How to assess the degree of danger of soil contamination with chemicals? Terms and Definitions.

The use of unified methodological approaches will help to obtain comparable data in assessing the level of soil pollution and the possible consequences of pollution, and will also allow predicting the quality of food products of plant origin. The accumulation of factual material on soil pollution and their indirect impact on humans will make it possible to improve the proposed guidelines in the future.

These guidelines do not apply to the assessment of pesticide contamination.

1. General Provisions

1.1. From a hygienic standpoint, the danger of soil contamination with chemicals is determined by the level of its possible negative impact on contacting media (water, air), food products and indirectly on humans, as well as on the biological activity of the soil and its self-purification processes.

1.2. The main criterion for hygienic assessment of the danger of soil contamination by harmful substances is the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of chemicals in the soil. MPC is a complex indicator of the content of chemicals in the soil that is harmless to humans, since the criteria used in their scientific substantiation reflect all possible ways of the indirect impact of the pollutant on the contacting media, the biological activity of the soil and the processes of its self-purification. At the same time, each of the ways of exposure is evaluated quantitatively with the justification of the permissible level of content of substances for each indicator of harmfulness. The lowest of the justified levels is limiting and is taken as the MPC of the substance, as it reflects the most vulnerable route of exposure to this toxicant.

1.3. To assess the danger of soil pollution, the choice of chemicals - indicators of pollution is carried out taking into account:

Specifics of pollution sources that determine the complex of chemical elements involved in soil pollution in the study region (Appendix 1);

Priorities of pollutants in accordance with the list of MPCs of chemicals in soil (Table 2) and their hazard class (Appendix 2) ("Maximum Permissible Concentrations of Chemicals in Soil", 1979, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987);

The nature of land use (Appendix 3).

1.3.1. If it is not possible to take into account the entire complex of chemicals polluting the soil, the assessment is carried out for the most toxic substances, i.e. belonging to a higher hazard class (Appendix 2).

1.3.2. If the given documents (Appendix 2) do not contain the hazard class of chemicals that are priority for the soils of the surveyed area, their hazard class can be determined by the hazard index (Appendix 4).

1.4. Soil sampling, storage, transportation and preparation for analysis is carried out in accordance with GOST 17.4.4.02-84 "Nature protection. Soils. Methods for sampling and preparing soil samples for chemical, bacteriological and helminthological analysis."

1.5. Determination of chemicals in soil is carried out by methods developed when substantiating their MPC in soil and approved by the Ministry of Health of the USSR, which are published in the annexes to "Maximum Permissible Concentrations of Chemical Substances in Soil (MPC)" (1979, 1980, 1982, 1985).

2.1. Rationing of pollutants in the air

2.2. Air pollution index

2.3. Rationing of chemicals in water

2.4. Water pollution index

Norms for bpk5

Dissolved oxygen standards

2.5. Rationing of contaminants in the soil

2.6. Soil pollution assessment

2.7. Rationing the quality of agricultural products

3. Tables of hygienic and ecological regulation of the quality of environmental objects

3.1. Maximum allowable concentrations of pollutants in the air for humans and tree species, mg/m3 (Nikolaevsky, 1988, cited by Agroecology, 2000)

3.2. Maximum Permissible Concentrations of Some Pollutants in the Atmospheric Air of Populated Areas

3.3. General requirements for the composition and properties of water in water bodies

3.4. Maximum allowable concentrations of certain harmful substances in water bodies for fisheries purposes, mg/dm3

3.5. Hygienic standards for the content of harmful substances in drinking water

3.6. MPC of harmful chemicals entering and forming in water during its treatment in the water supply system

3.7. MPC of mineral impurities in water intended for watering livestock

3.8. Requirements for the qualitative composition of wastewater used for irrigation of various soils (Dodolina, 1988, cited by Agroecology, 2000)

3.9. Hazard classes of chemicals in soil

3.10. Assignment of chemicals entering the soil from emissions, discharges, wastes to hazard classes

3.11. Criteria for assessing the degree of soil contamination with inorganic substances

3.12. Assignment of pesticides to hazard classes

3.13. Criteria for assessing the degree of soil pollution with organic substances

3.14. Maximum permissible concentrations of harmful substances in the soil and permissible levels of their content in terms of harmfulness

3.15. Approximately permissible concentrations of heavy metals and arsenic in soils with different physical and chemical properties (gross content)

3.17. Hygienic assessment of agricultural soils and recommendations for their use

3.18. Criteria for environmental assessment of the state of soils (approved by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources on November 30, 1992)

3.19. Permissible gross content of heavy metals and arsenic in sewage sludge

3.20. Land pollution categories according to total pollution indicators Zc

3.22. Standards for the permissible residual content of oil and products of its transformation in soils after reclamation and other restoration work

4. Tables of hygienic regulation of the quality of agricultural products

4.1. Meat and meat products

4.2. Sausages, smoked products, culinary meat products

4.3. Canned meat, meat and vegetable

4.4. Milk and dairy products

4.5. Fish, non-fish species and products derived from them

4.6. Grain (seeds), flour and cereals and bakery products

4.7. leguminous seeds

4.8. Fruit and vegetable products

4.9. Nitrates in vegetables

4.10. Juices, drinks, concentrates, vegetable, fruit, berry (canned)

4.11. Oilseeds

5. Rationing the quality of feed

5.1. Veterinary regulations for the safety of green fodder

5.2. Veterinary standards for the safety of grain feed

5.3. Veterinary regulations for the safety of green plant silage

Glossary of concepts and terms

Bibliographic list

2.6. Soil pollution assessment

There are different approaches to assessing the level of soil contamination.

For inorganic pollutants, the division of soils into categories (classes) of pollution is carried out taking into account the hazard class of the pollution component, its MPC and the maximum value of the permissible level of element content (Kmax) according to one of the four hazard indicators. For organic pollutants, the division of soils into categories (classes) of pollution is carried out taking into account the hazard class of the substance and the multiplicity of exceeding its MPC in the soil.

According to the sanitary and hygienic condition of agricultural soils, the content of chemicals in the soil is subdivided into permissible; moderately dangerous; highly dangerous and extremely dangerous, and the MPC for the translocation sign of harmfulness is very important.

Based on the grouping of soils contaminated with heavy metals, according to the method of the Soil Institute. V.V. Dokuchaev, lies the Clarke content of the element. According to this method, the level of soil contamination is determined using an arithmetic or geometric progression of the clarke element.

To assess man-made anomalies with a multi-element composition, the total pollution indicators Z C are used, which characterize the degree of pollution by the association of elements relative to the background and reflect the effect of the impact of a group of elements:

where To ci– concentration factor i-th element in the sample;

n is the number of elements to be taken into account.

The concentration coefficient is defined as the ratio of the actual content of the element in the soil to the background, and it must be greater than unity (otherwise the element is not concentrated, but dissipated). In the absence of background values for comparison of landscape pollution, element clarke or MPC are taken instead.

2.7. Rationing the quality of agricultural products

When standardizing quality food use such an indicator as the MPC of a harmful substance in food, otherwise called the permissible residual amount (DOC).

Maximum allowable concentration (permissible residual amount) of a harmful substance in food (MAC, DOC)- This is the maximum concentration of a harmful substance in food products that does not cause diseases or abnormalities in human health for an unlimited time (with daily exposure).

For each type of product, the MPC of certain pollutants is standardized, which can accumulate in it upon receipt of agricultural products, during its processing and storage. Sometimes MPC also depends on the conditions and time of receipt of products. For example, the content of nitrates in vegetable products is normalized taking into account the type of crop, growing conditions (open or protected ground) and harvesting time (early or late production). The content of some heavy metals in canned food is normalized taking into account their possible intake from metal containers.

Rationing of product quality is carried out on the basis of the permissible daily dose of a pollutant or the limit of its annual intake, taking into account the diet of the population.

Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) – this is the maximum amount of a pollutant that can enter the human body with all food and water on average per day throughout life and at the same time not affect the health of a person and his offspring. ADI is set in units of the mass of a pollutant per kg of body weight (mg/kg, ng/kg) or simply in units of the mass of a pollutant (mg, ng), while the weight of an average person is assumed to be 70 kg. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed LDDs for heavy metals, nitrates, etc.

Annual Receipt Limit (GWP) - this is the maximum amount of a pollutant that can enter the human body with all food and water on average per year throughout life and at the same time not affect the health of a person and his offspring. The GWP is set, for example, for anthropogenic radionuclides.

Certain limiting indicators (signs) of the harmfulness of substances have been developed, which have to be taken into account when rationing the quality of agricultural products:

- organoleptic, characterizing the effect of a substance on a change in the properties of the product, determined by the human senses (taste, taste, smell, color, turbidity, the presence of foam and films, etc.);

– toxicological, characterizing the toxicity of a substance to humans;

- technological, characterizing the ability of a substance to degrade the quality of the product as a result of certain reactions during its production;

- hygienic, characterizing the ability of a substance to degrade the beneficial properties of the product as a result of certain reactions with the beneficial substances contained in the product.

Test questions.

1. What is the principle of separate regulation? How is it used in assessing air and water quality?

2. What indicators (signs) of harmfulness are used when standardizing the quality of air, water, soil, and products? What is a limiting indicator (sign) of harmfulness (LPV)?

3.What is the summation effect? How is it used in assessing air and water quality?

4. What is IZA, WIZ? How are they calculated?

5 What is the total indicator of soil contamination with heavy metals? How is it calculated?

6. What is DSD? GWP? How do they affect MACs for contaminants in food in different countries?

MINISTRY OF HEALTH OF THE USSR

MAIN SANITARY AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT

METHODOLOGICAL INSTRUCTIONS
HAZARD ASSESSMENT
SOIL POLLUTION WITH CHEMICAL
SUBSTANCES

MOSCOW, 1987

Guidelines developed by the Research Institute of General and Communal Hygiene. A.N. Sysin Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR (Prof. V.M. Perelygin, Ph.D. N.I. Tonkopiy, Ph.D. A.F. Pertsovskaya, Ph.D. V.N. Pavlov, Ph.D. T.I. Grigorieva, G.E. Shestopalova, E.V. Filimonova, N.B. Zyabkina).

Main Sanitary and Epidemiological Directorate of the Ministry of Health of the USSR (A.S. Perotskaya).

Institute of Mineralogy, Geochemistry and Crystal Chemistry of Rare Elements (Ph.D. B.A. Revich, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences Yu.E. Saet, Candidate of Geographical Sciences R.S. Smirnova).

Starring:

Ufa Research Institute of Occupational Health and Occupational Diseases (Ph.D. L.O. Osipova, Ph.D. R.F. Daukaeva, S.M. Safonnikova, G.F. Maksimova);

Dnepropetrovsk Medical Institute (Prof. M.Ya. Shelyug, Candidate of Medical Sciences E.A. Derkachev, Candidate of Medical Sciences P.I. Lakiza, Candidate of Medical Sciences B.N. Yaroshevsky);

Georgian Research Institute of Sanitation and Hygiene. G.M. Natadze (Doctor of Medical Sciences R.E. Khazaradze, N.I. Dogdnishvili, N.G. Sakvarelidze, N.A. Menagarishvili, R.G. Mzhavanadze);

Research Institute of Regional Pathology. Ministry of Health of the Kazakh SSR (candidate of medical sciences N.P. Goncharov, candidate of medical sciences I.A. Snytin).

I approve

Deputy Chief State

sanitary doctor of the USSR

EM. Saakyants

GUIDELINES FOR HAZARD ASSESSMENT OF SOIL CONTAMINATION FROM CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES

INTRODUCTION

The main directions of the economic and social development of the USSR for 1986-1990 and for the period up to 2000 emphasize the need to implement measures to protect the environment and increase the effectiveness of environmental protection measures (“The main directions of the economic and social development of the USSR for 1986-1990 and for the period up to 2000 years”, section V).

To solve these problems, when establishing the order of implementation of hygienic and environmental measures, it is important to rank soils to the degree of danger of their contamination with chemicals and, on the basis of this, identify areas that require priority investments in monitoring soil pollution, developing comprehensive measures for their protection, and developing schemes of district planning, hygienic assessment of soils in areas of urbanization and measures for land reclamation.

The results of hygienic studies of soils contaminated with heavy metals, oil products and other substances made it possible for the first time to develop methodological approaches for assessing the degree of danger of soil contamination by these toxicants in terms of their possible impact on the systems "soil - plant", "soil - microorganisms, biological activity", "soil - groundwater", "soil - atmospheric air" and indirectly on human health.

These guidelines are intended for sanitary and epidemiological stations, research institutes and institutions of a hygienic profile, departments of hygiene of medical institutes and institutes for the improvement of doctors, institutions of the agrochemical service and other regulatory organizations.

The use of unified methodological approaches will help to obtain comparable data in assessing the level of soil pollution and the possible consequences of pollution, and will also allow predicting the quality of food products of plant origin. The accumulation of factual material on soil pollution and their indirect impact on humans makes it possible to improve the proposed guidelines in the future.

These guidelines do not cover the assessment of soil contamination with pesticides.

1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1.2. The main criterion for hygienic assessment of the danger of soil contamination with harmful substances is the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of chemicals in the soil. MPC is a complex indicator of the content of chemicals in the soil that is harmless to humans, since the criteria used in their scientific substantiation reflect all possible ways of the indirect impact of the pollutant on the contacting media, the biological activity of the soil and the processes of its self-purification. At the same time, each of the ways of exposure is evaluated quantitatively with the justification of the permissible level of content of substances for each indicator of harmfulness. The lowest of the justified levels is limiting and is taken as the MPC of the substance, as it reflects the most vulnerable route of exposure to this toxicant.

1.3. To assess the risk of soil pollution, the choice of chemicals - indicators of pollution - is carried out taking into account:

Specifics of pollution sources that determine the complex of chemical elements involved in soil pollution in the study region (Appendix);

Priority of pollutants in accordance with the list of MPCs of chemicals in the soil (Table) and their hazard class (Appendix) (“Maximum Permissible Concentrations of Chemicals in Soil”, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987);

The nature of land use (application).

1.3.2. If the above documents (Appendix ) do not contain the hazard class of chemicals that are priority for the soils of the surveyed area, their hazard class can be determined by the hazard index (Appendix ).

1.4. Soil sampling, storage, transportation and preparation for analysis are carried out in accordance with GOST 17.4.4.02-84 “Nature Protection. Soils. Methods for the selection and preparation of soil samples for chemical, bacteriological and helminthological analysis.

1.5. Determination of chemicals in the soil is carried out by methods developed when substantiating their MPC in soil and approved by the Ministry of Health of the USSR, which are published in the annexes to the “Maximum Permissible Concentrations of Chemical Substances in Soil (MAC)” (1979, 1980, 1982, 1985) .

1.6. In general, when assessing the risk of soil contamination by chemicals, the following should be taken into account:

a). The greater the risk of contamination, the more the actual levels of controlled substances in soil (C) exceed the MPC. That is, the higher the risk of soil contamination, the greater the value of the hazard coefficient (Ko) exceeds 1, i.e.

b). The higher the hazard class of controlled substances, the higher the risk of contamination.

in). The assessment of the risk of contamination by any toxicant should be carried out taking into account the buffering capacity of the soil*, which affects the mobility of chemical elements, which determines their impact on the contact media and the availability of plants. The less buffering properties the soil has, the more dangerous it is to be contaminated with chemicals. Consequently, at the same value of K, the risk of pollution will be greater for soils with an acidic pH value, a lower humus content, and a lighter mechanical composition. For example, if K substances were found to be equal in soddy-podzolic sandy loamy soil, in soddy-podzolic loamy soil and chernozem, then in order of increasing risk of soil pollution, they can be arranged in the following row: chernozem - loamy soddy-podzolic soil - sandy loamy soddy-podzolic soil .

* “Soil buffering” refers to the totality of soil properties that determine its barrier function, which determines the levels of secondary pollution by chemicals of the media in contact with the soil: vegetation, surface and groundwater, and atmospheric air. The main components of the soil that create buffering are finely dispersed mineral particles that determine its mechanical composition, organic matter (humus), as well as the reaction of the environment - pH.

1.7. The hazard assessment of soils contaminated with chemicals is carried out differently for different soils (different types of land use) and is based on 2 main provisions:

1. Economic use of territories (soils of settlements, agricultural lands, recreational areas, etc.).

2. The most significant for these territories ways of impact of soil pollution on humans.

In this regard, various schemes are proposed for assessing the risk of soil pollution in settlements and soils used for growing agricultural plants.

2. HYGIENIC STAGE OF SOILS USED FOR GROWING AGRICULTURAL PLANTS

2.1. The basis for assessing the risk of contamination of soils used for growing agricultural plants is the translocation indicator of harmfulness, which is the most important indicator in substantiating the MPC of chemicals in the soil. This is due to the fact that: 1) with food of plant origin, an average of 70% of harmful chemicals enter the human body; 2) the level of translocation determines the level of accumulation of toxicants in food products and affects their quality. The existing difference in the allowable levels of chemical substances for various indicators of harmfulness (table) and the main provisions of the differential assessment of the degree of danger of contaminated soils also make it possible to give recommendations on the practical use of soils in contaminated areas.

2.2. The danger of contamination of soils used for growing agricultural plants is determined in accordance with Table. and . In table. the basic principles of soil assessment and recommendations for their use and reduction of the adverse effects of pollution are given. Table data. are the logical complement of the table. and provide the necessary information for ranking soils according to the level of pollution in accordance with the principles set forth in Table. .

Example. The soils of the territories are contaminated with nickel, the content of mobile forms of which is 20 mg/kg (1) in the first and 5 mg/kg (2) in the second. Based on the table. and soil (1) should be categorized as "extremely high" pollution, as the level of nickel content exceeds the permissible levels of the content of this element for all indicators of harmfulness: translocation, migratory water and general sanitary. Such soil can be used only for industrial crops or completely excluded from agricultural use.

Soil 2 can be categorized as “moderately polluted” as Nickel content (5 mg/kg) exceeds its MPC (4 mg/kg), but does not exceed the permissible level according to the translocation hazard indicator (6.7 mg/kg). In this case, the soil can be used for any agricultural crops while taking measures to reduce the availability of the toxicant - nickel - for plants.

Table 1

Schematic diagram of the assessment of agricultural use soils contaminated with chemicals

	Pollution characteristic	Possible use of the territory	Suggested activities
I. Permissible		Use for any culture	Reducing the level of exposure to sources of soil pollution. Implementation of measures to reduce the availability of toxicants for plants (liming, application of organic fertilizers, etc.).
II. Moderately dangerous		Use for any crops subject to quality control of agricultural plants	Activities similar to category I. If there are substances with limiting migration water or air migration indicators, the content of these substances in the breathing zone of agricultural workers and in the water of local water sources is monitored
III. Highly dangerous		Use for industrial crops Use under agricultural crops is limited, taking into account the plants-concentrators	1. In addition to the measures specified for category I, mandatory control over the content of toxicants in plants - food and feed. 2. If it is necessary to grow plants - food - it is recommended to mix them with products grown on clean soil. 3. Limitation of the use of green mass for livestock feed, taking into account the plants-concentrators
IV. extremely dangerous		Use for industrial crops or exclusion from agricultural use. windbreaks	Measures to reduce the level of pollution and the binding of toxicants in the soil. Control over the content of toxicants in the breathing zone of agricultural workers and in the water of local water sources

table 2

Maximum Permissible Concentrations (MACs) of Chemical Substances in the Soil and Permissible Levels of Their Content by Hazard Indicators

	MPC mg/kg of soil, taking into account the background (clark)	Harm indicators
		translocation	migratory		general sanitary
		translocation		air	general sanitary
Movable form



Cobalt**)			Over 1000.0
Water soluble form



Manganese

manganese + vanadium



Lead + mercury
Potassium chloride (K2O)

Benz/a/pyrene (BP)


Isopropylbenzene
Alphamethylstyrene


Sulfur compounds (S)
hydrogen sulfide (H2S)
elemental sulfur
sulphuric acid


		Over 800.0		Over 800.0

*) Mobile forms of copper, nickel and zinc are extracted from the soil with ammonium acetate buffer pH 4.8 (copper, zinc), pH 4.6 (nickel).

**) The mobile form of cobalt is extracted from the soil with an ammonium-sodium buffer solution with pH 3.5 for gray soils and pH 4.7 for soddy-podzolic soil.

***) OFU - coal flotation waste. MPCs of OFU are controlled by the content of benzo/a/pyrene in the soil, which should not exceed the MPC of BP.

****) KGU - complex granulation of fertilizers with the composition N:P:K = 64:0:15. MPC KGU is controlled by the content of nitrates in the soil, which should not exceed 76.8 mg/kg of absolutely dry soil.

*****) ZhKU - liquid complex fertilizers of the composition N:P:K = 10:34:0 TU 6-08-290-74 with manganese additives not more than 0.6% of the total mass. MPC for HCS is controlled by the content of mobile phosphates in the soil, which should not exceed 27.2 mg/kg of absolutely dry soil.

3. HYGIENIC ASSESSMENT OF SOILS IN SETTLEMENTS

3.1. The assessment of the risk of soil pollution in settlements is determined by: 1) the epidemiological significance of soil contaminated with chemicals; 2) the role of contaminated soil as a source of secondary pollution of the surface layer of atmospheric air and in its direct contact with humans; 3) the significance of the degree of soil pollution as an indicator of air pollution.

3.2. The need to take into account the epidemiological safety of the soil of settlements is determined, as the results of our studies have shown, by the fact that with an increase in the chemical load, the epidemic danger of the soil increases. In contaminated soil, against the background of a decrease in the true representatives of soil microbiocenoses (antagonists of pathogenic intestinal microflora) and a decrease in its biological activity, an increase in positive findings of pathogenic enterobacteria and geohelminths, which were more resistant to chemical soil pollution than representatives of natural soil microbiocenoses, is noted.

3.3. The assessment of the level of epidemic danger of the soil of settlements is carried out according to a scheme developed on the basis of the probabilistic finding of pathogenic enterobacteria and enteroviruses. The criterion of epidemic safety is the absence of pathogenic agents in the object under study (Table ).

3.4. Evaluation of the adverse effects of soil pollution during their direct impact on the human body is important for cases of geophagy in children when they play on contaminated soils. Such an assessment was developed for the most common pollutant in settlements - lead, the content of which in the soil, as a rule, is accompanied by an increase in the content of other elements. With the content of lead in the soil of playgrounds at the level of 500 mg/kg and its systematic presence in the soil, changes in the psychoneurological status in children can be expected (War en H.V., 1979; Dyggan M.J., Willians ., 1977; ? 1983).

3.5. According to the study of the distribution in the soil of some metals, the most common indicators of urban pollution, an approximate estimate of the danger of atmospheric air pollution can be given. So, when the content of lead in the soil, starting from 250 mg/kg, in the area of active sources of pollution, an excess of its MPC in the atmospheric air (0.3 μg/m3) is observed, with the content of copper in the soil, starting from 1500 mg/kg, there is excess of MPC of copper in atmospheric air (2.0 µg/m3).

3.6. The assessment of the level of chemical contamination of soils as indicators of an adverse impact on the health of the population is carried out according to indicators developed in the course of associated geochemical and geohygienic studies of the urban environment. These indicators are: the concentration coefficient of a chemical (Kc), which is determined by the ratio of its actual content in the soil (C) to the background (Cf): Kc = and the total pollution index (Zc).

The total pollution index is equal to the sum of the concentration coefficients of chemical elements and is expressed by the following formula:

Zс = - (n - 1)

where n is the number of summed elements.

An analysis of the distribution of geochemical indicators obtained as a result of testing soils in a regular network gives the spatial structure of pollution of residential areas and the air basin with the greatest risk to public health (Methodological recommendations for the geochemical assessment of pollution of urban areas with chemical elements, 1982).

3.7. The assessment of the danger of soil pollution by a complex of metals in terms of the Zc indicator, which reflects the differentiation of pollution of the air basin of cities both by metals and by other, the most common ingredients (dust, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide), is carried out according to the assessment scale given in Table. . Gradations of the rating scale were developed on the basis of studying the indicators of the health status of the population living in areas with different levels of soil pollution.

Determination of chemicals when assessing the level of soil pollution is recommended to be carried out by the method of emission analysis.

Table 3

Scheme for assessing the epidemic hazard of soils in settlements

		Pollution indicators (cells per city of soil):
		Escherichia coli	Enterococci	Pathogenic enterobacteria	Enteroviruses	Helminths
	1. High-risk areas: kindergartens, playgrounds, sanitary protection zones for water bodies
polluted		10 and above	10 and above
	Sanitary protection zones
polluted	Sanitary protection zones	100 and above	100 and above

Table 4

Approximate assessment scale for the danger of soil pollution according to the total indicator of pollution (zc)

	Value (zc)	Changes in health indicators of the population in the sources of pollution
Permissible		The lowest level of morbidity in children and the minimum incidence of functional abnormalities
Moderately dangerous		Increase in overall morbidity
		Increase in general morbidity, the number of frequently ill children, children with chronic diseases, disorders of the functional state of the cardiovascular system
extremely dangerous		An increase in the incidence of the child population, a violation of the reproductive function of women (an increase in toxicosis of pregnancy, the number of premature births, stillbirths, hypotrophy of newborns)

Determination of chemicals when assessing the level of soil pollution is recommended to be carried out by the method of emission analysis.

Attachment 1

Sources of pollution	Type of production	Concentration factor (Kc)*
Sources of pollution	Type of production
Non-ferrous metallurgy	Production of non-ferrous metals directly from ores and concentrates	Lead, zinc, copper, silver	Tin, bismuth, arsenic, cadmium, antimony, mercury, selenium
	Secondary processing of non-ferrous metals	Lead, zinc, tin, copper
	Production of hard and refractory non-ferrous metals	Tungsten	Molybdenum
	Titanium production	Silver, zinc, lead, boron, copper	Titanium, manganese, molybdenum, tin, vanadium
Ferrous metallurgy	Alloy steel production	Cobalt, molybdenum, bismuth, tungsten, zinc	Lead, cadmium, chromium, zinc
Ferrous metallurgy	iron ore production	Lead, silver, arsenic	Zinc, tungsten, cobalt, vanadium
Machine-building and metalworking industry	Enterprises with heat treatment of metals (excluding foundries)	Lead, zinc	Nickel, chrome, mercury tin, copper
	Production of lead batteries	Lead, nickel, cadmium
	Manufacture of devices for the electrical and electronic industry	Lead, nickel, cadmium	Lead, antimony, zinc, bismuth
Chemical	Production of superphosphate fertilizers	Strontium, zinc, fluorine	Rare earths, copper, chromium, arsenic
Chemical	Plastics production		yttrium, copper, zinc, silver
Building materials industry	Cement production (when using waste from metallurgical production in cement production, accumulation of other metals in soils is also possible) Production of concrete products		Mercury, strontium, zinc
Printing industry	Type foundries, printing houses		Lead, zinc, tin
Municipal solid waste from large cities used as fertilizer		Lead, cadmium, tin, copper, silver, antimony, zinc
Sewage sludge		Lead, cadmium, vanadium, nickel, tin, chromium, copper, zinc	Mercury, silver
Polluted irrigation water		Lead, zinc

*) Кс - coefficient of concentration of a chemical element is determined by the ratio of its real content in the soil (Сi) to the background content (Сf): Кс = .

Appendix 2 Assignment of chemicals that enter the soil from emissions, discharges, waste, to hazard classes (according to GOST 17.4.1.02-83 "Nature protection. Soils. Classification of chemicals for pollution control" Gosstandart, M., 1983)

Hazard Class	Chemical substance
	Arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead, selenium, zinc, fluorine, benz/a/pyrene	Transport lands	agricultural land	forest land

Pesticides (residual amounts)*), mg/kg-1
Heavy metals**), mg/kg-1
Oil and oil products, mg/kg-1
Volatile phenols, mg/kg-1
Sulfur compounds**), mg/kg-1
Detergents (anionic and cationic)**), mg/kg-1
Carcinogenic substances**), mcg/kg-1
Arsenic, mg/kg-1
Cyanides, mg/kg-1
Polychloride biphenyls, µg/kg-1
radioactive substances
Macrochemical fertilizers*), g/kg-1
Microchemical fertilizers*), mg/kg-1

*) The choice of appropriate indicators depends on the chemical composition of agricultural chemicals used in a particular area.

**) The choice of appropriate indicators depends on the nature of industrial emissions.

Note:

The “+” sign means that the existing indicator is required to determine the sanitary condition of soils;

The sign "-" - the indicator is optional.

The sign "±" - the indicator is obligatory in the presence of a source of pollution.

Appendix 4 The hazard class of chemicals in soil, determined by the hazard index ( z)

Hazard class calculation formula (z)

A is the atomic weight of the corresponding element;

M is the molecular weight of the chemical compound, which includes this element;

S is the water solubility of the chemical compound (mg/l);

a - arithmetic mean of six MPCs of chemicals in different food products (meat, fish, milk, bread, vegetables, fruits);

MPC is the maximum allowable concentration of an element in the soil.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Soil is a special natural formation that provides the growth of trees, crops and other plants. It is difficult to imagine life without ours. But how does modern man relate to soils? Today, human pollution of the soil has reached colossal proportions, so the soils of our planet are in dire need of protection and protection.

Soil - what is it?

Soil protection from pollution is impossible without a clear understanding of what soil is and how it is formed. Let's consider this question in more detail.

Soil (or soil) is a special natural formation, an indispensable component of any ecosystem. It is formed in the upper layer of the parent rock, under the influence of the sun, water, and vegetation. The soil is a kind of bridge, a link that connects the biotic and abiotic components of the landscape.

The main processes as a result of which soil is formed are weathering and the vital activity of living organisms. As a result of mechanical weathering processes, the parent rock is destroyed and gradually crushed, and living organisms fill this inanimate mass.

Soil pollution by humans is one of the main problems of modern ecology and nature management, which became especially acute in the second half of the 20th century.

Soil structure

Any soil consists of 4 main components. It:

rock (ground base, about 50% of the total mass);
water (about 25%);
air (about 15%);
organic matter (humus, up to 10%).

Depending on the ratio of these components in the soil, the following are distinguished:

rocky;
clay;
sandy;
humic;
solonchak.

The key property of soil that distinguishes it from any other component of the landscape is its fertility. This is a unique property that satisfies the plants in the necessary nutrients, moisture and air. Thus, the soil ensures the biological productivity of all vegetation and crop yields. This is why soil and water pollution is such a pressing problem on the planet.

Soil cover studies

Soil research is a special science - soil science, whose founder is considered to be Vasily Dokuchaev, a world-famous scientist. It was he who, at the end of the 19th century, was the first to note that soils spread along quite regularly (latitudinal zoning of soils), and also named clear morphological features of the soil.

V. Dokuchaev considered the soil as an integral and independent natural formation, which none of the scientists had done before him. The most famous work of the scientist - "Russian Chernozem" of 1883 - is a reference book for all modern soil scientists. V. Dokuchaev conducted a thorough study of the soils of the steppe zone of modern Russia and Ukraine, the results of which formed the basis of the book. In it, the author identified the main parent rock, relief, climate, age and flora. The scientist gives a very interesting definition of the concept: "soil is a function of the parent rock, climate and organisms, multiplied by time."

After Dokuchaev, other well-known scientists were also actively involved in the study of soils. Among them: P. Kostychev, N. Sibirtsev, K. Glinka and others.

The meaning and role of soil in human life

The phrase "earth-nurse", which we hear very often, is not symbolic or metaphorical. It really is. This is the main source of food for mankind, which, one way or another, provides about 95% of all food. The total area of all land resources of our planet today is 129 million km 2 of land area, of which 10% is occupied by arable land, and another 25% is hayfields and pastures.

Soils began to be studied only in the 19th century, but people knew about their wonderful property - fertility, from the most ancient times. It is the soil that owes its existence to all plant and animal organisms on Earth, including humans. It is no coincidence that the most densely populated areas of the planet are the areas with the most fertile soils.

Soils are the main resource of agricultural production. Many conventions and declarations adopted at the international level call for a rational and careful treatment of the soil. And this is obvious, because the total pollution of lands and soils threatens the existence of all mankind on the planet.

The most important geographical element responsible for all processes in the biosphere. The soil accumulates a huge amount of organic matter and energy, thus acting as a giant biological filter. This is a key link in the biosphere, the destruction of which will disrupt its entire functional structure.

In the 21st century, the load on the soil cover has increased several times, and the problem of soil pollution is becoming a paramount and global one. It should be noted that the solution to this problem depends on the coordination of actions of all states of the world.

Land and soil pollution

Soil pollution is the process of degradation of the soil cover, in which the content of chemicals in it increases significantly. Indicators of this process are living organisms, in particular, plants, which are the first to suffer from a violation of the natural composition of the soil. In this case, the reaction of plants depends on the level of their sensitivity to such changes.

It should be noted that our state provides for criminal liability for human pollution of land. In particular, article 254 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation sounds like "Spoilage of the earth."

Typology of soil pollutants

The main soil pollution began in the 20th century with the rapid development of the industrial complex. Soil pollution is understood as the introduction of components atypical for it into the soil - the so-called "pollutants". They can be in any state of aggregation - liquid, solid, gaseous or complex.

All soil pollutants can be divided into 4 groups:

organic aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorine-containing substances, phenols, organic acids, petroleum products, gasoline, varnishes and paints);
inorganic (heavy metals, asbestos, cyanides, alkalis, inorganic acids and others);
radioactive;
biological (bacteria, pathogenic microorganisms, algae, etc.).

Thus, the main soil pollution is carried out precisely with the help of these and some other pollutants. The increased content of these substances in the soil can lead to negative and irreversible consequences.

Sources of land pollution

To date, there are a large number of such sources. And their number is increasing every year.

We list the main sources of soil pollution:

Residential buildings and utilities. This is the main source of land pollution in cities. In this case, human contamination of the soil occurs through household waste, food debris, construction debris and household items (old furniture, clothes, etc.). In large cities, the question "where to put the garbage?" turns into a real tragedy for the city authorities. Therefore, on the outskirts of cities, huge kilometer-long landfills grow up, where all household garbage is dumped. In the developed countries of the West, the practice of waste processing at special installations and factories has long been introduced. And this is where a lot of money is made. In our country, such cases, alas, are rare.
Factories and plants. In this group, the main sources of soil pollution are the chemical, mining and engineering industries. Cyanides, arsenic, styrene, benzene, polymer clots, soot - all these terrible substances enter the soil in the area of large industrial enterprises. A big problem today is also the problem of recycling car tires, which are the cause of large fires that are very difficult to extinguish.
Transport complex. The sources of land pollution in this case are lead, hydrocarbons, soot, and nitrogen oxides. All these substances are released during the operation of internal combustion engines, then they settle on the surface of the earth and are absorbed by plants. Thus, they also enter the soil cover. At the same time, the degree of soil pollution will be as high as possible along major highways and near road junctions.
Getting food from the earth, we at the same time poison it, no matter how paradoxical it may sound. Human pollution of the soil here occurs through the introduction of fertilizers and chemicals into the soil. This is how substances that are terrible for him get into the soil - mercury, pesticides, lead and cadmium. In addition, excess chemicals can be washed from fields by rainfall into permanent streams and groundwater.
radioactive waste. Soil contamination by nuclear industry waste carries a very great danger. Few people know that during nuclear reactions at nuclear power plants, about 98-99% of the fuel goes to waste. These are the fission products of uranium - cesium, plutonium, strontium and other elements that are extremely dangerous. A very big problem for our country is the disposal of this radioactive waste. About 200,000 cubic meters of nuclear waste is generated every year in the world.

Main types of pollution

Soil pollution can be natural (for example, during volcanic eruptions), or anthropogenic (technogenic), when pollution occurs through the fault of man. In the latter case, substances and products that are not characteristic of the natural environment and adversely affect ecosystems and natural complexes get into the soil.

The process of classifying the types of soil pollution is very complex, different classifications are given in different sources. But still, the main types of soil pollution can be represented as follows.

Household soil pollution is soil pollution with garbage, waste and emissions. This group includes pollutants of a different nature and in a different state of aggregation. They can be either liquid or solid. In general, this type of pollution is not too dangerous for the soil, however, excessive accumulation of household waste clogs the area and prevents the normal growth of plants. The most acute problem of domestic soil pollution is in megalopolises and large cities, as well as in settlements with a poor system of garbage collection.

Soil chemical pollution- this is, first of all, pollution with heavy metals, as well as pesticides. This type of pollution already poses a great danger to humans. After all, heavy metals have the ability to accumulate in a living organism. Soils are contaminated with heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, mercury, arsenic and manganese. A major soil pollutant is gasoline, which contains a very toxic substance - tetraethyl lead.

Pesticides are also very hazardous substances for the soil. The main source of pesticides is modern agriculture, which actively uses these chemicals in the fight against beetles and pests. Therefore, pesticides accumulate in soils in large quantities. For animals and humans, they are no less dangerous than heavy metals. Thus, the highly toxic and very stable drug DDT was banned. It is able not to decompose in the soil for decades, scientists have found traces of it even in Antarctica!

Pesticides are very detrimental to soil microflora: bacteria and fungi.

Soil radioactive contamination is the pollution of soils by waste from nuclear power plants. Radioactive substances are extremely dangerous, as they easily penetrate the food chains of living organisms. The most dangerous radioactive isotope is considered to be strontium-90, which is characterized by a high yield during nuclear fission (up to 8%), as well as a long (28 years) half-life. In addition, it is very mobile in the soil and is able to be deposited in the bone tissue of humans and various living organisms. Other hazardous radionuclides include cesium-137, cerium-144, chlorine-36.

Volcanic soil pollution- This type of pollution belongs to the group of natural. It consists in the ingress of toxic substances, soot and combustion products into the soil, which occurs as a result of volcanic eruptions. This is a very rare type of soil pollution, which is typical only for certain small areas.

Mycotoxic soil contamination- is also not man-made and has a natural origin. The source of pollution here are some types of fungi that emit dangerous substances - mycotoxins. It is worth noting that these substances pose the same great danger to living organisms as all the others listed above.

soil erosion

Erosion has been and remains a major problem for the preservation of the fertile soil layer. Every year it "eats" large areas of fertile soil, while the rate of natural restoration of the soil cover is much lower than the rate of erosion processes. Scientists have already thoroughly studied the features of these processes and found measures to combat them.

Erosion can be:

aquatic
wind

Obviously, in the first case, flowing water acts as the leading erosion factor, and in the second case, wind.

Water erosion is more common and dangerous. It begins with the appearance on the earth's surface of a small, barely noticeable ravine, but after each heavy rain, this gully will expand and increase in size until it turns into a real moat. During the summer period alone, on an absolutely flat surface, a moat with a depth of 1-2 meters can appear! The next stage of water erosion is the formation of a ravine. This landform is characterized by great depth and branching structure. Ravines catastrophically destroy fields, meadows and pastures. If the ravine is not fought, sooner or later it will turn into a beam.

Water erosion processes are more active in the steppe region with rugged terrain, where there is very little vegetation.

Wind erosion is caused by storms and dry winds, which can blow up to 20 centimeters of the upper (most fertile) soil ball. The wind carries soil particles over long distances, forming sediments up to 1-2 meters high in certain places. Most often they are formed along plantings and forest belts.

Soil pollution assessment

To carry out a set of measures to protect the soil cover, an adequate assessment of soil pollution is very important. It is calculated by complex mathematical calculations, after a complex of detailed chemical and environmental studies. The assessment is presented by a complex indicator of pollution Z s.

Soil pollution assessment is carried out taking into account several important factors:

specifics of pollution sources;
a complex of chemical elements - soil pollutants;
priority of pollutants, according to the list of MPC substances;
nature and conditions of land use.

Researchers identify several levels of soil pollution, namely:

Permissible (Z with less than 16).
Moderately dangerous (Z from 16 to 38).
Dangerous (Z from 38 to 128).
Extremely dangerous (Z with over 128).

Soil protection

Depending on the source of pollution and the intensity of its influence, special measures have been developed to protect the soil cover. These measures include:

Legislative and administrative (adoption of relevant laws in the field of soil protection, and control over their implementation).
Technological (creation of non-waste production systems).
Sanitary (collection, disinfection and disposal of waste and soil pollutants).
Scientific (development of new technologies for treatment facilities, assessment and monitoring of soil conditions).
Forest reclamation and anti-erosion (these are measures for planting special shelter belts along the fields, building hydraulic structures and proper planting of crops).

Conclusion

The soils of Russia are a colossal wealth, thanks to which we have food, and production is provided with the necessary raw materials. The soil has been formed over many centuries. That is why the protection of soils from pollution is the most important task of the state.

Today, there are a large number of sources of soil pollution: these are transport, industry, cities, utilities, nuclear power plants, and agriculture. The common task of scientists, government authorities and public figures is to protect soils from the harmful effects of all these factors, or at least to minimize their harmful effects on soils.