Estimate of air quality in valleys of Yegoshikha river and Danilikha river

Atmospheric air is the vital for life on Earth. The quality of air is the main issue that humankind faces every day. The quality of air in towns and cities is an essential aspect of health of the population. According to WHO report, 91% of all population lives in places where level of air pollution exceeds established standards. According to Rosgidromet report, the level of air pollution is estimated as ‘very high’ or ‘the highest’ in 40 Russian cities including Perm.

The objectives of this research are to determine what pollutants are the most significant and what sources of pollution make the greatest contribution in air pollution in Perm.

Data for this study comes from national net of measurements of air pollution of Rosgridromet and researches of air quality in different areas of Perm were conducted on demand of local government. In this study there has been little quantitative analysis of results of measurements that was hold close to valleys of minor rivers Daniliha and Egoshiha since 2016 to 2020. Air quality was estimated by comparing measurements of concentration of chemical substances with established hygienic standards. The spatial model of air quality in Perm was created using Unified Program of air pollution estimation ‘Ecologist’.

The first set of questions aimed to finding out the most significant pollutants in the air of Perm. The analyzed data show that the main pollutants in air of Perm are Formaldehyde, Nitrogen Dioxide, Phenol and Ethylbenzene. Exceedances of maximum one-time concentrations of all significant pollutants were identified. The most surprising aspect of the analysis of data is in the observing of exceedances of not only maximum one-time concentrations but of mean daily concentrations of formaldehyde that happen during all the period of study. A possible explanation for presence of nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde and ethylbenzene in the air of Perm might be that burning of fossil fuels by combustion engine of transport and by fuel power industry make the greatest contribution in air pollution. These results match those observed in earlier studies. Exceedances of maximum one-time concentrations of phenol may be explained by impact of mechanical engineering plants.

The results of this study indicate that the national net of measurements of air pollution of Rosgridromet is non-effective and doesn’t give enough information for estimation of air quality in Perm. More monitoring sites and more measured pollutants, especially carcinogenic, are required to determine the air quality and the impact of transport or industry or other sources of air pollution on human health.