Geology, geography and global energy

Scientific and Technical Journal

Modern technogenic threats to the population: contaminants and pollutants

2013. №1, pp. 128-137

Tatarintsev Sergey A. - Post-graduate student, Astrakhan State University, 20a Tatishchev st., Astrakhan, Russian Federation, 414056, abarmin60@mail.ru

Barmin Aleksandr N. - D.Sc. in Geography, Professor, Astrakhan State University, 20a Tatishchev st., Astrakhan, Russian Federation, 414056, abarmin60@mail.ru

Kolchin Yevgeniy A. - C.Sc. in Geography, Assistant Professor, Astrakhan State University, 20a Tatishchev st., Astrakhan, Russian Federation, 414056, eakol4in@rambler.ru

Shuvaeva Olga O. - Under-graduate student, Astrakhan State University, 20a Tatishchev st., Astrakhan, Russian Federation, 414056, abarmin60@mail.ru

The article discusses modern technogenic threats to the population and the environment, with a focus on dangers posed by the hydrocarbon (oil and gas), chemical, metallurgical and power industries. It adds that the dangers are caused less by the equipment than by the formation of contaminants and pollutants during the production phase. Such hazardous substances, the critique notes, could cause fires, explosions, toxic pollution and even, sometimes, radiation hazards. Moreover, the number of failures is perpetually growing in all spheres of production (in industry and in agriculture). In the modern age, all production projects are potentially fraught with a high probability of failure. During the developmental stage, the paper says, scientific and technical progress is likely to bring about positive results (increases in material durability and security). But the cost to the population and the environment would no less likely be the emergence of hidden flaws and major accidents. At present, the document maintains, the population could be faced with a series of ’negative’ scientific and technical influences. For example, the construction of new buildings (including supermarkets, theaters and skyscrapers) could lead to an existential growth in the potential for conflagrations. According to international fire-prevention standards, ’special buildings’ demand special controls. Specifically, enduring technogenic security should be, but is not always, a priority consideration for executive authorities, local governments and business organizations. The study has dealt with the major technogenic threats facing modern cities, while also observing the proliferation of potential emergency situations in the urban environment. The blueprint, in conclusion, has listed a series of conditions that might lead to the aggregation of technogenic threats, such as those caused by the lack of proper spatial distribution for chemically dangerous objects in Astrakhan. Moreover it has defined the economic losses that these threats might cause that region.

Key words: technogenic processes,chemically dangerous objects,risk,implications,economical damage

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