When rehabilitating technogenically disturbed lands of mining facilities, fertilizers and ameliorants are to be applied due to the lack of organic matter and nutrients required for the restoration of the soil and vegetation layer. The use of unconventional fertilizers (ameliorants) based on sewage sludge is one of the actual directions of land reclamation at mining sites. The purpose of the work is to summarize and analyze up-to-date information on the effectiveness of the use of sewage sludge for the reclamation of technogenically disturbed lands of mining and processing industries. The analysis is based on a review of recent studies aimed at assessing the impact of introduced sediment on soils, plant communities, and rehabilitated areas. The introduction of sewage sludge has a positive effect on the physical and chemical parameters of the soil (optimizes density and aggregation), saturates it with nutrients, i.e. N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and Na, thus improving plant growth indicators. However, it may contain a number of heavy metals and pathogens; therefore, studies of each sediment and conditions of reclaimed areas are necessary.
The article analyses waste generation of pulp and paper industry in North-Western Russia. The environmental impact of waste storage facilities of the pulp and paper mill was assessed, the need for utilization of lignin sludge was justified. In North-Western Russia, 1.21 million hectares of disturbed areas are in need for reclamation; they are abandoned quarries and lands alienated for pipeline and road construction. The suitability of lignin sludge for preparation of artificial fertile soils for reclamation purposes is estimated. For this purpose, experiments were carried out to create an artificial mixture with different ratios of lignin sludge and soil, to detect the maldevelopment of several plant species grown on various compositions of lignin sludge and soils. It was revealed that lignin sludge as an organic additive to soils is not toxic to vegetation and living organisms, allowing improving fertility of artificial soils.
Approaches for assessing atmospheric conditions in megacities are proposed using an example of St. Petersburg. An article provides results of field observations on atmospheric air quality conducted with a mobile laboratory of Saint-Petersburg Mining University. Temporal distribution was analysed for concentrations of key pollutants: oxides of nitrogen, ammonia, and carbon; sulphur dioxide; hydrogen sulphide; methane; total hydrocarbons. The given framework for interpreting the data on atmospheric monitoring exploits spatial distribution of pollutant concentrations. The proposed ways for solving the problem of atmospheric pollution in certain megacity districts are based on geographic information systems allowing modelling widespread air contamination.
The paper provides an assessment of environmental impact made by the companies producing and transporting hydrocarbons in Western Siberia. Dynamics of perennial observations over the environment components in the area where hydrocarbon producing and transporting companies operate have been analyzed and justifications provided for a need in the optimal system for environmental air monitoring at the facilities under examination. Dispersion of air pollutants has been simulated using a licensed software ECOLOG (version 3.00), developed by “INTEGRAL” scientific production association. Based on simulation results the list of priority pollutants has been compiled. A method has been developed to determine the quantity of and optimal locations for fixed environmental moni- toring stations with account of emission parameters, and approaches have been proposed to creation of a system for operational environmental monitoring based on geoinformation software.
The assessment of existing technologies for storage and utilization of domestic solid waste in Russia and other countries is conducted. The regions of landfill sites for household waste disposal are investigated. The results of field observations of the quality of air, surface water and ground-water are given. The method of effective isolation of a landfill surface using polymer materials is proposed. The technological process of landfill surface covering with the help of a selfpropelled screening machine is described. This method allows organizing centralized biogas utilization from landfills, improves the environmental situation in the regions of their location, reduces air pollution and practically eliminates spontaneous combustion of waste.
Surface and ground water are one of the most environmentally vulnerable elements of the environment. This explains the high rate of migration of chemical elements in the subsurface hydrosphere. Sources of impact on the water environment in the vicinity of the gas field are numerous areal and linear features primary and secondary process, as well as objects related infra-structure.
The article gives a brief description of the spacecraft used to monitor the environment in the vicinity of industrial facilities mineral complex. Describes the basic uses of satellite data for assessing the impact of objects mineral complex on the components of the environment.
As a result of theoretical researches and experimental researches in Mining University development and introduction of monitoring complex are conducted on the base of pilotless aircrafts with a maximally possible actual load for productive ecological control and automatic stream information transfer more than from 10 channels simultaneously to the surface station of management, equipped by the special software. Drawing on this monitoring complex will allow to conduct zoning of mining industrial aglomeration taking into account the worked out classification of degree technogenic loading.
In the area of St. Petersburg and Leningrad region there are thousands of hazardous sites for processing, transporting and storing natural gas, but despite the high environmental risk of man-made object, no methods for complex quantitative evaluation of their impact on the environment and choice on the basis of these methods are environmentally sound and economically effective environment protection measures. This article discusses approaches to creating a system of automatic production control of environmental objects of gas supply and gas distribution.
In the district of Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region are numerous landfills for the disposal of industrial and domestic waste, some of which is being closed, as the territory for building new landfills, and therefore provides a method of preventing anthropogenic impact on the components of the environment in the vicinity new and existing landfills, based on the thermal treatment of polymeric materials.
A system of industrial environmental monitoring (IEM) for the «Gazprom Company» is offered. The ARCGis information and measuring system is offered to be used as the IEM programming support which helps to carry out real time acquisition of data on the condition of the bodies monitored, data processing and analysis as well as distribution of monitoring result among various subdivisions of the enterprise. It was established that one of the most rational approaches to create the IEM system is introduction of the interpretation module of satellite images, taken in various spectral ranges and characterized with high spatial resolution characteristics.
Russian and foreign models of environmental safety management at various industrial facilities are analyzed. It is established that either individual or social risks of human mortality are taken as hazard indicators, or expert assessment of potential risks is carried out without quantitative economic evaluation. Technogenic arrays are classified by degree of ecological hazard on the basis of modeled results of total costs of environmentally safe waste disposal depending on the degree of their ecological hazard. For each class of arrays the optimal strategy of ecological safety management is developed.
Measures aimed at ensuring environmental safety of technogenic formations are analyzed. Various solutions to the problem of reducing environmental risks for technogenic formations of different genesis, as well as for extensive and heterogeneous technogenic massifs are proposed. The classification of ways to reduce the ecological risk of technogenic massifs is given. The main groups of environmental protection and rehabilitation methods for the zone of influence of technogenic formations are singled out, for example, isolation of the array, decontamination of technogenic sediments, relocation of sediments. The most effective rehabilitation measures for technogenic massifs of different genesis, shape, volume and class of ecological hazard are established.
The main sources of environmental disturbance and pollution in the areas of operation of hazardous facilities of the oil and gas complex were identified and classified. The peculiarities of negative impact were studied at all stages of operations: during field exploration; during field development; during oil and gas production; during processing of gas and oil products.
The analysis of technogenic impact of waste of mineral complex on atmospheric air and land was carried out. It was established that the environmental and economic risk of negative impact is determined by the probability of environmental and economic damage. The probability of damage from land pollution in the zone of impact of technogenic massifs was analyzed. The research work was supported by the American Foundation for Civilian Research and Development.
The choice of geographic information systems (GIS) for processing and management of environmental information is justified. The possibilities of using GIS in the conjugate analysis of heterogeneous data are disclosed. An algorithm for creating a GIS-based software system of comprehensive assessment of the environment in the areas of impact of mining and metallurgical complex enterprises is proposed.
Methods for quantitative study, assessment, rationing and selection of measures for regulation of multifactorial anthropogenic impacts on ecosystems of freshwater reservoirs and watercourses have been developed. Reaction of biota to influence is estimated by a condition of macrozoobenthos as the most sensitive bioindicator, and the influence itself is estimated by the special indicator taking into account effect of interaction of factors. The regulation of multifactorial impact is based on identifying its maximum permissible level, which does not cause irreversible changes in macrozoobenthos. Regulation of the impact is aimed at reducing it to the maximum permissible combinations of interacting factors to achieve a safe level of their joint biotic effect.
The system of assessment and rationing of multifactorial anthropogenic impacts on water bodies based on bioindication is proposed. Macrozoobenthos, as the most sensitive community, is used as a bioindicator. An original method of singling out the species having a real indicator value has been developed, informative quantitative characteristics of this community have been established. The conditions for maintaining community stability to the impact have been defined and formalized, a universal quantitative measure of combined impact has been given. The main regularities of community response to combined anthropogenic impacts were identified and described. Identified conditions of two typical catastrophes of communities in the gradient of combined impacts. Accordingly, the approach to rationing of anthropogenic impacts for hydro-ecosystems with varying degrees of background anthropogenic load is given.
The analysis of the modern normative-methodological basis for determining anthropogenic damage to hydro-ecosystems, which has many significant drawbacks, is given. An alternative method of quantitative assessment of anthropogenic successions of hydro-ecosystems and the damage caused to them, based on the analysis of environmental risk, is proposed. The main characteristics of ecosystems were studied, the background values of environmental risk and the size of environmental risk in value terms were determined, scenarios of probable damage from construction and operation of the object and the model of the tree of dangerous events and their consequences were developed. The zone of potential influence of the object on the water areas - the zone where the risk values exceed the background level was singled out; the comparative analysis of the expected damage in the presence of several design solutions was carried out. The optimal solution is the one leading to the minimum damage.
The impact of the mining enterprise OAO Phosphorit on the ecosystem of the Luga River and its tributaries has been fully assessed. It turned out that a significant contribution to the total technogenic load of the hydro-ecosystem is made not only by wastewater discharge, but also by the transfer of pollutants into the atmosphere. A considerable increase in the impact of the enterprise on the Luga and its nearest tributaries, including those located upstream, has been recorded. Not only clear changes in various abiotic indicators of exceeding the maximum allowable concentrations of biogenic elements - mineral and organic phosphorus, nitrates, ammonium, fluoride ions, sulfate, combination of oil products, but also the main biotic parameters (structural and functional characteristics of microphytobenthos, phito- and zooplankton, zoobenthos, ichthyofauna) were established. In the area of influence of OAO Phosphorit, the overall level of anthropogenic impact on the hydro-ecosystem is 2-3 times higher than the stability of the ecosystem, which is significantly (40%) higher than the background indicator. According to research results, negative changes in the Luga ecosystem are still reversible at present. However, even a relatively small (30% or more) increase in anthropogenic load can lead to rapid and irreversible biotic degradation of rivers in the entire zone of influence of Phosphorit. This defines high requirements for the development and implementation of a system of environmental protection measures for Phosphorit, especially taking into account the volume of production growth.
