There were times when production records were at the forefront, and they did not think at what price they were given. Waste poured into the rivers, chimneys smoked into the sky, and nothing. The main thing is that the plan was carried out. Industrial enterprises of the Chelyabinsk region, which is one of the most industrial in Russia, also paid almost no attention to the environment, although they have long become leaders in terms of production indicators. As a result of this race to increase capacity, the Chelyabinsk region has become one of the ten most polluted regions in Russia. In various ratings, she is put either on the 73rd place out of 82, or on the 84th out of 85, or even not at all the last. In addition to industrial pollution, the ecology is worsened by the East Ural radioactive trace left after the Kyshtym accident. Irresponsible attitude to the environment over the past 30 years has led to an almost 3-fold increase in the number of patientscancer, and one in two suffers from chronic diseases in the region.
It cannot be said that the Ministry of Ecology of the region is not trying to solve the problem. The authorities regularly issue environmental laws in the Chelyabinsk region. In particular, in 2016, a new Decree was issued, according to which classes on ecology for students will be introduced into the curriculum, protection measures for natural objects will be carried out, and support will be provided to environmentalists and enterprises. The deadline for implementing the Resolution is until 2025. There is also a law “On Environmental Monitoring”, a law “On Production and Consumption Wastes”, a law “On Specially Protected Natural Objects”. Violators are subject to sanctions in the form of fines, and even removal from office. As you can see, environmental work is underway in the region, but the situation remains sad.
Brief historical background
Once the lands of the Chelyabinsk region were amazingly beautiful, the waters of rivers and lakes were crystal clear, vegetation was rampant everywhere, and people lived in harmony with nature. At the end of the 17th century, an expedition arrived in these parts, but found nothing useful. After 70 years, a second expedition took place, which included talented geologists. They managed to find iron ore here, which became the starting point for the industrial development of the region. At first, a single plant was built in Zlatoust, and by the end of the 18th century there were about thirty of them. The industry of the Chelyabinsk region received especially large-scale development in the era of the first five-year plans. Now in the ferrous metallurgy of Russia this region has no equal. Together with non-ferrous metallurgy, the region produces 50% of products,produced in the country. The most industrial cities of the region are Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk, Zlatoust, Karabash, Miass, Troitsk, Ust-Katav, Kopeysk.
Short chemical analysis
Environmental problems of the Chelyabinsk region cause dozens of toxic substances in the atmosphere, in the ground, in the water of rivers and lakes. Most dangerous:
- Benzpyrene. It is released into the air, with rains, or by itself settles on the ground, from where it enters the plants. Able to accumulate in the body. It is a strong carcinogen, causes mutations in genes, destroys DNA.
- Formaldehyde. Very toxic and explosive. Causes diseases of the eyes, skin, nervous system.
- Hydrogen sulfide. In minimal doses, it is useful, if exceeded, it causes nausea, headaches, pulmonary edema, and can lead to death.
- Nitrogen dioxide. Causes acid rain, very toxic, changes the blood formula.
- Heavy metals. Slow down the growth and development of children. Able to accumulate in plants, fish, poultry and animal meat. People can cause cancer and a number of other serious diseases.
Chelyabinsk air
This beautiful city is called the capital of the Southern Urals. It has been leading its history since 1743. For almost three hundred years, industrial production has been developing here. The environmental problems of the Chelyabinsk region have arisen in connection with the work of such industrial giants as a ferroalloy plant (Electrometallurgical Plant), a zinc plant (ChTsZ), forging and pressing, pipe rolling,machine tool, crane factories.
Except for enterprises, motor vehicles worsen the environment. In the city, there are 340 cars per 1,000 citizens (including infants), harmful emissions from which amount to 120,000 tons, or 44% of all environmental pollution. The most environmentally unfavorable is the metallurgical plant (CHMK), which emits 46.6% of all substances hazardous to he alth into the atmosphere. The second place was taken by the company "Fortum", which includes three CEC and GRES. The third place belongs to CHEKM. In the Chelyabinsk air, when taking samples, the excess of benzpyrene, formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, phenol and hydrogen sulfide by several times is constantly detected.
Chelyabinsk waters
Environmental problems of the Chelyabinsk region are associated with pollution not only of the air. Enterprises poison the water in reservoirs. During the year they dump almost 200 million m3 of all sorts of filth into the rivers, killing all living things in them. The main water artery of the city is the Miass River. It receives untreated wastewater from 26 enterprises, including communal farms. In the waters of Miass, suspended solids, metals, and oil products are found 2-15 times higher than the MPC. Not far from the city of Karabash, the Sak-Elga river flows into Miass, which, in fact, has become a sewage collector. In this place, in the waters of Miass, ecologists detect heavy metal ions, which make up to 1,130 MPC. All this flows into the Argazinsky reservoir. Residents of Chelyabinsk and the region take drinking water from another reservoir - Shershnevsky. To date, the Ministry of Ecology of the Chelyabinskarea, having made measurements, issued a verdict on full compliance with water standards in this reservoir. However, an independent commission of environmentalists from Moscow, based on their measurements, recognized the non-compliance of the Shershnevskoye reservoir with the norms of a drinking source.
Chelyabinsk soils
The soil in the city is also heavily polluted. Arsenic, cadmium, lead were found in excess of the norm, and the zinc content exceeded the MPC by almost 20%. The environmental problems of the Chelyabinsk region related to soil pollution cause great concern among agricultural workers. To date, the amount of arable land contaminated with heavy metals is 95.6 thousand hectares. At the same time, benzpyrene is found above the norm by 21.8 thousand hectares, oil products - by 1.9 thousand, zinc - by 12 thousand, arsenic - by 3.8 thousand hectares. It is not difficult to imagine what fruits and vegetables grow on such lands.
The most threatening situation is near the Mechel enterprise, where benzpyrene in soils is present at a concentration of 437 MPC, and at a distance of 1 km from Mechel - 80 MPC. Also unfavorable are the lands near ChEMK, where benzpyrene is 40 MPC, and ChTZ, where this hazardous chemical is 20 MPC.
Magnitogorsk
This city dates back to 1929, when a metallurgical plant was built here, although the Magnitnaya fortress existed since the middle of the 18th century. Now, in terms of production volume, Magnitogorsk occupies the second position in the region. The largest enterprises here are the metallurgical plant (MMK), the cement-refractory and crane plants, OJSC"Installer", "Prokatmontazh", "Sitno", "Magnitostroy". Thanks to the irresponsibility of their leaders, the ecology of the Chelyabinsk region as a whole suffers. The share of MMK in the atmospheric pollution of the city is 96%. If you open this indicator, the numbers will be horrifying. Every day, the plant emits 128 tons of fine dust, 151 tons of SO2 (this is sulfur dioxide) into the atmosphere. In fine dust, such substances were found that exceed the MPC by 3-10 times: lead, copper, chromium, iron, benzene, benzpyrene, toluene, and the air is polluted in all urban areas. In soils, the norms of arsenic are exceeded by 155 times, nickel by 43 times, and benzpyrene by 87 times. Outside the city, the situation is not much better. Here, harmful substances in the soils were found "only" 45 times higher than the norm.
Chrysostom
This city was founded in parallel with the construction of the first metallurgical plant in the region, that is, in 1754. Now the largest industrial enterprises of the Chelyabinsk region are concentrated here - an electrometallurgical and machine-building plants, an arms factory, a metal structure plant and a dozen more large and small enterprises. All together they emit about 7.7 thousand tons of harmful substances into the atmosphere annually. From 1993 to 1996, thanks to the efforts of environmentalists, emissions decreased by about 1.5 times, but since the 2000s they have crept up again. The city authorities are making attempts to improve the environment, for which they are cleaning bottom sediments in the Balashikha reservoir, built a sewer system more than 2 km long,designed to drain polluted waters.
Karabash
Only about 11,000 people live in this settlement. From Chelyabinsk to it in a straight line a little more than 80 km. Karabash is a small town, so there are not many industrial enterprises here. Among them are 2 abrasive plants and ZAO Karabashmed. This blister copper enterprise is trying hard to make the environment of the Chelyabinsk region the worst in the country.
They even tried to close the plant, because every year it "gifts" each inhabitant with 7 tons of sulfurous anhydrite, which is extremely poisonous. In the atmosphere, it combines with oxygen, which causes acid rain. Now the situation in Karabash is recognized as critical. Around the city, over the years of operation, the plant has formed heaps of waste slag up to 40 meters high. There is also Bald Mountain, on which the townspeople posted the words "Save and save." A separate topic is the Sak-Elga River. The water in it is yellow-orange, and the shores are bordered by stones twisted by chemical corrosion.
Other cities
The city of Ozersk raises many environmental questions, more precisely, its Mayak production association, which produces components of nuclear weapons and is in charge of storing nuclear fuel. The radiation background in this city is average for Russia, however, waste thrown into the Techa River for a long time served and is now a source of radiation exposure for hundreds of people.
The situation is tense in the city of Korkino, as well as in the village of Roza. Here the air is poisoned by a smoking rift. Interestingly, localexperts call the current situation not dangerous, but the benzpyrene emitted with smoke does not exceed the MPC, and Moscow experts, who took measurements, recognized Korkino as a disaster zone.
The authorities are haunted by the environmental problems of the city of Chebarkul, Chelyabinsk region. There are few large enterprises here. Among them are cinder block plants, a crane plant and a plywood and tile plant. It was this plant, which uses formaldehyde in technological processes, that led to an unfavorable ecological situation. When burning or storing production waste, formaldehyde enters the air, soil and water. Measurements showed that its amount exceeds the MPC by several times.
Radiation
Of particular concern regarding the issue of radiation in the Chelyabinsk region is the production association "Mayak", located, we repeat, in Ozersk. From 1950 to 2000, 32 emergencies were recorded at this strategic enterprise, which served to significantly increase the radiation background. For a long time, all radioactive waste containing isotopes of strontium, cesium, plutonium, zirconium was thrown into the Techa River, which caused constant exposure of all those living along its banks. In total, over 50 years of operation (until 2000), Mayak sent 1.8 billion becquerels of radioactive elements into the atmosphere, polluting 25,000 km2. To prevent dirty water from entering the river, a series of settling tanks called cascades were built. But they do not fulfill the assigned loads due to design errors. In addition, so farthe East Ural radioactive trail, which was formed after the Mayak accident in 1957, carries a danger. Then, due to the explosion of one of the underground radiation repositories, more than 20 million curies of radioactive isotopes got into the atmosphere, which were carried by the wind towards Tyumen. People who fell into the zone of action of the cloud were resettled, their property was destroyed, and the East Ural Reserve was created on the contaminated territory. It is still not allowed to pick mushrooms, berries, fish, graze cattle, or even just walk here.
Household trash
The Ministry of Ecology of the Chelyabinsk Region is dealing with all the above problems. But in the main city of the region, Chelyabinsk, there is another major source of pollution - a municipal waste dump. The optimal solution to this problem is the construction of waste processing enterprises. There are none in Chelyabinsk yet. Every day, since 1949, all garbage has been taken to a landfill located in the city. Now its area is about 80 km2, and the height of the garbage mountain is more than 40 meters. Of all the works to eliminate such a large-scale source of environmental pollution, only its fencing is being carried out. The governor of the region made sure that the federal budget allocates 1 billion rubles to eliminate the landfill in Chelyabinsk, as well as to improve the situation in Karabash, Chebarkul and a number of other districts of the region.
