergents, small food and household waste residues, feces. These substances, in the process of their decomposition, give life to numerous pathogenic microorganisms.

Their ingestion into the human body can provoke a number serious illnesses such as dysentery, typhoid fever.

From large cities, such effluents enter rivers and the ocean.

Synthetic fertilizers

Synthetic fertilizers used by humans contain many harmful substances such as nitrates and phosphates. If they enter the reservoir, they provoke excessive growth of a specific blue-green algae. Growing to enormous sizes, it prevents the development of other plants in the reservoir, while the alga itself cannot serve as food for living organisms living in the water. All this leads to the disappearance of life in the reservoir and its waterlogging.

How to solve the problem of water pollution

Of course, there are ways to solve this problem.

It is known that most of the polluting elements enter water bodies along with wastewater from large enterprises. Water purification is one of the ways to solve the problem of water pollution. Business owners should take care of installing quality treatment facilities... The presence of such devices, of course, is not able to completely stop the release of toxic substances, but they are quite capable of significantly reducing their concentration.

Also with dirt drinking water help fight household filters that will cleanse her in the house.

Man himself must take care of the purity of fresh water. Compliance with several simple rules will help to significantly reduce the level of water pollution:

Must be used sparingly tap water.
Avoid entering household waste into sewerage system.
Whenever possible, clean up nearby bodies of water and beaches.
Don't use synthetic fertilizers. Organic household waste, grass cuttings, fallen leaves, or compost are the best fertilizers.
Dispose of discarded garbage.

Despite the fact that the problem of water pollution is currently reaching alarming proportions, it is quite possible to solve it. To do this, each person must make some effort, be more careful with nature.

According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), about one third of the world's population lives in countries suffering from fresh water shortages, and in less than 25 years, two thirds of humanity will live in countries with fresh water shortages. Countries have unequal water potential. But the habit of thinking that Russia is a power with an inexhaustible supply of pure fresh water can do a disservice. The ubiquitous anthropogenic factor is changing the order of things in our rich water resources country. Suffice it to recall Lake Baikal, once the world's largest reservoir of the purest fresh water, or the vast, perhaps the most polluted in Russia, the Volga-Caspian basin.

Water quality problems are as serious as water availability problems, but they receive relatively little attention. This is especially true for densely populated areas and territories of large industrial enterprises and agricultural complexes.

In Russia in 2003, on average, every fifth to seventh of the studied drinking water samples did not respond hygiene requirements.

SOURCES OF WATER. ALL INCLUSIVE

Water from natural surface sources is less and less suitable for direct use. Whether it's production goals, Agriculture or human needs for drinking water. The reasons are the long-term discharge of untreated and under-treated wastewater from industrial and agricultural enterprises, washouts from fields, radioactive contamination, lack of sewage systems, thermal pollution, etc.

On quality natural sources water also reflects the state of the atmosphere, since water bodies are replenished due to precipitation, unfortunately, carrying a significant number of unwanted dissolved elements.

The main pollutants of surface sources are oil products, phenols, easily oxidized organic substances, copper and zinc compounds, ammonium and nitrate nitrogen. Some hazardous substances, such as salts of heavy metals, lurk in sediments in stagnant or low-flowing water bodies and pose a significant threat, especially in the event of a strong drop in water level.

The second half of the last century was marked by the emergence of another major problem of water use. Organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus, entering water bodies from fields with residues mineral fertilizers, as well as with municipal sewage and sewage from livestock farms, cause eutrophication of water bodies.

As a result, in some cases, dirty water cannot even enter the production systems water circulation, it is not suitable for irrigating agricultural land and, of course, for drinking.

There is a well-known example of the city of Salekhard, standing at the confluence of the huge Ob River with its large tributary Poluy and experiencing difficulties with drinking water... The pollution of the river basin with oil products is so strong that tap water is completely unsuitable for drinking, and drinking water is transported around the city in cisterns.

According to the UN, about a third of the world's population uses water from underground sources for drinking. But even this resource is not able to provide us with clean, safe water. At first, underground springs- this is a rather heterogeneous class of aquifers and not always artesian. Analysis of only a small number of wells in our country showed that in most of them the water is not potable.

According to UNEP estimates, in 1999 there were more than 2,700 groundwater sources in Russia classified as contaminated. In densely populated, industrial and agricultural regions, soils can be saturated with toxic substances to such an extent that they have already lost both their filtration capacity and buffering properties.

In addition, the system of underground communications in many areas is not perfect. Difficult to control and, therefore, irreparable leaks, for example from sewer pipes add problems. All this leads to the fact that all the same undesirable substances penetrate into groundwater.

A SIP. IS THIS LOT OR LITTLE?

Total water pollution affects human health.

According to international experts, in 2000, due to the consumption of poor-quality water, 2 billion people were at risk of contracting malaria (with an approximate constant number of cases of 100 million and an annual mortality from this disease of 1-2 million people).

There are about 4 billion cases of diarrhea and 2.2 million deaths from it every year, which is equivalent to 20 daily accidents of large airliners. More than 10% of the population of the developing world is affected by helminthic diseases. About 6 million people have lost their sight due to trachoma. 200 million people suffer from schistosomiasis. Even in relatively prosperous Europe, there are isolated outbreaks of intestinal infections associated with drinking water. Moreover, according to statistics, among those affected by unfavorable conditions Wednesday, two thirds are children.

Unfortunately, the quality of drinking water in Russia is unacceptably low. This is often associated with the lag of the country in terms of the average life expectancy of the population from other industrialized countries. The cost of the risk and loss of health of the population from the consumption of poor-quality drinking water in Russia as a whole is estimated at about 33.7 billion rubles a year.

In 2003, according to statistical reports, on average, every fifth to seventh of the studied drinking water samples of the distribution network did not meet hygienic requirements, including 90% - in terms of organoleptic properties, 9% - in terms of the content of chemicals exceeding the MPC in terms of sanitary-toxicological criteria. harm; every ninth sample is microbiological, and more than 60% of the negative samples show a real epidemic danger, since sometimes the level of bacterial contamination is 20 or more times higher than the established standard.

The impact of chemical, as well as radiation, pollution cannot always be traced directly. The result of the systematic consumption of low-quality water can affect much later. According to the observations of specialists, chlorides and sulfates affect the gastrointestinal and cardiovascular spheres. An excess of nitrogen and chlorine compounds give complications to the kidneys and liver. Aluminum has a negative effect on the central and immune systems. Iron contributes to the occurrence of allergic diseases.

"SWIMMING IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN!"

About 30 infectious outbreaks associated with the water supply are recorded annually.

The poor condition of water bodies has another unpleasant consequence. It becomes unsafe to swim in the water.

It is estimated that swimming in polluted seas causes about 250 million cases of gastroenteritis and upper respiratory tract disease annually, with an economic loss of US $ 1.6 billion per year. What can we say about reservoirs of much smaller size, and even with stagnant water?

The "poisoning" of foodstuffs with water should not be overlooked. A well-known example is the level of nitrates in crop products exceeding the established hygienic regulations. They also detect heavy metal salts and radionuclides.

The consumption of shellfish and crustaceans in polluted waters is responsible for 2.5 million cases of infectious hepatitis every year. About 25 thousand cases of this disease end in death, the same number - in serious liver damage and long-term loss of working capacity.

It is estimated that the annual health impact of such delicacies on the world's population is equivalent to 3.2 million man-years of labor and costs the global community US $ 10 billion.

CLEANING PROBLEMS

Water purification remains an urgent task.

Moreover, this task becomes more complicated day by day: the corresponding engineering structures worn out in order, cease to meet the requirements of today and technology. The water purification system created decades ago was not designed for the modern volumes and condition of the substance being purified. And the fact that the necessary actions to maintain the existing system in a functioning state, they are not produced or produced in an insufficient volume, leads to the fact that many elements of the water management complex become dangerously unsafe for the population.

In Russia, approximately 50% of the distribution water supply network is in an emergency or close to that condition, mainly due to corrosion and organic and chemical deposits that saturate the water with undesirable and sometimes harmful elements.

At times, corrosion leads to the appearance of gaps in the pipelines. If such a pipeline is underground, dirt will flow through the holes. All this leads to the fact that the outlet water, even with optimal purification, does not meet drinking standards.

First Deputy Minister natural resources Nikolay Tarasov, summing up the discussion of the main problems of water management Russian Federation, especially noted the unsatisfactory state of the household drinking water supply, associated with the low quality of water supplied to the population due to pollution of surface and underground waters, the unsatisfactory condition of water supply networks, and, what is important, insufficient use modern methods purification of drinking water.

At a meeting of the Presidium of the State Council of the Russian Federation in the summer of 2003, it was pointed out that the ecological state of many water bodies in the most populated and industrially developed regions of Russia is unsatisfactory.

The main rivers: Volga, Don, Kuban, Dnieper, Northern Dvina, Pechora, Ural, Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Kolyma, Amur - are assessed as "polluted", in some places - as "very dirty"; large tributaries: Oka, Kama, Tom, Irtysh, Tobol, Miass, Iset, Tura - as “very dirty”, and in some places as “extremely dirty”. The ecological state of a number of smaller rivers was recognized as catastrophic. Although groundwater is, on average, less polluted than surface water, there is now a tendency towards deterioration in their ecological state.

The sanitary condition of water bodies of the 1st and 2nd categories of water use in Russia remains unsatisfactory. Almost half of the sources of centralized water supply from open reservoirs do not correspond sanitary standards... The volume of wastewater discharged into the surface water bodies, is more than 55 cubic meters. km, while "normative cleaning" is only 11%.

In 2001, 22% of water samples at water intake points from open reservoirs did not respond hygiene standards for microbiological indicators, and 28% for chemical ones. The share of water samples with the release of infectious diseases pathogens is increasing, in 2002 it reached almost 1.5%. In the country as a whole, only 1% of the source water of surface sources meets the standards that guarantee the receipt of drinking water of proper quality. 34% of water pipelines with water intake from open reservoirs do not have full complex treatment facilities, and 20% - disinfection plants. Are extremely slow to be introduced modern technologies water treatment, the high wear and tear of distribution networks remains - up to 60%. In 2001, 19.5% of water samples supplied directly to consumers did not meet hygienic requirements in terms of sanitary-chemical indicators.

The highest rates of microbial contamination of water bodies of the 1st category are typical for St. Petersburg: 80.3% of standard samples (with the release of infectious agents in 12.3%, with an average percentage in the country of 2.27). As a result of the use of poor-quality, contaminated drinking water in the country, from 15 to 30 outbreaks of acute intestinal infections, typhoid fever and viral hepatitis A are recorded annually with the number of victims up to 2.5-3 thousand people.
www.regnum.ru

DEBT GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER

Any natural system always strives for self-purification. But its resources are still limited. Too strong pollution it is not able to "extinguish", especially when it comes to substances not of natural origin, but invented by man. Therefore, in order to avoid problems in the future, it is worth putting up a powerful barrier to further poisoning of water sources.

The experience of Western European countries has shown that wastewater treatment can be very effective. So, for example, since the beginning of the 80s of the last century, the discharge of phosphorus into natural reservoirs with the effluents of city water treatment plants has decreased by 50-80%, which has led to a significant decrease in the phosphorus content in many lakes that are "unfavorable" for this indicator.

Unfortunately, Russia has not yet taken tangible steps to create an effective system for collecting and treating wastewater, and, moreover, by the end of the last century, the discharge of polluted water into rivers has increased.

This is especially regrettable given the fact that, according to some sources, the overall production in Russia has become "dirtier". The reason lies in outdated equipment, low-quality raw materials with a high content of harmful substances.

It is clear that at such backward enterprises, water treatment systems are poorly or do not function at all. There are also completely unacceptable cases of discharging industrial waste directly into water bodies or into the city sewage system, which is not suitable for the purification of such waters, which leads to a deterioration in the operation of its purification systems.

The unfavorable trend of aggravation of water-related problems, which has developed and established in the last century, poses an urgent task for the world community to get out of the crisis. And the search for new, economical ways to purify water, both for technical purposes and for drinking water, is one of the components of the program. necessary actions to stabilize the ecological situation.

Interesting Facts:

WHO: one billion people drink dirty water. Experts are sounding the alarm: more than one billion people on Earth drink dirty, inadequate water, and 2.6 billion - almost 40 percent of the world's population - live in unsanitary conditions, according to Reuters.

UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy and experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicated in their report that this situation poses the greatest danger to children.

About 1.8 million people die each year from intestinal infections, most of them children under 5 years old, the report said.

The problem is becoming more urgent due to reports that in 20 years the amount of water required for food production will increase by a quarter, and many rapidly developing countries will not be able to obtain it without destructive impact on ecosystems.
Agency Mednovosti.ru, 26.08.04

Tsunami 2. Infectious diseases are common companions of natural disasters. They were observed after large floods in Sudan in 1980, in West Bengal in 1998, and in Mozambique in 2000. And the number of victims was comparable to the floods themselves.

The reasons are obvious: after natural disasters, communications and housing were destroyed, masses of people are forced to live crowded in field conditions, water sources and drinking water treatment systems are polluted, local medical services are paralyzed. And aggressive microorganisms out of control are just waiting for the opportunity to conquer new spaces. The greatest danger is posed by intestinal infections: dysentery, hepatitis A, cholera, typhoid fever.
T. Bateneva, Izvestiya Nauki, 19.01.05

Microbial and viral contamination of drinking water both centralized and non-centralized water supply creates a risk of diseases of the population with intestinal infections, primarily viral hepatitis A.
IA Regions.ru, 25.01.2005