Air pollution in Moscow, Russia
EAP2 WW052
Research Paper – Final Draft
May 6, 2005
Abstract
After reading many articles about air pollution in Russia, I became more interested in the main causes of air pollution and its effect on human health in Russia and specifically in Moscow. Moscow is one of the several major Russian cities that are affected with air pollution (Russia: Environmental Issues, May 2004). In 1980, the air pollution level in Moscow had reached a serious level, which made Moscow in the list of Russian town with the maximum occasional concentrations of pollution beyond the Permitted Limit Concentration (PLC) (The Envibase-project). According to BBC News “the impact of Russia’s poor environment on human health conditions. In general the situation is getting worse critically these days. This all was the result of many contributory factors such as; the number of cars has increasing recently in Moscow (The Strait Time, 4th June 1995), industrial exhausts reduction emission growth (The Envibase-project) and large number of Russians who live in an environment harmful to their health (BBC NEWS & the Envibase-project). As a solution to that, I think the government should be stricter to this industrial; companies should increase the fines, enforce the law and decrease the number of vehicles.
After reading many articles about air pollution in Russia, I became more interested in the main causes of air pollution and its effect on human health in Russia and specifically in Moscow. Moscow is one of the several major Russian cities that are affected with air pollution (Russia: Environmental Issues, May 2004). In 1980, the air pollution level in Moscow had reached a serious level, which made Moscow in the list of Russian town with the maximum occasional concentrations of pollution beyond the Permitted Limit Concentration (PLC) (The Envibase-project). According to BBC News "the impact of Russia's poor environment on human health conditions, it states, contribute to the death of 300,000 Russians a year- far exceeding the number who die in road accidents"(BBC NEWS, Mon 25 Nov, 2002). In addition, the average life expectancy for males in the former Soviet Union between 1964 -2001 is decreasing , where 1964 the average life expectancy showed 66.1, but unfortunately in 2001 the number of this average was drop down to 58.9, and that shows the relation ship between urban air pollution and the risk of excess mortality (James. L. Regens, 2003, Table 1), in general the situation is getting worse critically these days. This all was the result of many contributory factors such as; the number of cars has increasing recently in Moscow (The Strait Time, 4th June 1995), industrial exhausts reduction emission growth (The Envibase-project) and large number of Russians who live in an environment harmful to their health (BBC NEWS & the Envibase-project). As a solution to that, I think the government should be stricter to this industrial companies, and should increase the fines, enforce the law and decrease the number of vehicles.
Although the industrial sector is responsible for much of Moscow is air pollution, motor vehicles are the major source of air pollution, where (i.e. lead, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides) emissions produced from automobile. According to The ENVIBASE-Project “Traffic makes the most significant contribution to the pollution of Moscow’s environment; its share in the total exhausts from stationary and movable sources reached 90% in 1996,which is a result of industrial exhausts reduction and the traffic emissions growth”(para 2). The situation is so terrible; the cars ownership is on the increase. Not only causing automobiles traffic but also a rise in emissions. Reuter;AP mentioned, “Cars exhaust account for almost 44% of urban pollution. Moscow, where the number of cars has increased dramatically in recent year, figured in the minister’s list of pollution black spots”(June 4,1995). In my opinion this should be solved as soon as possible, people are playing a great deal in air pollution, where they ride cars and they don’t care for its side effect. The government should increase the cars taxes; not only for using the cars but also for damages it’s caused where people should pay taxes for air, water, and land pollutions. Another point is people should be more aware for air pollution by giving them Television announcement and educational program about vehicles and air pollution. In addition to that, the government should have a regular check up for the motors engine, if the car produce high rate of emissions, they suppose to give you ticket for that and not let you to drive this car any more unless you fix it. So that we can reduce the cars emissions as mush as we can. People can reduce air pollution by using public transportation, which we can use more efficient Trains and ships instate of using large trucks and plans, the government should raise the prices of taxes on fossil fuel to limit the uses of motor vehicle.
Industrial growth, pursued at reckless speed, without effective measurement of economic or social costs, has put 70 million out of 190 million Russians living in 103 cities in danger of respiratory and other life shortening diseases from air that carries five and more times the allowed limit of pollutants (Feshbach, M. & Freiendly, A.,1992, 3).Where Moscow's plants and factories do not have the resources to control environmental pollution, as result the ground is saturated with Zinc, lead, molybdenum and chromium, and specialists have warned in all seriousness (1992, 9). An article from RIA Novosti, states that the industries in Russia causes high rate of pollutant because of many reason, but the main reason is that Russia doesn’t have environmental standards, and regulation tools and the environment protection system don’t show their data at all (RIA Novosti, 2004). In addition to that the industrial companies in Russia have no ecological programs where there are a lot of companies don’t have air single filter (RIA Novosti, 2004). Alexander Martynov thinks, “Clean production enhances corporate capitalization” (Para 5). Now a day, the number of industries are increasing rapidly, because of many reasons. Russia is one of the countries that have a huge number of industries, at the same time, they are having critical problems in pollution and that because of many causes such as, Russia’s government has no stark enforcement of the environmental standards and there are no ecological programs, the environment protection system has no openness of data at all and industries can’t get foreigners investment capitalization. Russia’s has no stark enforcement in the environment standard and a lot of companies have no ecological programs (Alexander M., para 3), in my opinion the government should be more rugged and stern with this companies by raising fines, make regular checking for their filters and the amount of emission produced in the air, prosecute them in the law if they didn't follow the rules they will have a big fines, so that it will restraint them. Ecological programs must be created and updated for each company, there for we can use the data in researches to provide some resource about this issue. All the industry should maintain their engine to reduce the production of Carbon dioxide and install filters.
Soviets have found, for instance, that in sixty-eight cities where air pollution is regularly measured at ten or more time above permissible maximums, the rate of illness among the 40 million residents (1992, 8). According to BBC NEWS “60% of Russians live in a harmful environment”. Where Reuter, Ap. claims in report that” of 148 million people, some 40 to 50 million are exposed to air pollution 10 times higher than normal and another 55 to 60 million have to live with a five-fold excess in various harmful substances”(Para 3). The article, "Cancer Risk from Exposure to Hazardous Air Pollutants in Russia" from the Environmental Sciences & Pollution Research Journal, stated the effects of air pollution on human health in urban areas of the US, Western Europe, and Asia. Between 1960s and 1980s the former Soviet Union failed to prove the concern about environmental health as proof by minimal emission controls for releases of air pollution and declines Soviet era average life expectancy (James L.Regens, 2003, p153, Para 2). Limited data found and used for 10 major subset cities in order to illustrate the relationship between the urban air pollution and human health risk in Russia, and those cities chosen because of two reasons; the number of population in those cities is increasing. The second reason is the available data was revealing major contaminants of concern (Formaldehyde, benzene, cadmium, and chromium) in 1993 and 1998 (p153, Para 4).Air pollution is considered as a major health risk in Russia, and its effect human on health. Because of the minimum emission controls that used to limit the routine releases of air pollution, the mortality rate among Russian individuals is increasing day after day. In additional point, there are a decline in the life expectancy because of many major factors such as environmental exposures, tuberculosis (lung disease) and various cancers (table 1). For example the author mentioned in his article that”in 1990, the steel complex at Magnitogorsk in the Urals still open-hearth furnaces and, according to official data, only 50% of the emissions were filtered” (p153, Para 2), and I believe that the high mortality rate in these cities is a result of all of that. In my opinion, to solve this problems need a lot of time and efforts, but we can do it step by step in order to save the environments and the mankind. The former Russia should have stark emission controls for releases of air pollution for both vehicles and companies. Emission should be filtered 100%, data and research should be taken every year so that we can see the improvements each year, and that will create a great data base source to improve our environment. The government should work more with the other countries to improve and solve the problems, for example signing the Kyoto protocol, also people should use face mask to reduce inhalation of toxic gases through the air, and they should move or leave in place where less industrial emission.
In conclusion, the air pollutants are one of the major factors in causing a reduction in the life expectancy and this is causing the premature death among the Russian people specially working individuals. And that because of the number of cars has increasing recently in Moscow, industrial exhausts reduction emission growth and large number of Russians who live in an environment harmful to their health. And if Russian government didn’t act quickly toward the air pollution, they will face problems in public health and mortality rate will increase rapidly which lead to lose their country and culture. So they should have strict law to the people and the industrial and increase fines.
Reference:
(Country Analysis Briefs)
Eia.doe.gov (2004, May). Russia: Environmental Issues. Available: http://www.eia. Doe.gov/emeu/cabs/russenv.html
Feshbach, M. & Freiendly, A. (1992). Ecocide in the USSR: Health and Nature Under
Siege. BasicBooks A Division of Harper Collines Publishers
Regens, J (2003): Cancer Risk from Exposure to Hazardous Air Pollutants in Russia,
Vol.1, 152-154.
RIA Novosti. (2004, December 20). 90% of Russian Industry enterprises have no
Ecological programs. RIA Novosti. Retrieved April 13, 2005, from LexisNexis
Academic.
Reuter, AP. (June 4,1995).Major Russian cities heavily polluted, say govt report.The
Straits Times.
Steven E. (2002, Nov.25). Report out line Russia’s deadly pollution.BBC NEWS
WORLD EDITION. Retrieved April12, 2000 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/eurpe/2512697.stm
“The ENVIBASE-Project” (chapter3-Air-Moscow). Air Quality. Retrieved
http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/archiv_sensut/umwelt/uisonline/envebase/handbook/air4.htm
