Environmental emergencies are extreme situations associated with changes in the state of land, crisis situations associated with changes in the properties of the atmosphere and water environment.

The classification of environmental emergencies can be presented in the form of a table:

situation emergency classification

Table 1.

Source of emergencies	Characteristics of manifestation emergency situations
Changes in the state of land (soils, subsoil, landscapes)	- Catastrophic subsidence, landslides, collapses earth's surface due to the development of subsoil - The presence of heavy metals (including radionuclides) and other harmful substances in the soil (soil) in excess of the maximum permissible concentrations - Intensive soil degradation, desertification, salinization, waterlogging, etc. - Crisis situations associated with the depletion of natural resources - Crisis situations caused by overfilling of storage facilities (landfills) with industrial and household waste.
Changes in the composition and properties of the atmosphere	- Abrupt changes in weather or climate as a result of anthropogenic activities - Exceeding the maximum permissible concentrations of harmful impurities in the atmosphere - Significant excess of the maximum permissible level of urban noise - Formation of a vast zone of acid precipitation - Temperature inversions over cities
Changes in the state of the hydrosphere	- Sharp shortage drinking water - Exhaustion water resources - Water pollution
Changes in the state of the biosphere	- Disappearance of animal and plant species - A sharp change in the ability of the biosphere to reproduce resources - Mass death of animals

There are criteria for measuring the consequences of environmental emergencies

• - number of victims: 15 people. and more;
• - death toll 4 people. and more;
• - pollution environment exceeding the maximum permissible concentration (MPL) by 50 or more times or for radioactive substances by 100 or more times;
• - pollution of land and subsoil with toxicants.

According to the scale of distribution, taking into account the severity of the consequences, emergencies can be classified into:

• · local - have consequences that do not extend beyond the boundaries of the workplace, work site, estate, apartment;
• · object - consequences are limited to the boundaries of the economic object and can be eliminated at the expense of its forces and means;
• · local - have a scale of distribution within a populated area, incl. large city, administrative district, several districts and can be eliminated at the expense of the forces and means of the region;
• · regional - the consequences cover several areas and can be eliminated using the forces and resources of the region;
• · national - consequences covering several economic regions (regions), but not extending beyond the country’s borders, are eliminated by the forces and means of the state;
• · global - go beyond the borders of the country and spread to other states, eliminated both by the forces of each state on its territory, and by the forces and means of the international community.

Environmental emergencies can occur not only during industrial accidents, but also during sudden changes in environmental parameters due to a critical mass of changes. The most famous examples of this are “yellow” children in Altai, massive hair loss in children in Chernivtsi, “bubble” pregnancy in Vietnam, etc. For big cities Such situations can occur due to the phenomena of constant smog, mass death of trees, geological processes (sinkholes, landslides, etc.). When assessing the ecological state according to various components and the criticality of certain states, we must keep in mind the law of evolutionary-ecological irreversibility: an ecosystem that has lost some of its elements cannot return to its original state.

By monitoring the state of the environment with various monitoring systems, the main thing from the point of view of environmental safety is the identification of “critical” states, upon reaching which irreversible changes in the environment or socially and economically unacceptable consequences for the population occur.

When assessing environmental safety, it is necessary to keep in mind that a phenomenon remote in time and space seems less significant. In environmental management, this principle is especially often used as the basis for incorrect practical actions. What seems economically and socially significant and expedient today can lead to much more significant negative economic and social consequences. During the operation of natural systems, certain limits cannot be crossed that allow these systems to maintain the property of self-maintenance (self-regulation). Weak influences may not cause responses in the natural system until, having accumulated, they lead to the development of a violent dynamic process. Impact of environmental emergencies on the environment.

Humanity is increasingly suffering from environmental emergencies. Natural and man-made disasters such as floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides and forest fires are increasingly occurring around the world and are becoming more severe in their consequences. Despite efforts, man-made accidents such as chemical releases and oil spills have not been prevented; along with this in many parts globe Armed conflicts also become causes of environmental emergencies. Disasters have caused enormous economic damage and caused large numbers of deaths, but environmental emergencies will continue to occur for the foreseeable future. Ecosystem degradation, rapid industrial growth and increased use of chemicals raise hopes for timely and effective emergency response. In addition, there is also an increase in the number and complexity of emergency situations involving natural and man-made elements. At the same time, the pace of industrial development in many developing countries has outpaced the ability of governments to develop infrastructure to cope with disasters, creating significant vulnerabilities and greater dependence on international assistance.

The growing global focus on emergencies, whether man-made or natural, reflects the complex interplay of economic, social, political and environmental conditions. As a result of high rates of population growth and urbanization, an increasing number of people are exposed to risk during disasters. Underdeveloped economies and small countries in particular can be at serious risk when property and investment are threatened. Insufficient capacity to cope with emergencies, whether due to weak governance mechanisms or deficiencies in the concentration and use of economic resources, can be both a cause and a consequence of vulnerability. In turn, a fragile environment makes emergencies even more destructive.

Poverty poses a serious threat to the environment in general and to human settlements and biodiversity in particular. The increasing frequency and severity of man-made, natural and man-made disasters may well change the global environment in ways that directly impact the global economy. All of these environmental threats have become evident in the natural disasters and environmental emergencies that have occurred in Lately. The most severe disasters in the past two years have strained national, regional and global resources. Many natural disasters have occurred simultaneously with national or cross-border conflicts, forcing the environmental agenda to compete with global issues such as peacekeeping and peacebuilding, relief and reconstruction, poverty alleviation and sustainable development.

Emergencies are generally defined as the unexpected occurrence of events that have protracted and severe consequences. Environmental emergencies are unexpected natural and man-made disasters or incidents that cause or threaten to cause environmental damage and loss of life and property. Despite their unexpected occurrence, many emergencies affect the life of a particular country or region for a long time. Many aspects of emergencies require a combination of rapid response and long-term mitigation measures. The most important consideration in emergency response is not the event itself, but the ability of the affected population to cope with its consequences and return to normal life. Complex emergencies and environmental emergencies have many similarities. Most importantly, emergencies involve events, actions or aggregate circumstances that have tragic consequences for local, regional and global environmental conditions. They may be environmental in origin, but may also be the result of warfare, underdevelopment, poor policies, poor development choices or administrative failures. Emergencies affect the environment when they have a direct or indirect impact on the environment and human settlements that is significantly larger than the immediate humanitarian response. Changing environmental conditions can provoke emergency situations due to a simultaneous increase in pressure on the environment. Emergency prevention and disaster mitigation are central components in global efforts to ensure a safe environment. Pollution prevention through cleaner production is the process where cleaner, safer and more environmentally friendly technologies are applied throughout the entire production and consumption process, from resource exploitation to waste disposal, while making full use of materials that prevent pollution and reduce risk to people and the environment . Clean production is a fundamental approach to preventing and reducing the risk of environmental emergencies, especially man-made emergencies

Some negative environmental consequences They do not manifest themselves immediately, but months and years after the emergency itself. Therefore, it is important to foresee their possibility in advance in order to take measures to normalize the environmental situation.

The environmental crisis is increasingly impeding humanity's transition to sustainable development, despite a number of important political decisions taken in last decades at the international and national levels. Today there is not a single country in the world about which one could say that its development is sustainable. There continues to be a rapid decline in the planet's natural capital, accompanied by growing social inequality, environmental pollution and an increase in environmentally-related health problems. At the turn of the millennium, a significant portion of the world's refugees began to consist of people fleeing environmental disasters.

The main global factors of destabilization of the natural environment, which manifest themselves as consequences of environmental emergencies, include:

• - growth in consumption natural resources when they are reduced;
• - growth of the planet's population with a reduction in habitable territories;
• - degradation of the main components of the biosphere and the resulting decrease in nature’s ability to self-sustain and ensure the existence of human civilization;
• - possible climate change and depletion of the Earth's ozone layer;
• - reduction of biological diversity;
• - increasing environmental damage from natural and man-made disasters;

Threats of disasters caused by the presence of global problems, naturally, exist in Russia. According to many experts, the pace and scale of environmental degradation in the country are at the world average, but at the same time, in terms of the nature of land and forest degradation, Russia is closer to developing countries, and in terms of emissions of toxic substances into the air and water environment, their mass and diversity - to industrially developed countries. At the same time, the features of environmental degradation in Russia include the highest radiation pollution in the world and higher developed countries level of pollution with toxic heavy metals, pesticides, organic compounds. A significant negative impact is exerted by the predominantly extensive nature of the economy, accompanied by the irrational use of many types of natural resources, irrational volumes of extraction of natural raw materials, the concentration of production only in certain regions without taking into account the economic capacity of the corresponding ecosystems, and the lack of capacity for processing household and industrial waste. To this should be added the presence of outdated technologies in most enterprises, the unreliability of technological equipment due to the aging of fixed assets, etc.

The vast territory of Russia is characterized by a variety of natural and climatic zones from the polar, with permafrost, short summers, sparse vegetation, in the environment of which restoration processes proceed slowly, and environmental safety is ensured economic activity very difficult, to the southern Caspian semi-deserts with an arid climate and 30-degree heat. In addition, the territory Russian Federation is exposed to more than 30 types of dangerous natural processes and phenomena, the development and manifestation of which in the form of natural disasters and disasters causes great damage and even leads to human casualties. Among them, the most frequent are floods, forest fires, hurricanes, storms, typhoons, prolonged and heavy rains, earthquakes, heavy snowfalls, landslides, landslides and avalanches, droughts, failures of the surface layer of the earth, volcanic eruptions, etc. About 400 cases of manifestations are recorded annually similar phenomena. The risk of natural emergencies and preventive measures are assessed and developed by specialists from the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Relief, who monitor and control natural hazards and forecast them. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations pays a lot of attention to working with the population and educational events: special programs are broadcast on television, explanatory literature is distributed, and courses of lectures and practical exercises have been developed.

It is important to consider that one of the characteristics of a natural object is its relationship with the surrounding natural environment. Anthropogenic or natural influence on one natural object inevitably affects another.

Environmental problems are incomparable to any other problems in terms of the depth of their negative impact and catastrophic consequences for all living things. The cause of the environmental crisis is its anthropogenic nature, due to the environmental nihilism of decision makers and the environmental illiteracy of the population. Underestimation of the importance and necessity of a priority solution environmental problems will have serious consequences. Nature is not a bottomless, inexhaustible storehouse, it is a living organism, the health of which has already been significantly undermined by the increasing withdrawal of natural resources, intensive economic activity and the accumulation of an exorbitant load of waste that poisons all living things. The increase in global environmental pollution has led to a decrease in immunity and deterioration in people's health, the emergence of new diseases, and a sharp warming of the planet's climate, and not by 0.5° over 100 years, as predicted, but by 1.5°. Temperatures are expected to rise by up to 4° in the next 50 years.

The guarantee of technogenic and environmental safety is determined, first of all, by the development of safe technologies, quality production parameters and the availability of resources used to reduce the likelihood of dramatic consequences of its operation, forecasting natural disasters and the concentration of funds to eliminate their consequences.

In accordance with Federal law“On the protection of the population and territories from emergencies of a natural and man-made nature” - an emergency situation (hereinafter referred to as an emergency situation) is a situation in a certain territory that has arisen as a result of an accident, a dangerous natural phenomenon, a catastrophe, a natural or other disaster that may lead or has resulted in result in human casualties, damage to human health or the natural environment, significant material losses and disruptions to people’s living conditions.

Emergencies are classified according to various signs. In accordance with the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 304 of May 21, 2007 “On the classification of emergency situations of a natural and man-made nature,” according to the scale of distribution and severity of the consequences, emergencies of a natural and man-made nature are divided into local emergencies, municipal emergencies, intermunicipal emergencies, emergencies regional emergency, interregional emergency, federal emergency.

For local emergencies include emergencies, as a result of which the territory in which an emergency situation has arisen and the living conditions of people are disrupted (hereinafter referred to as the emergency zone) does not extend beyond the territory of the facility, while the number of people killed or injured in health (hereinafter referred to as the number of victims), is no more than 10 people or the amount of damage to the environment and material losses (hereinafter referred to as the amount of material damage) is no more than 100 thousand rubles.

Municipal emergency- those emergencies as a result of which the emergency zone does not extend beyond the territory of one settlement or the intracity territory of a city of federal significance, while the number of victims is no more than 50 people or the amount of material damage is no more than 5 million rubles, and also this emergency cannot be classified as a local emergency.

For intermunicipal emergencies include emergencies as a result of which the emergency zone affects the territory of two or more settlements, intracity territories of a federal city or inter-settlement territory, while the number of victims is more than 50 people or the amount of material damage is no more than 5 million rubles.

Regional emergency- those emergencies as a result of which the emergency zone does not extend beyond the boundaries of one subject of the Russian Federation, while the number of victims is over 50 people, but not more than 500 people, or the amount of material damage is over 5 million rubles, but not more than 500 million rubles.

For federal emergencies include emergencies that result in more than 500 casualties or more than 500 million rubles in material damage.

Based on the nature of emergencies, emergencies can be divided into technogenic, natural, environmental, anthropogenic, social and combined.

To man-made include emergency situations, the origin of which is associated with technical objects: explosions, fires, accidents at chemically hazardous objects, releases of radiation substances at radiation hazardous objects, accidents with the release of environmentally hazardous substances, building collapses, accidents on life support systems, transport accidents, etc.

Towards natural include emergencies associated with the manifestation of natural forces: earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, volcanic eruptions, landslides, mudflows, hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, natural fires, etc.

Towards environmental disasters (emergency situations) include abnormal changes in the state of the natural environment: pollution of the biosphere, destruction of the ozone layer, desertification, acid rain, etc.

To biological Emergencies include: epidemics, epizootics, epiphytoties.

Towards social emergencies- events generated by society and occurring in society: interethnic conflicts with the use of force, terrorism, robberies, violence, contradictions between states (wars), famine, etc.

Man-made emergencies- consequences of people's erroneous actions.

According to the reason for their occurrence, emergencies are divided into accidental (unintentional) and intentional. The last group includes terrorist acts, extremist actions, and other deliberate actions. Most emergencies are random. However, this does not mean that the occurrence and development of emergency situations does not obey any laws.

According to the time regime, emergencies are divided into peacetime and wartime emergencies.

According to the speed of development, emergencies are divided into: sudden(earthquakes, explosions, transport accidents); swift(related to fires, releases of toxic substances, hazardous substances); moderate(floods, floods, volcanic eruptions, etc.).

Emergency situations are characterized by qualitative and quantitative criteria. Quality criteria include: temporal(suddenness and speed of events); socio-ecological(human casualties, removal of large areas from economic circulation); socio-psychological.

The main causes of emergencies:

internal: complexity of technology, insufficient qualifications of personnel, design flaws, physical and moral wear and tear of equipment, low labor and technological discipline;

external: natural disasters, unexpected cessation of energy supplies, technological products, terrorism, wars.

The nature of emergency development.

The occurrence of an emergency is due to the presence of residual risk. According to the concept of residual risk, absolute safety cannot be ensured. Therefore, such security is accepted as is acceptable and can be provided by society in a given period of time.

Conditions for an emergency: presence of a source of risk(pressure, explosive, poisonous, RV); risk factor action(gas release, explosion, fire); being in the affected area of ​​people, farm animals and land.

Sources of emergency situations

The sources of emergencies can be hazardous natural phenomena, man-made incidents, especially dangerous infectious diseases of people and animals, as well as modern means defeats.

Based on their occurrence, emergency sources are divided into three groups: natural, anthropogenic and mixed.

Natural sources of emergencies

They arise as a result of various kinds of disturbances in the natural human environment and are divided into: geological-geophysical, hydrometeorological, aerometeorological, biological.

Geological and geophysical sources of emergencies arise as a result of disturbances inside and on the surface of the earth's crust. These include: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, mudflows, avalanches, dust storms, etc.

Hydrometeorological sources of emergencies are formed in the hydrosphere. These are, first of all, cyclones, tsunamis, storms, floods, etc.

Aerometeorological sources of emergencies arise due to disturbances in the lower layers of the atmosphere. These include: hurricanes, storms, tornadoes, showers, snowfalls, etc.

Biological sources of emergencies are especially dangerous infectious diseases and mass poisonings of people, infectious diseases of farm animals and plants, mass spread of pests, etc.

Anthropogenic sources of emergency situations

They arise in an artificial habitat created by man and are divided into two groups: technogenic and social.

Man-made sources of emergencies include, first of all, fires, accidents at radiation and chemically hazardous facilities, transport, engineering networks, hydraulic and other life support facilities.

Social sources of emergencies include armed clashes based on interstate, interethnic, and interreligious conflicts; terrorism, crime, drug addiction, etc.

Mixed sources of emergencies

They are caused by active anthropogenic impact on the environment, under the influence of which new natural sources of emergencies arise or intensively develop. These include sources of emergency situations associated with changes in the state of the land, atmosphere, hydrosphere, due to the negative impact of humans on the biosphere, etc.

electrical injury accident toxic

All environmental pollution of this type leads to the emergence of environmental hazards and the occurrence of environmental emergencies, the solution of which is currently given a huge place both in national ecology and in the works of foreign specialists.

In addition to gases, there is water and aerosols in the atmosphere. In the atmosphere, water is in solid (ice, snow), liquid (drops) and gaseous (steam) states. When water vapor condenses, clouds form. Complete renewal of water vapor in the atmosphere occurs in 9-10 days.

In the atmosphere there are also substances in the ionic state, up to several tens of thousands per 1 cm3 of air.

To understand and solve the problem of atmospheric protection, it is necessary to study its features. The Earth's current atmosphere is the result of a variety of geological and biological processes that are ongoing today.

The uneven heating of air determines horizontal movements in the atmosphere from the region high pressure to the low area, i.e. from cold zones to warm ones. The rotation of the Earth changes their pattern of movement. In addition to pressure, the Coriolis force acts, arising from the rotation of the Earth, which depends on wind speed, latitude and angular velocity.

The atmosphere is heterogeneous not only in the vertical, but also in the horizontal direction. Air, moving over various areas of the surface (continents, oceans, mountains, forests, swamps, steppes, deserts), changes its physical properties, i.e., air transformation occurs. Since air is never completely at rest, it is constantly being transformed. The physical properties of air change especially intensively when it moves from one latitude to another - from land to ocean, and vice versa.

Uneven air directions over different parts of the Earth's surface form warm and cold, stable and unstable air masses. During horizontal transfer, warm and cold air currents can move closer or further away from each other. When air volumes with different physical properties horizontal gradients of temperature, humidity, pressure increase, and wind speed increases. As you move away from each other, the gradients and wind speed decrease.

Zones in which air masses approach each other are called fronts. They constantly arise and collapse. The width of the frontal zones is relatively small, but large reserves of energy are concentrated in them, and the largest vortex-cyclones and anticyclones are formed. These, in turn, have a great influence on the dispersion or high concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere.

A pollutant can be any physical agent Chemical substance or biological species (mainly microorganisms) that enter the environment or are formed in it in quantities higher than natural ones. Atmospheric pollution refers to the presence in the air of gases, vapors, particles, solid and liquid substances, heat, vibrations, radiation that adversely affect humans, animals, plants, climate, materials, buildings and structures.

Based on their origin, pollution is divided into natural, caused by natural, often anomalous processes in nature, and anthropogenic, associated with human activity.

With development production activities In humans, an increasing share of atmospheric pollution comes from anthropogenic pollution. They are divided into local and global. Local pollution is associated with cities and industrial regions. Global pollution affects biosphere processes on Earth as a whole and spreads over vast distances. Since the air is in constant motion, harmful substances are transported hundreds and thousands of kilometers. Global air pollution is increasing due to the fact that harmful substances from it enter the soil, water bodies, and then enter the atmosphere again.

Physical pollution includes thermal (the entry of heated gases into the atmosphere); light (deterioration of natural illumination of the area under the influence artificial sources Sveta); noise (as a result of anthropogenic noise); electromagnetic (from power lines, radio and television, operation of industrial installations); radioactive, associated with an increase in the level of radioactive substances entering the atmosphere.

Biological pollution is mainly a consequence of the proliferation of microorganisms and anthropogenic activities (thermal power engineering, industry, transport, actions of the armed forces). Production building materials produces up to 10% of all contaminants. A large amount of pollution enters the atmosphere during the operation of the cement industry, during the extraction and processing of asbestos.

The most common toxic substances that pollute the atmosphere are carbon monoxide CO, sulfur dioxide SO2, nitrogen oxide NOx, hydrocarbons CH.

Pollutants enter the body through the respiratory system. The daily volume of inhaled air for one person is 6-12 m3. During normal breathing, with each breath, the human body receives from 0.5 to 2 liters of air.

The inhaled air through the trachea and bronchi enters the alveoli of the lungs, where gas exchange occurs between blood and lymph. Depending on the size and properties of pollutants, their absorption occurs in different ways.

Coarse particles become trapped in the upper respiratory tract and, if they are not toxic, can cause a disease called field bronchitis. Fine dust particles (0.5-5 microns) reach the alveoli and can lead to an occupational disease, which is generally called pneumoconiosis. Its varieties: silicosis (inhalation of dust containing SiO2), anthracor (inhalation of coal dust), asbestosis (inhalation of asbestos dust), etc.

A person can live for a long time without food (30-45 days), without water - 5 days, without air only 5 minutes. The harmful effects of various dusty industrial emissions on humans are determined by the amount of pollutants entering the body, their condition, composition and time of exposure. Atmospheric pollution can have little effect on human health, but can lead to complete intoxication of the body.

The destructive effects of industrial pollution depend on the type of substance. Chlorine damages the eyes and respiratory system. Fluorides, entering the human body through the digestive tract, wash calcium from the bones and reduce its content in the blood. When inhaled, fluorides have a negative effect on Airways. Hydrosulfide affects the cornea of ​​the eyes and respiratory organs, causing headaches. At high concentrations, death is possible. Carbon disulfide is a nerve poison and can cause mental disorders. The acute form of poisoning leads to drug-induced loss of consciousness. Dangerous for inhalation of vapors or heavy metal compounds. Beryllium compounds are harmful to health. Sulfur dioxide affects the respiratory tract. Carbon monoxide interferes with the transfer of oxygen, causing oxygen starvation in the body. Prolonged inhalation of carbon monoxide can be fatal to humans.

Aldehydes and ketones are dangerous in low concentrations in the atmosphere. Aldehydes have an irritating effect on the organs of vision and smell and are drugs that destroy nervous system, the nervous system is also affected by phenolic compounds and organic sulfides.

The presence of dust in the atmosphere, in addition to the above negative consequences, reduces the flow of ultraviolet rays to the Earth's surface. The impact of pollution on human health is greatest during the period of smog. At this time, people’s well-being worsens, the number of pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases increases sharply, and influenza epidemics occur. Air pollution also has a harmful effect on plants. Different gases have different effects on plants, and plants are not equally susceptible to the same gases.

Air pollutants negatively affect agricultural plants both through direct poisoning of green mass and soil intoxication. Acid rain acts similarly: it reduces soil fertility, negatively affects flora and fauna, shortens the service life of electrochemical coatings, especially chromium-nickel paints, reduces the reliability of machines and mechanisms, and more than 100 thousand types of colored glass used are at risk.

One of serious problems associated with air pollution is possible climate change from the influence of anthropogenic factors that cause: direct impact on the state of the atmosphere associated with an increase or decrease in temperature and air humidity; change in physical and chemical properties atmosphere, its radiation and electrical characteristics, changes in the composition of the troposphere (increased concentrations of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, chlorofluorocarbons, methane, ozone, krypton, dust aerosols);

• - changes in the state and properties of the upper layers of the atmosphere, the ozone screen under the influence of freons and nitrogen oxides, as well as the appearance of aerosol in the stratosphere (volcanic eruptions);
• - a change in the reflectivity of the Earth, affecting the interaction of elements of the climate system (gas exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere, changes in atmospheric humidity).

Climate fluctuations affect the condition and life of a person. When air temperature and precipitation change, the distribution of water resources and the conditions for the development of the human body change.

Climate change is affecting Agriculture. With warming, the duration of the growing season increases (by 10 days for every °C increase in temperature). Increased carbon dioxide concentrations lead to increased yields.

Anthropogenic impact on the atmosphere leads to air ionization, which determines the electrical properties of the atmosphere. A change in the electrical properties of the atmosphere by more than 10% will lead to undesirable effects and aggravate the problems of electrical injuries.

The intensive development of industry, transport, and overpopulation of a number of regions of the planet have led to significant pollution of the hydrosphere. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 80% of all infectious diseases in the world are associated with unsatisfactory quality of drinking water and violations of sanitary and hygienic water supply standards. Pollution of the surface of reservoirs with films of oil, fats, and lubricants interferes with gas exchange between water and the atmosphere, which reduces the saturation of water with oxygen and negatively affects the state of phytoplankton and leads to massive death of fish and birds.

Fresh surface waters on land (rivers, lakes, swamps, soil and groundwater) are subject to the most intense anthropogenic impact. Although their share in the total mass of the hydrosphere is small (less than 0.4%), high water exchange activity increases their reserves many times over. Water exchange activity refers to the rate of renewal of individual water resources of the hydrosphere, which is expressed by the number of years or days required for complete renewal of water resources.

River waters are used especially intensively. Despite the fact that river beds contain only 1200 kmj of water, the high activity of water exchange of river waters (once every 11-14 days) multiplies their resources. To this should be added the annually renewable useful volume of the world's reservoirs, estimated at 3,200 km3. A special place in the use of water resources is occupied by water consumption by the population. Household and drinking purposes in our country account for 10% of total water consumption.

Literature

• 1. Life safety, ed. Arustamova E.A., M.: Publishing House "Dashkov and K", 2000, p. 367.

Environmental emergencies are very diverse and practically cover all aspects of human life and activity. According to the nature of the phenomena, they are divided into four main groups:

¦ changes in the state of land (soil degradation, erosion, desertification);

¦ changes in the properties of the air environment (climate, lack of oxygen, harmful substances, acid rain, noise, destruction of the ozone layer);

¦ changes in the state of the hydrosphere (depletion and pollution of the aquatic environment);

¦ change in the state of the biosphere.

Question 2. Changes in the state of land (varieties, characteristics)

Literature

• 1. Life safety, ed. Arustamova E.A., M.: Publishing House "Dashkov and K", 2000, pp. 194-195.
• 2. www.sufit.narod.ru - Types of environmental emergencies.

Changes in land conditions:

¦ soil degradation,

¦ erosion,

¦ desertification.

Intensive soil degradation is a gradual deterioration of soil properties under the influence of natural causes or human economic activities (improper agricultural practices, pollution, depletion). Degradation occurs when fertilizers and pesticides are used incorrectly.

Thoughtless reclamation work reduces the humus layer, fertile soils are covered with unproductive soil.

During logging, undergrowth and grass cover are damaged and destroyed. Especially great harm Tractor drags are applied to the soil. When a forest is uprooted, a large amount of humus is carried away along with the roots.

Soil degradation includes processes of erosion, accompanied by changes in soil flora and fauna, decreased fertility, and the formation of barren, desert lands.

Soil erosion refers to the various processes of destruction of soils and underlying rocks by various natural and anthropogenic factors. According to the reasons, they distinguish between water erosion, wind, glacial, landslide, river, and biological.

Desertification is the reduction or destruction of the biological potential of a land space, accompanied by a reduction in its water resources, the disappearance of its continuous vegetation cover, and the depletion and restructuring of its fauna. Desertification is the result of the impact of the unstable environment of arid (dry) lands with irrational use by humans. For example, excessive grazing of livestock, lack of rational relationships between agriculture and livestock, destruction of vegetation during fuel procurement, road construction, and geological exploration.

Introduction

Life on Earth develops according to the strict laws of nature. To exist and develop, human society is forced to enter into certain relationships with nature, determined by his work activity, that is, to engage in environmental management.

Violation of environmental laws can have dangerous and even tragic consequences for current and future generations of people. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to know how human society interacts with nature. The environmental situation in many countries around the world is last years sharply worsened due to significant anthropogenic changes in nature.

Light, heat, noise, electromagnetic, radioactive and other waste, thermal power engineering, industry, transport, actions of the armed forces - all these irrational environmental management are the causes of environmental pollution, which lead to environmental disasters and the occurrence of environmental emergencies.

Therefore, I decided to choose this particular problem as the topic of my work, and to explore such concepts as environmental emergencies, the causes of environmental disasters and ways to protect the population from environmental hazards.

General concept of an environmental emergency

Throughout his life, a person constantly has to deal with various emergency situations. Almost every day in different parts of our planet so-called emergency situations arise, these are messages in the media mass media about catastrophes, natural disasters, another accident, military conflict or act of terrorism.

An emergency situation (ES) is a situation in a certain territory that arises as a result of accidents, catastrophes, natural or other disasters that may result or have resulted in human casualties, damage to human health or the environment, or significant material losses. As well as significant material losses and disruption of living conditions. This is a condition in which, as a result of the occurrence of an emergency source at an object or a certain water area, the normal living conditions and activities of people are disrupted, a threat arises to their life and health, and damage is caused to the property of the population, the national economy and the natural environment.

Emergency situations can be classified as follows:

Emergency situations of man-made origin;

Environmental emergencies;

Natural emergencies;

Emergency of social origin.

One of the most current problems today, on which it is necessary to devote Special attention is an environmental emergency. Therefore, it is advisable to consider general concept and the main causes of environmental emergencies.

Environmental emergencies are extreme situations associated with changes in the state of land, crisis situations associated with changes in the properties of the atmosphere, water environment, and so on. All environmental emergencies occur as a result of man-made and natural emergencies. Environmental emergencies include:

Changes in the condition of soils, subsoil, landscapes;

Changes in the state of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere.

Environmental emergencies are very diverse and practically cover all aspects of human life and activity. According to the nature of the phenomena, they are divided into four main groups:

1. changes in land conditions:

Soil degradation, erosion, desertification;

The presence of heavy metals in the soil (radionuclides) and other harmful substances in the soil in excess of maximum permissible concentrations (MPC);

Critical situations associated with overfilling of storage sites, landfills with industrial and household waste and pollution of the environment;

Crisis situations associated with the depletion of non-renewable natural resources.

2. changes in the properties and composition of the atmosphere:

Sudden changes in weather or climate as a result of anthropogenic activities;

Acid rain and noise;

Destruction of the ozone layer of the atmosphere;

Significant changes in atmospheric transparency.

Oxygen starvation in cities.

3. changes in the state of the hydrosphere:

Lack of drinking water due to their depletion or pollution;

Disruption of economic activity and ecological balance due to pollution of inland seas and oceans.

4. changes in the state of biospheres:

Mass death and disappearance of some species of animals and plants that are sensitive to changes in environmental conditions.

Environmental emergencies are unexpected natural disasters or man-made incidents that cause environmental damage and loss of life and property, as well as mass death of animals and plants. Humanity is increasingly suffering from environmental emergencies. Environmental emergencies such as floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides and forest fires are occurring with increasing frequency and severity throughout the world.