Ecological monitoring of the atmosphere close to Salaryevo landfill

Abstract

Introduction. Today air safety problems affect the interests of all countries. The object of the study is atmospheric air above the territory of Salaryevo, a closed solid waste landfill, located in the Leninsky district of the Moscow region to the south of Salaryevo village. To improve the environmental safety of the adjacent territory, the landfill was subjected to the two-stage reclamation procedure. The state of the main components of the natural environment, namely, water, soil, and air, was monitored after the reclamation. The authors consider environmental monitoring as a set of measures to track the state of the main components of the environment, or the atmosphere above a closed solid waste landfill. The main task of monitoring actions is to track changes in the core environmental parameters, identify sources and causes of environmental degradation, and develop recommendations for optimizing environmental protection activities at the landfill. Materials and methods. Rosprirodnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources) presented a list of 163 methods for calculating harmful (polluting) substances emitted by stationary sources into the atmospheric air, only 15 of which are duly approved by the authorized federal executive authorities. However, there is no methodology for assessing air pollution near landfills designated for solid industrial and domestic wastes. Hence, the research and analysis of monitoring findings near Salaryevo landfill are relevant. Results. The ongoing monitoring of the main components of the environment allow to make most accurate forecasts of changes in environmental conditions under the influence of waste disposal and the best solutions towards the optimization of process flows underway at the landfill. In the course of the landfill reclamation and upon its completion, the authors studied the stability of changes in the air environment to predict any unforeseen accidental emissions of landfill gases. Selected samples were compared with maximally allowable concentration values in terms of their impact on human health, fauna and flora of the urban environment. Conclusions. The conclusion is that background concentrations of harmful substances in the atmospheric air are below maximally allowable concentration values. These values were obtained as a result of the air monitoring in the course and upon completion of reclamation actions. The environmental safety monitoring model, simulating the operation of technical facilities and engineering systems of Salaryevo landfill, meets the requirements of “green” technologies against the comfort and safety criteria applicable in an urban area located near a landfill.