Impact of tek on the environment. The impact of thermal energy on the environment The impact of energy on the environment and human life

Energy is the most important branch of the economy, without which human activity in general is impossible. Any production requires costs, so a person has long been preoccupied with finding its sources.

The main source of energy on Earth is. But solar energy is difficult to convert into usable forms, although power plants (solar power plants) exist in some countries with a lot of sunny days per year. Such stations operate in space as well; solar batteries are also used for the operation of calculating machines, however, the share of use is currently small, and the task is to expand the use of this energy, since it is an inexhaustible natural resource.

Solar energy is an unconventional type of energy used. Non-traditional include also geysers, marine and tidal and geothermal energy. These types of energy have yet to be mastered by mankind, especially since they are inexhaustible energy resources.

Humanity in its activities uses thermal and electrical energy obtained either by burning various types of fuel (combined heat and power plants), or by using the energy of rivers (hydroelectric power plants - HPPs), or atomic energy from the decay of nuclei of heavy isotopes (nuclear power plants - NPPs).

Thermal power plants (TPPs) use natural and associated gas, processed products (fuel oil and other liquid fuels), coal and brown coal, peat (solid fuel) as fuel.

When gas is burned, the least amount of harmful pollutants is emitted, therefore gaseous fuel is considered the most environmentally friendly.

Combustion of liquid and solid fuels is accompanied by the formation of harmful gases (sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides), dust aerosols may form, and ash is obtained. TPPs are the second pollutant after motor transport. The ash resulting from the combustion of liquid and especially solid fuels is a large-tonnage waste from the power industry and requires mandatory disposal.

From the point of view of atmospheric pollution, nuclear power plants are more environmentally friendly than thermal power plants, but due to the possibility of radiation contamination of the environment, they are the most environmentally hazardous type of production.

The issue of the disposal of nuclear fuel waste is very acute, and this problem is currently practically not solved, since the burial of radioactive waste in repositories is not an environmentally sound way of their disposal and disposal of waste, since their effect is not destroyed, and if the repository is violated, contamination of natural Wednesday.

Hydroelectric power plants practically do not pollute the habitat with various harmful wastes, but during their construction there is a strong destruction of natural biogeocenoses, flooding of large territories, a change in the microclimate of the region, obstacles are created for the vital activity of many organisms (for example, fish cannot reach their spawning grounds, animals are deprived of their usual places habitat, etc.). Economic and social costs for the construction of hydroelectric power plants are far from always justified.

A significant environmental pollution is the flow of electromagnetic radiation arising from the transmission of electricity over long distances by high-voltage power lines. These radiations have a great negative effect on both humans and animals.

The normal functioning of thermal power plants, nuclear power plants, hydroelectric power plants is associated with the use of vehicles, therefore, the natural environment is also polluted due to the operation of these funds. Thermal pollution by various energy enterprises is high. These factories contribute to both noise and vibration pollution.

A brief review of the impact of energy on the natural environment shows that environmental protection is also important for this industry.

Overview of environmental protection measures in the energy sector

A number of processes used in the energy sector, at the present stage, cannot be rationally implemented from the point of view of correct environmental decisions. Thus, the construction of hydroelectric power plants will always be accompanied by the rejection of territories, their flooding, and the death of biogeocenoses. But at the same time, it is possible to clearly take into account all measures for a more thorough preparation of flooded areas and the optimal use of the resources of these areas.

As in other industries, the integrated use of raw materials and waste is important. Thus, solid waste (ash) from thermal power plants is used in construction and agriculture. An important task is to completely capture the waste gases of TPPs in order to utilize nitrogen and sulfur oxides to obtain sulfur and nitrogen compounds from them for their further use in other sectors of the economy.

The most important environmental action in the field of energy is the development of other types of energy, which are non-traditional and safer from an environmental point of view. A striking example of such development of energy sources is the power industry of Iceland, based on the use of thermal energy of hot water from geysers. A promising method is the production of thermal energy by drilling wells and bringing hot water to the surface from great depths. But at present it is economically unattainable due to the complexity of technical solutions.

At the dawn of civilization, wind energy was widely used, but due to the development of energy by burning fuel, this industry has lost its importance, but now it is being revived again due to the complication of the ecological situation on the Planet.

Unfortunately, there is no solution to the problem of reducing environmental pollution by electromagnetic radiation - increasing the distance of a person from power lines does not reduce the negative impact of power lines. It is necessary to look for ways to transfer electricity in other ways, or to provide energy to this or that object with localized methods.

An important (indirect) environmental measure is the optimization of the consumption of electric and thermal energy. A person often “warms the street”. It is necessary to improve thermal insulation, which will lead to energy savings, and at the same time reduce the need for energy generation, which in turn will help to improve the environmental situation.

Energy is not only the basis of the modern national economic system of the Russian Federation, but also the main sector of the economy contributing to pollution and environmental degradation. Meanwhile, the problem of the environmental consequences of the development of the fuel and energy complex remains poorly understood - both for those forms that prevailed during the last four decades of its rapid growth, and in relation to alternative ways of meeting the needs of the national economy for fuel and energy resources.

The extraction, transportation, and use of oil, natural gas, and coal on the current scale are inevitably associated with a colossal negative impact on the environment - in terms of volume, depth (both literally and figuratively) and the scale of the consequences. Controversy continues over the fundamental acceptability of the environmental risk associated with nuclear power. Hydropower construction projects almost inevitably meet with one or another objection based on environmental arguments. Even the directions for the development of energy based on renewable sources, advocated by most environmentalists, are criticized by other "green" as associated with one or another negative impact on the environment (wind power plants harm birds, "pollute the horizon", etc., the production of solar panels and their utilization at the end of the operating period is not environmentally harmless, doubts are growing about the environmental friendliness of biofuels, especially those produced from crop and forestry products, etc.).

Table 7.1. Dynamics of emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere from stationary sources, thousand tons * 1

RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Industry
Oil producing
Gas industry
Coal
Power engineering
Oil refining
Chemical and petrochemical
Ferrous metallurgy
Non-ferrous metallurgy
Woodworking and pulp and paper *
Agriculture
Transport

including public pipeline transport

* No official data

* 1 State report on the state of the environment of the Russian Federation in 2000. Moscow: State Center for Environmental Programs, 2001.562 p .; State report on the state of the environment of the Russian Federation in 2003. Moscow: State Center for Environmental Programs, 2004.446 p .; State report on the state and protection of the environment of the Russian Federation in 2004. Moscow: ANO Center for International Projects, 2005. 493 p .; State report on the state and protection of the environment of the Russian Federation in 2006. Moscow: ANO Center for International Projects, 2007. 500 p.

7.1. The impact of the fuel and energy complex on the environment: emissions into the atmosphere

According to the indicators of the negative effect produced in the process of the current functioning of enterprises, the fuel industry, and, above all, oil production, is the undisputed leader among all energy sectors. Moreover, in 2004 this industry came out on top in terms of emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere among 12 industries identified according to the standard classification of Rosstat, and remains in this place until now - a phenomenon unprecedented for countries with diversified economies. Table 7.1 shows the indicators of atmospheric pollution from stationary sources in Russia for 1996–2007, it shows how significant the contribution of energy industries to this type of pollution is. In 2004, the fuel industry, electric power industry and oil refining accounted for more than 54% of industrial emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere against 48% in 1996 and 2000.

In the 1990s. in Russia, emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere by the national economy as a whole and by industry decreased, while in no year of the period did any of the sectors of the economy or industry show a significant increase in emissions; but since 2000 the situation has changed, and the annual growth of their volumes has begun until 2006 inclusive. From Table 7.1 it follows that this growth was almost entirely determined by the fuel industry, especially oil production, the rest of the industries either show a noticeable decrease in emissions, or do not show their significant dynamics. Increase in oil production for the period 2000-2004 (in physical terms - by 31.7%) in itself cannot be the cause of an unprecedented jump in emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere by this industry (more than three times). Initially (in 2000-2001), attempts were made to explain it by the improvement of the accounting system, etc., which looked strange against the background of the actual destruction of the environmental control system in the country in these years and the almost complete cessation of environmental monitoring of pollution sources (previously carried out by the territorial bodies of the State Committee for Ecology Russia). However, already in 2002 it became quite obvious that the increasing negative impact of oil production on the environment was primarily due to the continuous growth in the volume of flared associated petroleum gas, and this, in turn, is a consequence of neglect of environmental issues in most oil companies.

Table 7.2. Change in the volume of emissions of pollutants from 1999 to 2007 in leading industries, thousand tons and%

Industries				Growth rates
Industry
Oil production
Coal industry
Gas industry
Power engineering
Refining
Non-ferrous metallurgy
Ferrous metallurgy

* No official data

Unfortunately, there are no data in official sources to continue the time series of Table 7.1 for all industries for 2005 and subsequent years: since 2005, the composition and form have been changed in the State Reports on the State and Protection of the Environment in the Russian Federation presentation of information on the impact of the economy on the environment - from the traditional division of the national economy as a set of industries, a transition was made to types of economic activity. Extracts from these reports, grouped to approximate the structure of Table 7.1, are collected in its last column. IN

In 2006, emissions from oil production decreased by 12% in comparison with the previous year (the result of the introduction of capacities for the collection and processing of associated gas in several companies), but the next year, the growth of emissions resumed - at a rate corresponding to the growth in production. The resulting data on the increase in emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere by industry as a whole and seven main industries - sources of pollutants for the period 1996-2007 are given in table 7.2.

7.2. The impact of the fuel and energy complex on the environment: discharge of polluted water

The discharge of contaminated water, as well as the formation of solid waste at the enterprises of the oil and gas production sectors, are small, but in the coal industry such impacts on the environment are significant (and for solid waste they are very significant). Unfortunately, the official statistics on these indicators are incomplete and inconsistent. So, in the "State report on the state of the environment of the Russian Federation in 2000" there is information on the formation of toxic waste in industry - not by source, but by hazard class, but there is no data on the generation of production and consumption waste (for the five-year period 1996-2000 years), and in the "State report on the state and protection of the environment of the Russian Federation in 2004" - the opposite (and only for the three-year period 2002-2004).

Table 7.3. Dynamics of discharge of polluted wastewater into surface water bodies, mln m3

Industries
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Industry
Gas industry
Coal industry
Power engineering
Oil refining industry
Chemical and petrochemical
Ferrous metallurgy
Mechanical engineering and metalworking
Non-ferrous metallurgy
Agriculture

An idea of \u200b\u200bthe impact of the fuel complex (by three industries - oil, gas and coal) in comparison with some industries and sectors of the national economy (other most significant sources of polluted water and solid waste) is given in Table 7.3.

Further dynamics of the discharge of polluted wastewater (for 2005–2006) for the branches of the fuel complex is presented in Table 7.4, but in a different (compared to Table 7.3) grouping, which, of course, makes direct comparison impossible. However, it follows from these data that despite the general trend for the national economy as a whole, the trend of a slow decrease (about 1-2% per year, with the exception of 2005, when it was about 4%), in wastewater discharge in the fuel complex, even this trend is not detected. : years of decrease in discharge alternate with years of its increase, and no convincing explanations for such fluctuations are known; this gives rise to doubts about the accuracy of the relevant data provided in the State Reports on the State and Protection of the Environment of the Russian Federation.

7.3. The impact of the fuel and energy complex on the environment: generation of solid waste

Solid waste generation data for the period 2002-2004 are given in table 7.5, and for 2006 - 2007. - in table 7.6 (as already noted, in another grouping).

Table 7.4. Volumes of polluted wastewater discharges into surface water bodies by type of economic activity, million m3

Total for Russian Federation
Extraction of crude oil and natural gas; provision of services in these areas
Extraction of hard coal, brown coal and peat
Production, transmission and distribution of electricity, gas, steam and hot water
Agriculture, hunting and service provision in these areas

The largest amount of solid waste is generated in the coal industry, moreover, in 2002-2004. their volume continued to grow by 16-18% annually. Such a significant growth is not justified either by an increase in production (the growth rate is no more than 2%), or by a deterioration in the quality of resources, to which 1-2% could be attributed at most. The contribution of oil and gas production and transportation to this type of negative impact on the environment is insignificant.

It should be noted that many indicators available in the State Reports on the State and Protection of the Environment of the Russian Federation, especially in the last seven of them, need clarification, but there are no explanations in the reports. In environmental expertise, environmental impact assessment and other environmental methods, the principle of environmental hazard is adopted (a kind of antonym for the presumption of innocence in criminal law). It seems unconditional that all doubts about the reliability of the data cited in official sources should be interpreted in accordance with this principle, assuming that the real situation is obviously no better than it follows from such sources.

Table 7.5. Dynamics of the formation of solid production and consumption waste, million tons

Industries
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Industry
Oil industry
Gas industry
Coal industry
Power engineering
Oil refining industry
Chemical and petrochemical
Ferrous metallurgy
Non-ferrous metallurgy
Housing and utilities
Agriculture
Other sectors of the economy

Table 7.6. Volumes of production and consumption waste generation by type of economic activity, million tons

Economic activity
Total for the Russian Federation
Extraction of fuel and energy minerals
Production and distribution of electricity, gas and water
Chemical production; manufacture of rubber and plastic products
Metallurgical production and production of finished metal products
Construction
Agriculture, hunting and forestry
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of vehicles, motorcycles, household products
Real estate operations, rental and service provision

7.4. The impact of the fuel and energy complex on the environment: land disturbances

The huge areas of land disturbed by the oil industry (Table 7.77), of course, with the same production volumes, could and should be less, primarily due to more efficient placement and use of wells, optimization of reservoir networks, improving the quality of pipes and, especially, construction and installation construction works

* 4 State report on the state and protection of the environment of the Russian Federation in 2004. M .: ANO "Center for International Projects", 2005. 493 p.

* 5 The corresponding data (as well as the data in the industrial classification) for 2005 are not presented in the State Reports.

* 6 State report on the state and protection of the environment of the Russian Federation in 2007. M .: ANO "Center for International Projects", 2008. 504 p.

* 7 For the first time in the State Report, data on the areas of disturbed and reclaimed land appeared in 2004. The transition from a sectoral presentation of the economy to a grouping by type of activity in relation to data on land disturbance was not made in the State Report for 2005, this makes it impossible to build a single table for the period 2004-2007, however, it seems sufficient to provide data only for the initial and final years of this period.

Table 7.7. Areas of lands disturbed and reclaimed in 2004 and 2007 (ha) 8

Branches of the national economy, types of activities	Violated lands		The presence of disturbed lands at the end		Recultivated in
the Russian Federation
Oil industry
Gas industry
Coal industry
Geological exploration
Peat industry
Construction of oil and gas pipelines
Power engineering
Ferrous metallurgy
Non-ferrous metallurgy
Chemical and oil refining industry
Building materials industry
Railroad construction
Road construction
Agriculture
Forestry
Water protection and reclamation construction
Other industries

main pipelines and collector systems. By the mid-1990s. only in the Khanty-Mansiysk National Okrug, about 100 thousand wells were drilled [On the state ..., 1997], a significant part did not justify the costs incurred due to errors in operation or because their location was chosen incorrectly. The data in Table 7.7 show that of all the lands disturbed in 2004 in the Russian Federation, more than 60% fell on the fuel industry, the construction of oil and gas pipelines and geological exploration, oil and gas, and in 2007, accordingly, more than 72%! It is noteworthy that the fuel complex, the richest in the Russian economy, the main "earner" of foreign currency, reclaimed less than 50% of the total area of \u200b\u200bland reclaimed in the same year in the country as a whole, respectively, in 2007 - less than 60% ... The area of \u200b\u200bland reclaimed by the oil industry in 2004 was only 74% of the area disturbed in the same year (less than 57% by the gas industry), and in 2007 - only 45%. This is another confirmation of the above-noted lack of attention to environmental issues in most fuel companies. The coal industry and the electric power industry in 2004 repaid their debts for the reclamation of disturbed lands, a significant role here is played by the activity of public environmental organizations, local authorities and the population, since the enterprises of these sub-sectors (unlike most oil and gas producing ones) are located in populated densely populated areas; however, the government's growing neglect of the state's environmental interests until recently led to the fact that in 2007 these industries disturbed more land than they reclaimed (but the return of the “reclamation debt” was recorded for the gas industry).

* 8 State report on the state and protection of the environment of the Russian Federation in 2004. Moscow: ANO Center for International Projects, 2005. 493 p .; State report on the state and protection of the environment of the Russian Federation in 2007. M .: ANO "Center for International Projects", 2008. 504 p.

Thus, the fuel and energy complex is currently the leader among all national economic complexes in terms of areas of disturbed lands.

7.5. Environmental impact of the fuel and energy complex: oil spills

In the Russian system for accounting for negative environmental impacts, the oil industry finds itself in an extremely privileged position: the fact is that in our country there is practically no official statistics on oil spills due to ruptures and other accidents on oil trunk pipelines and in collector networks in oil production areas.

The scale of oil spills can be judged from fragmentary data appearing in the press and relating to individual regions or years9, for example [Osnovy ispolzovaniya ..., 1989; Mazur, 1995; Problems of Geography ..., 1996; Solntseva, 1998]. The magazine "Oil of Russia" reported that only at the objects of main pipelines from 1992 to 2001. 545 accidents occurred. The average annual accident rate - 50-60 accidents on main pipelines - does not show a steady downward trend. In 2001, 42 thousand emergency de-grounding operations took place on the infield pipelines, with at least 65 thousand cubic meters spilled. m of oil and formation water 10. According to the information of the Nevsko-Ladoga Basin Water Management Department, from 1999 to 2003. in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region due to ship accidents in the waters of this region, on average, at least 35 oil spills occurred annually11 “According to the data of the State Control Service in the Sphere of Natural Resources and Environmental Safety of the Main Directorate for the Irkutsk Region of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation (letter of 23.08.02 No. 4-9-758), in the period from 1993 to 2001. on the oil pipelines Krasnoyarsk - Irkutsk, Omsk - Irkutsk, owned by JSC AK Transneft, in the Irkutsk region there were 6 accidents accompanied by an oil spill (one with fire) with a total volume of 42,290 tons of oil ”12.

Oil spills during depressurization of pipelines are practically not taken into account when accounting for disturbed lands. The main reason for such a lack of attention to this problem is, apparently, that the majority of leaks occur in "undeveloped" territories that are not used or hardly used in the national economy. In addition, the local consequences of such events are often eliminated (although not completely) by floods for one or several years without any response from the owner of the pipe, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and environmental authorities. The fact that almost every spill of oil and oil products leads to the pollution of water bodies is not taken into account by the official statistics of the negative impacts of economic and other activities on the environment, does not fall under any of the headings of this statistics (emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere, discharge of polluted water, formation waste, land disturbance, radiation pollution, electromagnetic radiation, noise, vibration). The hydroecological subsystem for monitoring the state of the environment ascertains oil pollution of water bodies as the fourth in terms of volume indicators (the first three places are occupied by suspended solids, total phosphorus and iron compounds; the discharge of oil products with wastewater for the period 2003-2007 in thousand tons was: 2003 - 5.6; 2004 - 6.6; 2005 - 3.7; 2006 - 4.6; 2007 - 3.1), but for many rivers and lakes subject to anthropogenic influences (especially reservoirs), it has become the main one13. However, specific sources (respectively, the culprits) of this pollution are identified in rare cases, and the main reason here is the actual absence of a system for monitoring pollution sources in the country. Accordingly, there is no information on the shares of sectors of the national economy in the total pollution of water bodies with oil products. The above data leave no doubt that the share of oil production and oil pipelines in this pollution is very significant. Small leaks of siphons make a constant contribution to water pollution, which is associated with a high degree of wear of most of the main pipelines in Russia. An example is the siphon across the river. Sura, which flows into the Cheboksary reservoir, where the presence of such a leak was accidentally recorded during expeditionary research14. However, the shares of the manufacturing industry and transport (mainly water and automobile transport) are large.

* 9 See, for example, Fundamentals of the use and protection of soils in Western Siberia. Moscow: Nauka, 1989.225 p .; Mazur I.I. A catastrophe can still be prevented // Oil of Russia, 1995, No. 3. P. 4–9; Solntseva N.P. Oil production and geochemistry of natural landscapes. Moscow: Moscow State University Publishing House, 1998.376 p.

* 10 Oil of Russia, 2003, No. 1. P. 104–107; Oil of Russia, 2003, No. 2. P. 84-88.

* 11 Barenboim G.M. The main scientific and practical results of the GCVM work and the prospects for their development. Moscow: 2006.34 p.

* 12 Cit. Quoted from: Green World, 2006, No. 2 (471). P. 13.

So, official data on oil spills and the damage caused to the environment - soil, terrestrial and ecotonic ecosystems, water bodies - are absent or extremely insufficient, but there is no doubt that such damage is very significant.

7.6. Environmental impact of the fuel and energy complex: pressure on ecosystems

The results of economic impacts on ecosystems depend both on the volume and nature of impacts (emissions into the atmosphere, discharges of contaminated wastewater, disposal of solid waste, land disturbances, etc.), and on the characteristics of ecosystems on which technogenic pressure is exerted (in this case, for the state of ecosystems negatively affected, the volume and quality of the reclamation works performed on them are also significant). On the vast territory of the Russian Federation (more than 17 million sq. Km) there is a great variety of geographic and climatic zones and, especially, ecosystems, and hydrocarbon production is carried out in almost all such zones, affecting many types of terrestrial ecosystems, as well as marine ecosystems during the development offshore deposits, however, tends to the northern regions, to the tundra, forest-tundra and taiga (boreal forests), in a fairly near future, one should expect a significant increase in oil and natural gas production on the shelf. Pollutants emitted into the atmosphere by the enterprises of the fuel complex spread over great distances; thus, it has been reliably established that sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), which cause acid rain, are transported for at least 4000 km. Many lakes, including Lake Baikal, receive the bulk of their pollution not through drains, but through the air.

Due to the extreme vastness of the distribution area of \u200b\u200bair pollution, quantitative estimates of their impact on ecosystems are an extremely difficult task. Another reason for its complexity is the overlap of the effects of various sources, including enterprises of other sectors of the national economy, so that it is possible to single out the shares in the total impact attributable to different sources only in relatively simple cases. Results satisfactory in quality are possible when modeling the spread of pollution from one, sometimes two sources; for three sources, consistent results are practically unattainable.

* 13 For example, in the water of the river. Okhinka (Sakhalin Island) in 2000, the average annual content of petroleum products was 368 MPC, the maximum recorded concentration was 640 MPC (State report on the state of the environment of the Russian Federation in 2000. Moscow: State Center for Environmental Programs, 2001. 562 p.) ...

* 14 Barenboim G.M. Cit. op.

Nevertheless, remote sensing methods allow for each isolated source of negative impacts on the environment - and in most cases, the enterprises of the fuel complex are just such - to identify the impact zones characterized by the oppression of ecosystems. The main part of these enterprises are located in undeveloped areas, among wild nature, and this greatly facilitates the task of identifying the centers of strong “close” impact. This also applies to pipeline transport - a source of pollution of water bodies and territories due to leaks and gusts. Satellite information, images of a sufficiently high resolution are available, the problem is only in paying for the corresponding services. To decipher the images, an agreed base of ground-based observations is required, which, especially in hard-to-reach areas, also require significant costs. At present, methods for analyzing remote monitoring data have been developed, which make it possible to identify areas of strong close impact with sufficient accuracy, as well as track the spread of oil pollution ("spots") in water bodies (seas, lakes, reservoirs, rivers, canals). An obstacle to the widespread introduction of these methods into practice is the lack of monitoring information and financial resources for its purchase and order, but, perhaps, to an even greater extent, the lack of a government body that would be interested in such implementation (the current Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation - first of all, the resource department, its effectiveness is characterized by the volume of natural resources involved in the economy, and not at all by the prevented environmental damage or any other environmental indicator). However, without monitoring and assessing the impact of enterprises in the fuel and energy complex and the fuel and energy complex as a whole on ecosystems, without predicting the dynamics of this impact, without assessing the economic damage caused, this important national economic complex can turn from a supplier of currency into a destroyer of Russian nature, and through the destruction of nature - into a destabilizer of the economy.

To maintain the level of oil production achieved in Russia, it will be necessary to expand the territories where oil-producing enterprises are located, to develop new fields, primarily in Eastern Siberia and on the shelf. The same applies to the gas industry. The coal industry will move to new areas of the exploited deposits. If, at the same time, the specific indicators of the impact on the environment (the volume of emissions, discharges and the formation of solid waste per unit of extracted or transported raw materials) remain at the present level, then a very significant expansion of the areas of oppressed ecosystems should be expected. If now Russia is a global environmental donor, since the overall impact of the Russian economy on the environment is noticeably less than the useful work of Russian ecosystems to ensure a global ecological balance (first of all, carbon sequestration by boreal forests and wetlands - the area where most of the fuel complex enterprises are located), then with such a development of events, she may lose this role.

7.7. Environmental impact of the fuel and energy complex: concluding remarks

The previous sections considered the main directions of the impact of energy industries on the environment (the fuel industry, to a lesser extent - the electric power industry and energy construction), but they are not limited to them. Here there is no way to dwell on various and very dangerous violations that occur during the extraction and enrichment of uranium ores15, the production of fuel rods for nuclear power plants, as well as on the environmental aspects of the operation of the nuclear power plants themselves16. We also have to omit the analysis of the environmental consequences of oil and gas production on the sea shelf, the construction and operation of oil and gas pipelines passing along the seabed17, consideration of the environmental problems of energy based on renewable sources, etc. The accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP in August 2009 raised a number of new questions about hydropower: in addition to traditional environmental claims to this sub-industry (seizure of territories for reservoirs, in the case of lowland HPPs - huge in area, flooding of the coastal zone, the formation of shallow waters with a sharp water quality on them, abrasion, local climatic changes, etc.), new ones were added, due to the accident rate, which, as it turned out, was greatly underestimated. The complex of all these questions undoubtedly requires a thorough monographic study18.

Not only in the present, but also in the foreseeable future, the economy of any country cannot do without a significant amount of energy resources, including fossil fuels (or products made from them). The question is what this volume should be, taking into account the environmental factor, energy substitution, import opportunities and, of course, the price system (not only for energy resources, but also for everything that is produced by energy-intensive industries and is used in their production processes). Scientific and technological progress ensures a decrease in the ecological intensity of all technologies, but to varying degrees and within unequal limits. The negative impact of mining enterprises on the environment is inevitable and cannot be reduced by any tricks below a certain objective limit, which is the higher, the worse the mining and geological conditions of production (for this factor, the dynamics are in principle negative, the law of diminishing efficiency operates, and in Russia, by virtue of for a number of climatic, territorial and other reasons, the drop in efficiency over time, i.e. as the best deposits are developed, and with an increase in production volumes, it is especially significant).

In the manufacturing industries that deal with material already removed from natural systems, at least in theory, it can be assumed that the impact on the environment can be reduced - to the limit to zero. True, in this case, two significant reservations are necessary: \u200b\u200bfirstly, in terms of material components, what has been said refers only to the production process itself, and not to the fate of the produced product, and secondly, thermal pollution is obviously not taken into account, which, apparently, always has some objectively determined non-zero lower limit. Outside of these two clauses, scientific and technological progress will steadily reduce the negative impact of the processing sector on the environment.

The function of the mining sector (not only mining, but also the timber industry, agriculture, fishing and hunting, etc.) is the removal of natural substances from geobiocenoses, and the mass of this substance (with any extraction technology, no matter how it is improved) determines a certain insurmountable the limit of negative environmental impact, below which it is impossible to go down, and no scientific and technical progress will not only eliminate, but even cannot significantly weaken the negative impact of the production processes themselves in their material (especially energy) aspect. This is one of the fundamental differences between the raw materials sector and manufacturing industries.

* 15 See, for example: OECD Environmental Activities in Uranium Mining Milling. A Joint Report by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency. 1999.230 p .; Proceedings of International Conference Uranium Geochemistry 2003: Uranium Deposits - Natural Analogs - Environment. Wien, 2003.380 p.

* 16 The environmentalists' claims to nuclear energy are presented, in particular, in the book: A.V. Yablokov. Atomic Mythology: An Ecologist's Notes on the Nuclear Industry. Moscow: Nauka, 1997.272 p.

* 17 See Patin S.A. Oil and ecology of the continental shelf. M .: VNIRO, 2001.247 p .; Aibulatov N.A. Russia's activities in the coastal zone of the sea and environmental problems. Moscow: 2005.364 p.

* 18 A similar study was carried out in the mid-1990s for only one sub-sector of the fuel and energy complex - electric power: see GN Lyalik, SG Kostina, LN Shapiro, EI Pustovoit. Electric power industry and nature: environmental problems of the power industry development. M .: Energoatomizdat, 1995.352 p.

Moreover, with the observed accelerated growth of the economic assessment of the environmental factor (and this is a very long-term trend), the overall assessment of the environmental "load" of this sector due to the above and other previously noted circumstances (including those specific to Russia) will grow at a faster pace. condemning the extraction of raw materials - "in general" - to some not only ecological, but also economic lag in comparison with its processing (a phenomenon that has long been noticed in the analysis of structural trends in the national economy of different countries, even without specifying its reasons).

Despite the incompleteness of the data presented in the previous sections and the fluency of their analysis, it seems quite legitimate to conclude that the enterprises for the production of fuel, energy and their transformations have an extremely strong negative impact on the environment in Russia. The point is not only in the volume of this impact, but, undoubtedly, in the fact that on the part of the fuel and energy complex as a whole, it increases, although it decreases in the electric power industry and oil refining, and according to some indicators, however, relatively insignificant, and among the main fuel producers - in , gas and coal industries. Therefore, there is no doubt that the reduction in fuel and energy production will have the most positive environmental consequences. The question is whether such a reduction can be achieved without a decline in production and in economically acceptable ways. To answer this question, it is necessary to briefly consider how the energy produced by the fuel and energy complex is used in the Russian economy.

7.8. On the impact of a cold climate on energy consumption in the Russian economy

After analyzing the impact of the Russian fuel and energy complex on the environment, it would be natural to pose the opposite problem: the impact of the environment on the production and consumption of energy. However, this problem goes far beyond the scope of this report, and here it is appropriate to limit ourselves to only one particular issue - for example, and not a complete analysis of the problem. As such an example, let us choose the influence of the most important environmental factor, namely climate, on energy consumption in housing and communal services.

The energy intensity of the Russian housing and communal services should be recognized as catastrophic, and the point here is not in the severity of the climate, but in a careless and irresponsible attitude to business. N.I. Danilov and Ya.M. Shchelokov proposed the coefficient of “energy concern” 19 (perhaps it would be more correct to call it the coefficient of energy saving), which is of undoubted interest in connection with the problem of energy conservation, and not only in housing and communal services. The definition and method of calculating this indicator, as well as its values \u200b\u200bfor several countries, are contained in table 7.8.

Table 7.8. Coefficient of "energy concern", data at the beginning of the 1990s .

	Climate severity coefficient		Thermal insulation production		Energy Concern Ratio: (5) relative to US
	absolute	relatively	m3 per 1,000 inhabitants per year	the same, adjusted for the climate severity coefficient: (4) / (3)
Finland

31.1. Environmental problems of thermal power engineering.

31.2. Environmental problems of hydropower.

31.3. Environmental problems of nuclear power.

31.4 Environmental problems of wind farms.

At present, energy needs are met mainly from three types of energy resources: fossil fuel, water and the atomic nucleus.

Combustion of fuel (including firewood and other biological resources) currently produces up to 80-85% of electricity. At the same time, in industrialized countries, oil and petroleum products are used mainly to meet the needs of transport.

Globally, hydro resources provide about 5-6% of electricity, nuclear energy provides 15-18% of electricity.

31.1. Environmental problems of thermal energy

Combustion of fuel is not only the main source of energy, but also the most important supplier of pollutants to the environment. Thermal power plants are most "responsible" for the growing greenhouse effect and acid precipitation. Together with transport, they supply the atmosphere with the bulk of technogenic carbon (mainly in the form of CO 2), about 50% of sulfur dioxide, 35% of nitrogen oxides and about 35% of dust. There is evidence that thermal power plants are 2-4 times more polluted with radioactive substances than nuclear power plants of the same capacity.

The emissions from thermal power plants contain a significant amount of metals and their compounds. When recalculated into lethal doses, the annual emissions from TPPs with a capacity of 1 million kW contain more than 100 million doses of aluminum and its compounds, 400 million doses of iron, and 1.5 million doses of magnesium. The lethal effect of these pollutants is not manifested only because they enter organisms in small quantities. This, however, does not exclude their negative impact through water, soil and other parts of ecosystems.

It can be considered that thermal energy has a negative effect on almost all elements of the environment, as well as on humans, other organisms and their communities. These impacts are summarized in Table 31.1.

Table 31.1 - The impact of thermal power plants on the environment and biosphere

Technological process	Influence on environmental elements and biota
air	soils and grounds	water	ecosystems and humans
Fuel extraction:
- liquid (oil) and gas	Hydrocarbon contamination by evaporation and leakage	Damage or destruction of soils during exploration and extraction of fuel, movement of vehicles, etc .; pollution by oil, industrial chemicals, metal and other waste	Oil pollution as a result of leaks, especially during accidents and mining from the bottom of water bodies, pollution with technological chemicals and other wastes; destruction of aquifers in soils, pumping of groundwater, their discharge into water bodies	Destruction and damage of ecosystems in mining sites and during the development of deposits (roads, power lines, water pipelines, etc.), pollution during leaks and accidents, loss of productivity, deterioration in product quality. Human exposure mainly through bioproducts (especially aquatic organisms)
-solid: (coal, shale, peat, etc.)	Dust during blasting and other works, waste products of waste heaps, etc.	Destruction of soils and grounds during opencast mining (quarry), relief subsidence, destruction of soil during mine mining methods	Strong violation of aquifers, pumping and discharge into reservoirs of mine, often highly mineralized, ferrous and other waters	Destruction of ecosystems or their elements, especially with open-pit mining, decreased productivity, impact on biota and humans through polluted air, water and food. High morbidity, injury and death rate in mine methods of mining
Fuel transportation	Contamination from evaporation of liquid fuels, loss of gas, oil, dust from solid fuels	Contamination from leaks, accidents, especially oil	Oil pollution from losses and accidents	Mainly through the pollution of waters and aquatic organisms
Operation of power plants using solid fuels	Major suppliers of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, products for acidic precipitation, aerosols, soot, radioactive contamination, heavy metals	Destruction and severe pollution of soils near enterprises (technogenic deserts), pollution with heavy metals, radioactive substances, acidic precipitation; alienation of land for dumps, other waste	Thermal pollution as a result of discharges of heated waters, chemical pollution through acidic precipitation and dry deposition from the atmosphere, pollution by products of leaching of nutrients and toxic substances (aluminum) from soils and grounds	The main agent of destruction and destruction of ecosystems, especially lakes and coniferous forests (depletion of species composition, decrease in productivity, destruction of chlorophyll, leaching of nutrients, damage to roots, etc.). Eutrophication of waters and their blooming. Per person through pollution of air, water, food, destruction of nature, buildings, monuments, etc.
Operation of power plants on liquid fuel		The same, but on a much smaller scale	Thermal pollution as for solid fuels, the rest on a much smaller scale	The same, but on a much smaller scale

Environmental impact during use solid fuel:

1. Emissions of fine ash particles. Coal mined in Ukraine is characterized by high ash content - 39.7 ... 39.9% (2011 data). It is processed at concentration plants, since according to the requirements of power engineers, the ash content of coal should not exceed 27%. The ash content of coal in the UK in accordance with the law is 22%, in the USA - 9%.

2. The emissions of coal-fired thermal power plants also contain oxides of silicon and aluminum. These abrasives can destroy lung tissue and cause diseases such as silicosis, which miners used to suffer from. Now cases of silicosis are recorded in children living near coal-fired power plants.

3. Emissions CO 2 - greenhouse gas.

4. Emissions SO 2.

5. Emissions of nitrogen oxides NO x.

To avoid the limiting concentrations of SO X and NO 2, high exhaust pipes are built at the stations' locations - up to 320 - 350 m.

6. Emissions of the carcinogenic substance benzopyrene. An increase in oncological diseases is associated with its action.

7. Storage of ash and slag - ash dumps. This requires significant areas that have not been used for a long time, and are also centers of accumulation of heavy metals and increased radioactivity. Heavy metals and radiation are released into the environment, either by air or through groundwater.

8. Thermal power plants pollute reservoirs, dumping warm water into them, as a result of which a chain reaction occurs, the reservoir is overgrown with algae, the oxygen balance is disturbed in it, which in turn poses a threat to the life of all its inhabitants.

When burning liquid fuels (fuel oil) with flue gases, sulfur and sulfuric anhydrides, nitrogen oxides, gaseous and solid products of incomplete combustion of fuel, vanadium compounds, sodium salts, as well as substances removed from the surface of boilers during cleaning, enter the atmospheric air.

When burning g aza nitrogen oxides remain a significant air pollutant.

Environmental aspects, in particular the impact of electrical installations on the environment, is one of the most important issues in the energy sector. Any electrical installation in one way or another has a negative impact on the environment, including living beings - from insects to humans. Consider what negative consequences electrical installations have on the environment and the main measures that are taken to eliminate their negative impact.

Energy is included as a subsystem in the global system of the country's life. The development and life of society is currently impossible without energy, which determines the progress of the entire national economy. However, when considering the merits of energy, it is also necessary to take into account the negative impact of energy on the environment. All manifestations of the harmful effect that various electrical objects have on the environment can be divided into groups:

1. Air, water and soil pollution by waste during fuel combustion at TPP power plants in the form of gases, ash, sulfur, etc., emitted into the air, soil and water and from the disposal of used radioactive substances at nuclear power plants. To reduce this, the best fuel and special treatment facilities (electrostatic precipitators, etc.) should be used.

2. Release of unused energy into the environment in the form of waste gas heat and heating of cooling water.

3. The influence of the electromagnetic field on living organisms.

4. Increased noise.

5. Withdrawal from use of land and water.

6. Aesthetic impact of lines.

One of the most important environmental aspects is the protection of a person from the factors of the negative influence of electrical installations. First of all, it is negative impact of electromagnetic fields on the human body.

In this case, the main measure aimed at preventing the negative is to reduce the time a person spends in the zone of influence of the electric field. In electrical installations with a voltage of 110 kV and above, where the electric field strength exceeds the established standards, special protective shielding kits are used.

In addition, the electromagnetic field of high-voltage overhead power lines has a significant effect on the human body. Therefore, the construction of residential buildings and other buildings and structures within the security zone of power lines is prohibited. It is also recommended to eliminate or minimize the time spent by a person in the immediate vicinity of high-voltage lines.

Another factor of the negative impact of electrical installations on the human body is electric shock, as well as the thermal effect of an electric arc... Human safety in relation to electric shock in electrical installations is the main concern. In this case, the main measures aimed at preventing accidents in electrical installations are:

Compliance with safety regulations and labor protection regulations;

Applying the necessary means of protection;

Timely detection, elimination of malfunctions and other deviations from the normal operation of the equipment;

Improving jobs;

Improving working conditions.

It should also be noted the impact of harmful substances on humans. For example, in equipped electrical switchgears, there is a possibility of SF6 gas poisoning due to leakage from a damaged circuit breaker.

Another example is an acid battery. In this case, sulfuric acid is especially dangerous, which can get on human skin or in the respiratory tract.

The next environmental aspect is death of birds on power lines and in open switchgear substations... A large number of birds die each year as a result of electric shock. To prevent the death of birds on power lines, special devices are installed on poles that prevent birds from landing on them.

At open switchgears of substations, high-voltage outputs of power transformers, line inputs to closed switchgears and other equipment elements pose a particular danger to birds. In this case, to prevent the death of birds, mesh fences, casings are installed on the elements of equipment, where the death of birds most often occurs.

In the process it is possible pollution of the environment with harmful substances... It can be: electrolyte, transformer oil and other oil products, household waste and other harmful substances.

To prevent environmental pollution, it is necessary to strictly follow the regulations and instructions for operating the equipment, rules for handling hazardous substances, etc., store waste and hazardous substances in specially designated places.

The electromagnetic fields of electrical installations have some effect on insects and plants. In the zone of influence of the electric field, insects and butterflies develop uncharacteristic signs of behavior, the productivity of bees is significantly reduced, and the likelihood of losing queens appears.

Plants that grow along power lines, as well as on the territory of electrical installations, may experience developmental anomalies: the appearance of extra petals, a change in the size of flowering, stems, leaves.

Within the framework of this manual, the author did not set the task of a detailed characterization of the impact of individual industries and agriculture on the environment. However, we consider it necessary to briefly characterize from this point of view some enterprises, in particular energy enterprises, which are an obligatory link in any natural-industrial system.

Energy is the main driving factor in the development of all industries, transport, utilities and agriculture, the basis for increasing labor productivity and the welfare of the population. It has the highest rates of development and production scale. The share of participation of energy enterprises in environmental pollution by combustion products of organic fuels containing harmful impurities, as well as waste of low-grade heat is significant. The degree of this influence depends on the type of energy enterprises.

The complex impact of thermal power enterprises on the biosphere as a whole is illustrated by the data in Table. 2.3.

Table 23

The complex impact of thermal power enterprises on the biosphere

Technological
		Soils and ground		Ecosystems and humans
Oil and gas	Hydrocarbon contamination by evaporation and leakage	Damage or destruction of soils during exploration and extraction of fuel, movement of vehicles, etc .; pollution by oil, industrial chemicals, scrap metal and other waste	Oil pollution as a result of leaks, especially during accidents and production from the bottom of water bodies; pollution by technological chemicals and other wastes; destruction of aquifers in pounds, pumping of groundwater, their discharge into water bodies	Destruction and damage to ecosystems in mining sites and during field development (roads, power lines, water pipes, etc.); contamination from leaks and accidents; loss of productivity, deterioration in product quality; human exposure mainly through bioproducts	Soil pollution, water pollution with oil and chemicals - death of plankton and other groups of organisms - decrease in fish productivity - loss of consumer or taste properties of water and fishery products

Continuation of table. 2.3

Technological	Influence				Examples of chain reactions in the biosphere
		Soils and ground		Ecosystems and humans
solid	explosive and other works, waste products of waste heaps, etc.	Destruction of soil and soil during open pit mining (quarry): relief subsidence, soil destruction during mine mining methods	Severe disturbance of aquifers; pumping and discharge into water bodies of mine, often highly mineralized, ferrous and other waters	Destruction of ecosystems or their elements, especially with open pit mining; decreased productivity: impact on biota and humans through polluted air, water and food; a high degree of morbidity, injury and death in mine methods of mining
Fuel transportation	Pollution due to evaporation of liquid fuels, losses of gas, oil, dust from solid fuels	Contamination from leaks, accidents, especially oil	Oil pollution from losses and accidents	Mainly through the pollution of waters and hydrobionts

The end of the table. 23

	Influence on elements of the environment and living systems
		Soils and ground		Ecosystems and humans	reactions in the biosphere
The operation of power plants on solid	Major suppliers of carbon dioxide, sulphurous anhydride, nitrogen oxides, products for acid precipitation, aerosols, soot; contamination with radioactive substances, heavy metals	Destruction and heavy pollution of soils near enterprises (man-made deserts); pollution by heavy metals, radioactive substances, acidic precipitation; alienation of land for dumps, other waste	Thermal pollution as a result of discharges of heated water; chemical pollution through acidic precipitation and dry deposition from the atmosphere; pollution by products of leaching of nutrients and toxic substances (aluminum) from soils and grounds	The main agent of destruction and death of ecosystems, especially lakes and coniferous forests (depletion of the species composition, decrease in productivity, destruction of chlorophyll, leaching of nutrients, damage to roots, etc.); eutrophication of waters and their blooming; affects humans through air pollution. water, and food; destruction of nature, buildings, monuments, etc.	Air pollution by combustion products, acidic precipitation - destruction of forests and lake ecosystems - disruption of the circulation of substances, anthropogenic successions. Thermal water pollution - deficiency of kisporola - eutrophication and water bloom - increased oxygen deficiency - transformation of aquatic ecosystems into swamp
Power plants run on liquid fuel and gas		The same, but on a much smaller scale	Thermal pollution as for solid fuels, the rest on a much smaller scale	The same, but on a much smaller scale

In heat power engineering, the source of massive atmospheric emissions and large-tonnage solid waste are thermal power plants, enterprises and installations of steam power facilities, i.e. any enterprises whose work is related to fuel combustion. Coal, oil and oil products, natural gas and, less often, wood and peat are used as fuel at thermal power plants.

When solid fuel is burned, fly ash with particles of unburned fuel, sulphurous and sulfuric anhydrides, nitrogen oxides, a certain amount of fluoride compounds, and gaseous products of incomplete combustion of the fuel are released into the atmosphere. In some cases, fly ash contains, in addition to non-toxic components, more harmful impurities. Thus, the ash of Donetsk anthracites contains insignificant amounts of arsenic, and the ash of the Ekibastuz and some other deposits contains free silicon dioxide, and the ash of shale and coals of the Kansk-Achinsk basin contains free calcium oxide. Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel on our planet. Experts believe that its reserves will last for 500 years. In addition, coal is more evenly distributed throughout the world and is more economical than oil. Synthetic liquid fuels can be obtained from coal. This fuel has one undeniable advantage - it has a higher octane number, which makes it more environmentally friendly.

The energy use of peat has a number of negative environmental consequences that arise from large scale peat mining. These include, in particular, violations of the regime of water systems, changes in the landscape and soil cover in places of peat extraction, deterioration of the quality of fresh water from local sources and air pollution, a sharp deterioration in the living conditions of animals. Significant environmental difficulties also arise in connection with the need to transport and store peat.

When liquid fuel (fuel oil) is burned with flue gases, the following enter the atmospheric air: sulfuric and sulfuric anhydrides, nitrogen oxides, vanadium compounds, sodium salts, as well as substances removed from the surface of boilers during cleaning. From an environmental point of view, liquid fuels are more acceptable. When using it, the problem of ash dumps, which occupy significant

territories, exclude their useful use and are a source of constant atmospheric pollution in the station area due to the carryover of part of the ash by the winds. There is no fly ash in the combustion products of liquid fuels.

When natural gas is burned, nitrogen oxides are a significant pollutant of the atmosphere. However, the emission of nitrogen oxides from burning natural gas at thermal power plants is on average 20% lower than from burning coal. This is not due to the properties of the fuel itself, but to the characteristics of the combustion process. The excess air ratio for coal combustion is lower than for natural gas combustion.

Along with gaseous emissions, the thermal power industry produces huge masses of solid waste, which include residues of coal preparation, ash and slag.

Waste from coal preparation plants contains 55-60% silicon dioxide, 22-26% aluminum trioxide, 5-12% iron trioxide, 0.5-1% calcium oxide, 4-4.5% potassium dioxide and sodium dioxide and up to 5% carbon ... They go to the dumps, which generate dust, smoke and dramatically worsen the state of the atmosphere and adjacent territories.

The main part of emissions from thermal power plants is carbon dioxide - about 1 million tons. 66 tons of organic matter, 82 tons of sulfuric acid, 26 tons of chlorides, 41 tons of phosphates and almost 500 tons of suspended particles are annually removed from the wastewater of the thermal power plant. Power plant ash often contains high concentrations of heavy, rare earth and radioactive substances.

Considering that such a power plant has been actively operating for several decades, then its impact on the environment can be compared with the action of a volcano. But if the latter usually throws out the products of eruptions in large quantities at one time, then the power plant does it constantly. For tens of millennia, volcanic activity has not been able to significantly affect the composition of the atmosphere, and human economic activity for some 100-200 years has caused enormous changes due to the burning of fossil fuels and emissions of greenhouse gases from destroyed and deformed ecosystems.

The efficiency of thermal power plants is only 30-40%, i.e. most of the fuel is wasted. The received energy, in turn, in one way or another is converted into thermal, in addition to chemical, thermal pollution also enters the biosphere. Waste energy objects in the form of gas, liquid and solid phases are distributed into two streams: one causes global changes, and the other - regional and local. Thus, energy and the combustion of fossil fuels are the source of major global changes in the biosphere.

Hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) occupy a special place among energy enterprises. The most important feature of hydropower resources, in comparison with fuel and energy resources, is their continuous renewability. The lack of fuel demand for hydroelectric power plants determines the low cost of electricity produced. Therefore, the construction of a hydroelectric power station, despite the significant specific investment per 1 kW of energy and the long construction period, was and is attached great importance, especially when it comes to energy-intensive industries.

Despite the relative cheapness of energy, the share of hydropower resources in the total balance is gradually decreasing, which is mainly associated with the large territorial capacity of lowland reservoirs and a powerful impact on ecosystems. The complex impact of hydropower enterprises on the environment is illustrated by the data in Table. 2.4.

As already mentioned, one of the most important reasons for the decrease in the share of energy received at hydroelectric power plants is the powerful impact of all stages of construction and operation of hydraulic structures on the environment. One of the most adverse impacts on the environment is the alienation of significant areas of fertile floodplain lands for reservoirs. Large areas of land near the reservoirs are being flooded as a result of rising pound water levels. These lands tend to become wetlands. In flat conditions, flooded land can account for 10% or more of flooded land. Destruction of lands and, consequently, ecosystems also occurs as a result of their destruction by water during the formation of the coastline. These processes usually take decades and result in the processing of large masses of soil, water pollution, and siltation of reservoirs. Thus, the construction of reservoirs causes a violation of the hydrological regime of rivers, their inherent ecosystems and the species composition of the population of water bodies.

Table 2.4

Complex environmental impact of hydropower enterprises

Technological process	Influence on elements of the environment and living systems				Examples of chain reactions in the biosphere
				Ecosystems
				and man
government	Destruction of soils and grounds at construction sites, access roads, economic facilities, etc .; movement of large masses of soil, especially during the construction of dams and embankments of reservoirs	Aerosol pollution by products of soil destruction, building materials (especially cement); Small amounts of chemical pollution, mainly from the operation of equipment, enterprises	Some violation of the regime and pollution at construction sites (bypass channels, etc.)	Partial destruction of ecosystems and their elements (vegetation, soil), a disturbance factor for animals, intensive fishing, etc .; impact on a person mainly through changes in the environment and social factors	Flowing water (river) - reservoir (accumulation of chemicals (eutrophication) plus thermal pollution) - overgrowing of a reservoir (flowering, enrichment with organic matter - deoxygenation - transformation of a transit type ecosystem into accumulative-stagnant - water spoilage - fish diseases - loss of food or taste properties of water and fish products

Continuation of table. 2.4

		on elements of the environment and living systems
				Ecosystems
				and man	in the biosphere
	The same as during flooding, plus long-term destruction of the coastline (abrasion); formation of new soil types in the coastal zone	Increasing humidity, lowering temperatures, fogs, local winds; often foul smell from rotting organic leftovers	Pollution as a result of runoff from watersheds and decomposition of large masses of organic matter, soil, plant residues, wood, etc .; formation of phenols, accumulation of nutrients and other substances; increased heating, especially in shallow waters (thermal pollution); eutrophication, bloom, oxygen loss; accumulation of heavy metals. silt, radioactive and other substances, water damage

The end of the table. 2.4

Technological		on elements of the environment and living systems			Examples of chain reactions in the biosphere
		Soils and ground		Ecosystems and humans
Filling	Submersion of fertile floodplain lands (flooding), water rise in the coastal zone (flooding, waterlogging); in mountain conditions, such phenomena are less pronounced	Additional evaporation from the reservoir bowl	Change of flowing waters to stagnant, inevitable pollution of reservoirs with rapidly dissolving or turbid substances during filling and formation of banks	Complete destruction of terrestrial ecosystems (deforestation or their death from flooding, often leaving all biomass in the flooded zone), change of coastal ecosystems; inevitable resettlement of people from the floodplain, social costs	Pressure of water masses on the bed of reservoirs - intensification of seismic phenomena

In reservoirs, the warming up of water sharply increases, which contributes to the loss of oxygen, "bloom" and other processes associated with thermal pollution. Thermal pollution, accumulation of nutrients creates conditions for the overgrowth of water bodies and the intensive development of algae, including poisonous blue-green ones. For these reasons, as well as due to the slow renewal of waters, their ability to self-purify decreases.

The deterioration of water quality leads to the death of many of its inhabitants. The morbidity of the fish stock is increasing, especially the attack by helminths. The taste of fish decreases.

The migration routes of fish are disrupted, forage lands and spawning grounds are destroyed. For example, the Volga has largely lost its significance as a spawning ground for sturgeon in the Caspian after the construction of a whole cascade of hydroelectric power stations on it.

As a result, the river systems blocked by reservoirs are transformed from transit systems into transit accumulative ones. In addition to biogenic substances, heavy metals, radioactive elements and many pesticides with a long life span are accumulated here. The accumulation of toxic substances makes it impossible to use the territories occupied by reservoirs after their liquidation.

Reservoirs noticeably change the climate of the region, influencing atmospheric processes. Evaporation from the surface of reservoirs is tens of times higher than evaporation from the same land surface. With an increase in evaporation, the air temperature decreases, the amount of fog increases. The difference in heat balances of reservoirs and adjacent land leads to the formation of local winds such as breezes. All the accompanying phenomena contribute to the change of ecosystems, which leads to the need in some cases to change the direction of agricultural production.

Nuclear energy can be considered the most promising at present. This is due to both the relatively large reserves of nuclear fuel and the gentle impact on the environment. The advantages also include the possibility of building a nuclear power plant without being tied to resource deposits, since their transportation does not require significant costs due to small volumes. It is known that 0.5 kg of nuclear fuel provides the same amount of energy as burning 1000 tons of coal.

It is also known that the processes underlying energy production at nuclear power plants (nuclear fission reactions) are much more dangerous than combustion processes. That is why nuclear power, for the first time in the history of industrial development, implements the principle of maximum safety with maximum possible productivity.

Many years of experience in operating nuclear power plants in all countries shows that they do not have a significant impact on the environment under normal operating conditions. By all significant indicators, nuclear power has advantages over fossil fuel power (Table 2.5).

During normal operation of a nuclear power plant, emissions of radioactive elements into the environment are extremely insignificant. On average, they are 2-4 times less than from TPPs of similar capacity.

Table 2.5

The impact of power plants on the environment depending on the fuel used

By the time of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (May 1986), 400 power units operating in the world and providing more than 17% of electricity, increased the natural background of radioactivity by no more than 0.02%. After 1986, the main environmental hazard of nuclear power plants was associated with the possibility of an accident. This possibility is small, but it is not ruled out.

As a result of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, an area within a radius of more than 2000 km, covering more than 20 states, was exposed to radioactive contamination. Within the former USSR, 11 regions were affected, where 17 million people lived. The total area of \u200b\u200bcontaminated territories exceeded 8 million hectares or 800,000 km 2.

After the Chernobyl accident, at the request of the public, nuclear power plant construction programs were temporarily suspended or curtailed in many states, however, nuclear energy continued to develop in 32 countries. The growing need for energy in the developing industry and agriculture, the extremely dangerous effects on the atmosphere of carbon dioxide and other products of fossil fuel combustion harmful to the environment and humans are a powerful incentive for improving the existing and developing modern methods to improve the safety of nuclear power plants at the stages of construction, commissioning and exploitation.

The construction of a nuclear power plant should be carried out at a distance of 30-35 km from large cities. The site must be well ventilated, not flooded during the aiming. Around the nuclear power plant, a place is provided for a sanitary protection zone, in which the population is prohibited from living.

The main task in the problem of ensuring the safety of nuclear power plants is to reliably localize fission fragments and products of their radioactive decay both during normal operation and in possible accidents associated with equipment damage, malfunctions in the control system, erroneous actions of maintenance personnel or natural disasters.

In general cases, there are usually four such barriers, the last of which (the fourth) are special containment shells that exclude atmospheric pollution during decompression of the reactor vessel or coolant circulation loop. Containment shells are solid reinforced concrete or metal structures designed to relieve pressure, contain radioactive vapor, and trap radioactive products in the event of a design basis accident. At NPPs with a water coolant, the main source of radioactivity is primary circuit water, into which fission fragments and activated products of corrosion of structural materials penetrate. Therefore, all radioactive equipment of a nuclear power plant must be surrounded by biological shielding, which reduces the power of neutron and gamma radiation to an acceptable level.

Low levels of radioactive emissions are ensured by advanced filtration technology. Radioactive gases are sent to a purification system consisting of aerosol, carbon filters and gas holders, where they are kept until the complete decay of short-lived radionuclides and only then are discharged into the atmosphere. At the place of emission of gases, their quantity and radioactivity are constantly measured. The radiation situation is monitored at various distances within a radius of up to 60 km from the NPP. The external dosimetry service at all posts takes samples of air, soil, water, vegetation, etc.

At the NPP, measures are envisaged to completely exclude the discharge of wastewater contaminated with radioactive substances. Only a strictly defined amount of purified water with a concentration of radionuclides not exceeding the permissible level for drinking water is allowed to be discharged into reservoirs. Per unit of energy produced, a nuclear power plant releases more heat into the environment than a thermal power plant under similar conditions. Therefore, to reduce the degree of energy pollution of the biosphere for nuclear power plants, it is of great importance to develop methods for the efficient use of waste heat.

Evaluating the prospects for the development of the world atomic energy, most of the authoritative international organizations associated with the study of global fuel and energy problems assume that after 2010-2020. in the world, the need for extensive construction of nuclear power plants will again increase. According to the realistic version, it is predicted that in the middle of the XXI century. about 50 countries will have nuclear power. At the same time, it is assumed that by 2020 the total installed electric capacity will almost double - to 570 GW, and by 2050 - to 1100 GW.