Baikal pollution: causes, sources and solutions

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:44

Baikal pollution is a problem that has been talked about for about twenty years. It excites not only our compatriots. The ecological situation around the unique lake, which has no analogue on the planet, worries the entire world community.

Despite the identification of sources of its pollution, taking measures to stop their negative impact on the reservoir is still such an acute problem that Baikal has become a kind of symbol of environmental danger.

Interesting facts about Baikal

This is the deepest lake on Earth: its maximum depth is 1642 meters. The bowl of the lake is the largest reservoir of fresh water storage, its volume is more than 23 thousand cubic meters. kilometers, which is 20% of the world's reserves.

There are many versions of how this reservoir was formed, from which its name came, but there is no single reliable opinion among scientists on these occasions. But ageLake Baikal is established: it is approximately 25-35 million years old.

About 300 water streams flow into it, replenishing its water supply. Among them are such large rivers as the Selenga, Barguzin, Upper Angara. But only one follows - Angara, giving birth to many beautiful legends among the local population.

2600 species of inhabitants live in the waters of Lake Baikal, half of which can only exist in this almost distilled water.

Protection of Lake Baikal

In 1999, the federal law "On the protection of Lake Baikal" was adopted, which officially recognizing the lake as a unique ecological system, regulates in the legal field the degree of its protection from human economic activity.

Academician M. A. Grachev emphasized in his speech that the pollution of Lake Baikal is local in nature and is produced by large sources of industrial emissions.

Within the framework of the law, the regime of activities around the lake, the boundaries of the fish protection zone, the features of animal protection, prohibitions on chemical and biological pollution of water and the coast, and a ban on activities leading to a sharp fluctuation in water level are established and controlled. Considering that the Baikal biosphere system is so unique that it is still impossible to say that it has been fully studied, it is impossible to take decisive action to correct the situation without risking even more harm.

Main sources of pollution

In short, the pollution of Lake Baikal is carried out by three main sources: the waters of the Selenga River, hydrological regulation of levelswater from the hydropower plants at the Angara and the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill (PPM).

Among additional sources are cutting down trees, lack of sewerage treatment facilities in settlements, prohibited discharges from enterprises, water transport, tourism.

Selenga River

The river, with a length of more than 1 thousand kilometers, flows first through the territory of Mongolia, and then - Russia. Flowing into Baikal, it gives almost half of the volume of water entering the lake. But along the way from source to mouth, it collects polluting effluents on the territory of two states.

A significant pollutant of the river in Mongolia is the capital - Ulaanbaatar, dumping waste and industrial enterprises of Darkhan into it. In this large industrial center, there are many construction plants, leather factories, metallurgical plants and food processing enterprises. The gold mines in Zaamar are also making their contribution.

Selenga pollutants on Russian territory are also well known. The treatment facilities of Ulan-Ude are not able to bring the volumes of wastewater offered by the city to the standard parameters, the problems of sewerage in medium and small settlements are even more acute: some of the treatment facilities are in an emergency condition, and somewhere they are completely absent. All this contributes to water pollution in Baikal.

Agricultural fields in the Selenga basin also affect the deterioration of water quality in the lake.

Pulp and Paper Mill

One of the causes of pollutionLake Baikal is the start-up in 1966 of the pulp and paper mill. The giant built in the taiga gave the country the necessary and cheap paper, cardboard and industrial pulp. The other side of the coin was the release of waste material without proper treatment back into the environment.

Dust and gas emissions have a detrimental effect on the taiga, diseases and death of the forest are noted among the trees. The water coming from the lake for production needs was discharged back into the reservoir after use, which led to the degradation of the bottom areas adjacent to the plant. Storage, burial or incineration of waste was also carried out by the enterprise on the shore of the lake, leading to pollution of Lake Baikal.

Introduced in 2008, the recycling water supply of the enterprise was quickly discontinued due to the inoperability of the system. In 2010, a government decree was adopted limiting the volume of manufactured products, imposing a ban on violations of industrial waste disposal. Lake Baikal is included in the list of UNESCO heritage sites.

Later studies showed that the problem of pollution of Lake Baikal in the area of the pulp and paper mill remained extremely acute: dioxin pollution of water was 40-50 times higher than similar pollution of any other part of the lake. In February 2013, the plant was closed, but not liquidated. Currently, regular monitoring of natural water is carried out here. The test results are still extremely unsatisfactory.

Hydraulic system

In 1956, Lake Baikal became part of the Irkutskreservoir, which changed its natural level by an increase of 1 meter. Some scientists, for example, T. G. Potemkina, are sure that it was this intervention in the natural system of the lake that was the most destructive. The time-driven construction could have de alt an even more tangible blow to the ecosystem if the public had not stood up to protect the lake. She did not allow the builders to produce an accelerated filling of the reservoir, which would lower the water level, albeit briefly, but by as much as five meters. This disaster was avoided.

But the working adjustment of the water level used in the hydraulic system gives fluctuations reaching one and a half meters during the year. This leads to swamping of the shores, pollution of Baikal water, erosion, deepening and other changes in the coastline. Implementation of normative documents on water level regulation at HPPs has been adopted and strictly controlled. But the working system cannot be stopped, and fluctuations in levels also harm the living creatures that inhabit the lake: nesting places for birds and fish spawning are destroyed, flooded or, conversely, the holes of underwater inhabitants are exposed.

Hydro projects in Mongolia

To the already listed sources of Baikal pollution, a few more may well be added. In 2013, neighboring Mongolia began to study the issue of building several hydroelectric power plants on the Selenga. It is obvious that the launch of these power plants will not only worsen the difficult ecological situation on Lake Baikal, but will lead to a catastrophe. Russia has offered its assistance in designing andimplementation of alternative options for generating electricity for the economic needs of Mongolia.

How an independent country will behave in the future is unknown. Obviously, Lake Baikal has become the subject of blackmail in international politics.

Human factor

As you can see in the photo, the pollution of Lake Baikal is not only natural or industrial. Definitely, this is the work of human hands.

The number of tourists in these parts is increasing every year, people have become more interested in the history and nature of their native land. Travel companies are preparing water, walking, cycling and other routes. For this, trails are being worked out and cleared, parking lots are being equipped. Organizers also approach waste disposal thoughtfully.

But a lot of problems are created by unorganized tourists who follow individual routes and, unfortunately, do not always clean up household garbage. Volunteers who go out to clean up the taiga at the end of each tourist season have already collected about 700 tons of it.

Deforestation and water transport

Deforestation of the taiga, which was once carried out in these places, now has an orderly character, is carried out in special plots far from the shoreline of the lake and rivers. But this is an industrial preparation. And logging for private needs, by tourists or poachers, causes irreparable harm, disrupting the already fragile ecosystem of this region.

Vessels plowing the endless expanses of water contribute to the pollution of the lake. Fueland fuels and lubricants of recreational, regular, tourist, personal and other watercraft fall into the water, worsening the situation.

Measures to protect Baikal from pollution

In order to prevent the aggravation of the already difficult environmental situation on Lake Baikal, state and public organizations have joined in the work to normalize the situation. Everyone at their level stepped up their activities, attracting the help of activists, which has already given good, encouraging results.

To reduce the level of pollution of the lake, the following measures were taken at the state level:

1. The law “On Lake Baikal” (1999) was adopted.
2. The work of the pulp and paper mill was stopped.
3. The number of discharges into the Selenga River has been reduced.
4. The work of parks and reserves on the lake is monitored.
5. Funding is being carried out to monitor the state of water, coastal relief and the bottom of the lake. As well as providing scientific advice from specialists.

Simultaneously with the state, environmental movement activists stood up to protect the unique lake. They are launching various projects related to the restoration of the Baikal environment:

1. "The Great Baikal Trail". Volunteers from different regions of Russia participate in the creation of organized hiking trails that do not violate the ecology of these places. The proper condition of the trail is monitored.
2. "Let's save Baikal". Those who wish to clean up the taiga from household waste are invited to this project.
3. "Reserved Baikal region". This project is being carried outannually and is valid for two weeks. It is also associated with cleaning up the territory of the Trans-Baikal Park and the Baikal-Lena Reserve.

People who allowed the monstrous pollution of Lake Baikal, thoughtlessly destroyed unique plants and rare inhabitants of the reservoir, today are finally horrified by what they have done. The situation on the lake is still very difficult. The coastal layer of water is riddled with algae, which were generated by human activity, and whether they will ever be completely cleared is unknown. But I really hope that the destructive machine has stopped, and maybe rolled back a little.