Air quality in Yekaterinburg

What is the air quality index of Yekaterinburg?

Yekaterinburg which was formerly known as Sverdlovsk between 1924 and 1991, is the largest city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. It is located in Western Siberia on the banks of the Islet River. In 2010 a census published the population figure of 1.5 million people, but as this was eleven years ago, the figure will most probably higher now. It is the fourth largest city in Russia.

What is the main source of air pollution in Yekaterinburg?

Yekaterinburg has always been a large industrial centre since its foundation. In the 18^th century, the main industries were smelting and metal processing works. Since the beginning of the 19^th century, machine-building appeared, and in the second half, light industries and food production (especially milling) industry were widely found. A new stage in the development of production occurred during the period of industrialisation which saw the advent of heavy engineering. Currently, there are over 220 large and medium industries of which 197 of them are in manufacturing.

What is the pollution level in Yekaterinburg?

Air pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems in large cities. To try to tackle it, Greenpeace is conducting an international campaign known as Clean Air Now. Many people still think that the main source of air pollution in large cities is heavy industry, but 80-90 per cent of air pollution is caused by emissions from urban transport. Greenpeace initiated an independent study of air quality in different cities in Europe and Russia to draw attention to this problem and to show its real effects. Main arterial roads have been chosen for this research by Greenpeace Russia supporters from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, Ekaterinburg, Samara and Rostov-na-Donu.

Is air pollution in Yekaterinburg getting better or worse?

Chemical pollution of the environment has the largest impact and is due to the release of non-natural substances into the atmosphere. The content of carbon dioxide (CO₂) continues to grow, which contributes to the increase in the average annual temperature of the planet. The consequences of human impact on the environment are the focus of environmentalists around the world, as they are the cause of such global problems such as the “greenhouse effect”, the destruction of the ozone layer and acid rain.

Industrial regions are the main sources of air pollution. The greatest contribution is made by North America, East Asia and Europe. They account for more than half of all pollutants which are emitted into the atmosphere. In large cities, there is an environmental problem associated with an increased threshold limit value (TLV) of harmful substances in the air. In Russia, these are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara, Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg and others.

What can be done to improve the air quality in Yekaterinburg?

In the Sverdlovsk region, there are 14 areas of risk for the level of air pollution. In these areas, atmospheric air pollution by chemical substances is one of the main risk factors affecting health. There are three cities with the highest levels of air pollution. Nizhny Tagil has the highest air pollution index from the cities of the region - 7.6. It should be noted that an index value above 5 is assessed as very high pollution and requires priority measures to reduce and eliminate it. This is followed by cities: Yekaterinburg, where the air pollution index is 4.7 and Kamensk-Uralsky where it is 4.08.

The goal has been set: by 2024 to reduce the volume of harmful emissions into the atmosphere by 18.5 per cent. In recent years, a set of measures implemented in Nizhny Tagil has already allowed the reduction of emissions into the atmosphere by one and a half per cent. The work is aimed at reducing, first of all, such harmful substances as ammonia, benzo (a) pyrene, formaldehyde, nitrogen oxides, suspended solids, benzene, hydrogen sulphide, carbon monoxide, phenol, chromium and naphthalene. These pollutants are a priority for Nizhny Tagil and come with emissions mainly from industrial enterprises such as the Nizhniy Tagil Metallurgical Plant, Vysokogorsk GOK, Uralvagonzavod, Uralkhimplast, Nizhniy Tagil Boiler and Radiator Plant.

In Yekaterinburg, the share of air pollution from road transport stands at 80 per cent. The situation is different from the emissions of industrial enterprises: almost all large enterprises are now implementing a set of environmental measures, and this helps to reduce the level of pollution. Over the past 5 years, about 42,000 residents from the region have left the sanitary protection zones, which were associated with both the modernisation of enterprises and the elimination of housing stock and the resettlement of people from problem areas. In addition, in the Sverdlovsk region, since 2005, a system of medical and preventive technologies for managing risks to public health has been created and is successfully functioning, habitat subject to chemical pollution.

The level of air pollution in Yekaterinburg remains stable, hindering the reduction of its growth in road transport. And here a lot depends on the urban planning policy: you need to build transport interchanges, organise the movement of vehicles without stopping, place large logistics and shopping centres outside the city centre. Also, the quality of the atmospheric air is affected by the state of the road network, since secondary dusting is also a negative effect and has an adverse effect on human health.

What are the effects of breathing Yekaterinburg’s poor quality air?

According to the degree of danger to humans, pollutants entering the air are divided into four classes: from extremely to moderately hazardous. The first group includes ozone (_O3). Ground-level ozone is produced by a chemical reaction caused by solar radiation. The formation of its high concentrations is most likely in the warm season. Inhalation of ozone can cause coughing, shortness of breath, and irritation of the respiratory tract. Children and the elderly are especially sensitive to ozone, and it is also dangerous for those with lung diseases. One-time maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of ozone in atmospheric air in the Russian Federation is 0.16 milligram per cubic meter.

Another substance classified in the first class of hazard is benzo (a) pyrene. This substance is a by-product of burning carbonaceous objects. It is found in cigarette smoke, fried or smoked food, and industrial waste. Benzo (a) pyrene is present in the air as well as in some water sources. "Benzo (a) pyrene and formaldehyde are carcinogenic at high concentrations even for a short period of time.

Formaldehyde is a colourless gas with a strong odour and belongs to the second hazard class. It is found in resins used in the production of composite wood products, building materials. Also found in adhesives, paints, varnishes and coatings, fertilisers and preservatives.

The main source of formaldehyde, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide is vehicles.