The 15 dirtiest cities in Russia according to environmentalists

Last week, the Ministry of Natural Resources in the state report "On Environmental Protection" named the cities of Russia with the dirtiest air. The most dangerous cities to live in were Krasnoyarsk, Magnitogorsk and Norilsk. In total, there are 15 maximally polluted territories in Russia, which, according to environmentalists, are the most unfavorable in terms of primarily atmospheric air and waste accumulation.

The black list of the dirtiest cities included Norilsk, Lipetsk, Cherepovets, Novokuznetsk, Nizhny Tagil, Magnitogorsk, Krasnoyarsk, Omsk, Chelyabinsk, Bratsk, Novocherkassk, Chita, Dzerzhinsk, Mednogorsk and Asbestos.

Krasnoyarsk was called an "ecological disaster zone"

Alas, but today Krasnoyarsk residents are literally suffocating in emissions. The reason for this is the active work of industrial facilities, factories and vehicles.

Krasnoyarsk, being the center of the East Siberian Economic Region, belongs to large industrial and transport cities, its ecological situation is in an extremely tense state. Over the past year, the ecology of this million-strong city has deteriorated even more. Within the framework of the special project "Practical Ecology", an analysis of the ecological situation was carried out in this Siberian city.

The study of pollution was carried out using air sampling. If in 2014 only 0.7% of these samples were exceeded, then in 2017 this figure increased to 2.1% - that is, 3 times. It sounds scary. The same report, by the way, says about the increase in the number of cancer patients in the city by about 2.5% per year. And by the end of 2017, this number may reach 373 patients per 100 thousand inhabitants.

Magnitogorsk, the most ecologically unfavorable city in the Urals

The unfavorable state of atmospheric air in the city is determined by emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere, the main source of which, of course, is OJSC Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works. The city of Magnitogorsk, whose city-forming enterprise has become an industrial giant, is constantly included in the priority list of cities of the Russian Federation with the highest level of atmospheric air pollution for benzapyrene, nitrogen dioxide, carbon disulfide, phenol.

Norilsk: ecological crisis in conditions of extreme cold

This city, which was built by GULAG prisoners in the 30s, can be called a place for extreme sports. Norilsk with a population of over 100 thousand people is located in the frosty Siberian Arctic. The maximum temperature in summer can reach 32 ° C, and the minimum in winter is below -50 ° C. The city, whose economic basis is the mining industry, is completely dependent on imported food. The main industry is the extraction of precious metals. And it is because of the extraction of metals that Norilsk has become one of the most polluted cities in Russia.

Norilsk continues to be among the three dirtiest Russian cities, even though harmful emissions into the atmosphere decreased by a third after the Nickel Plant was closed in June 2016. This enterprise, located in the historical center, was the oldest asset of the Norilsk Nickel company, and it accounted for 25% of all pollution in the region. The company annually emitted about 400,000 tons of sulfur dioxide into the air. This made Norilsk the main polluter of the Arctic and one of the ten dirtiest cities on the planet according to Greenpeace.

Lipetsk

The ecology in Lipetsk leaves much to be desired. A significant part of the residential development is located on the right bank of the Voronezh River, while the building of the metallurgical plant is on the gentle left bank. Due to the rose of winds with prevailing winds of the north-east direction, some areas of the city are experiencing discomfort.

According to the results of official data, more than 350 thousand tons of pollutants enter the atmospheric layers annually. This is more than 700 kilograms per capita. The indicators for heavy metals, dioxins, benzapyrene and phenol have the greatest excess. The main source of pollution is the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant.

Cherepovets

Cherepovets is a city with a developed industrial production, which, of course, directly affects the environmental situation. Moreover, it is impossible to single out an area that would be relatively free from industrial pollution — absolutely all areas feel the influence of industrial zones.

Residents of the city often feel the unpleasant smell of industrial emissions, more often than others, clean their windows from black plaque and observe the multicolored smoke that comes out of the chimneys of factories every day. In spring and autumn, the ecological situation in the city worsens somewhat, due to weather conditions that reduce the dispersion of harmful components, which contributes to their accumulation in the atmosphere.

Novokuznetsk

This is another industrial Russian city, in the center of which there is a metallurgical plant. It is not surprising that the ecological situation here is characterized as unfavorable: air pollution is especially serious. 145 thousand vehicles were registered in the city, the gross emission into the atmosphere of which amounted to 76.5 thousand tons.

Nizhny Tagil

Nizhny Tagil has long been on the list of cities with the most polluted air with harmful substances. The maximum permissible value of benzapyrene in the atmosphere of the city is exceeded by 13 times.

Omsk

In the past, the abundance of enterprises led to numerous emissions into the atmosphere. Now 58% of atmospheric air pollution in the city is accounted for by vehicles. In addition to urban air pollution, the deplorable state of water in the rivers Om and Irtysh adds problems to the state of ecology of Omsk.

Chelyabinsk

In industrial Chelyabinsk, a fairly high level of air pollution is recorded. But this situation is further complicated by the fact that a third of the year in the city is calm. In hot weather, smog can be observed over Chelyabinsk, which is the result of the activities of the electrode plant, Chelyabinsk GRES, CHEMK and several Chelyabinsk thermal power plants. Power plants account for about 20% of all recorded emissions.

Dzerzhinsk

The real threat to the ecology of the city remains the deep burial of waste from harmful industries and the sludge lake (nicknamed the "white sea") with chemical production waste.

Bratsk

The main sources of air pollution in the city are the Bratsk Aluminum Plant, the ferroalloy plant, the thermal power plant and the Bratsk Timber industry complex. In addition, every spring and summer there are regular forest fires that last from two weeks to four months.

Cheat

For three years in a row, this city falls into the anti-rating. The regional center ranks second in the country after Vladivostok in terms of the number of cars per capita, which is one of the sources of atmospheric air pollution in the city. In addition, there is a problem of pollution of urban reservoirs.

Mednogorsk

The main environmental pollutant is the Mednogorsk copper-sulfur combine, which emits a large amount of sulfur dioxide into the air, which forms sulfuric acid when settling over the soil.

Novocherkassk

The air of Novocherkassk is the dirtiest in the region: every year the city consistently gets into the list of places with the most polluted atmosphere. Night emissions are not uncommon here, often the wind blows from the industrial zone to the residential one.

Asbestos

The city of Asbestos produces 25% of the world volume of asbestos-chrysotile. This fibrous mineral, known for its heat resistance and at the same time carcinogenic properties, is banned in most European countries. Stone flax is mined around the clock in a giant quarry 12 km long in Asbestos for the production of asbestos cement pipes, insulation and construction materials, half of which are exported to 50 countries. Locals do not believe in the harm of asbestos.