Using aerosols to make an integrated rapid assessment of the ecological state of territories

Introduction. Indicators of aerosol suspensions, used to make an integrated rapid assessment of the ecological state of territories, allow quickly assessing the ecological status of residential areas of settlements without installing mobile or stationary ecological posts. Aerosol particles are the subject of this study. The purpose of the study is an integrated rapid assessment of the ecological state of the residential area of the Srednyaya Akhtuba settlement (the Volgograd region) located in close proximity to operating enterprises, engaged in the production of expanded clay. The following aerosol indicators are employed to achieve this goal: acidity (pH); specific electrical conductivity (EC, µS/cm); toxicity (development of tested objects (Lr, cm)); the number of particles and their mass fraction from the perspective of convolution of normalized basic factors. The research objectives include sampling of aerosol particles; preparation of aerosol suspensions; study of indicators of aerosol suspensions; identification of the ecological status of the territory of the residential area of the Srednyaya Akhtuba settlement. Materials and methods. The studied material is the aerosol particles taken from the surface of the leaves of apricot trees (Prúnus armeníaca L.) in the residential area of Srednyaya Akhtuba, Sredneakhtubinskiy district, Volgograd region, October 2018. The sampling of aerosol particles and the preparation of aerosol suspensions were carried out using international methods. The study of the acidity index (pH) and specific electrical conductivity (EC, μS/cm) was carried out using the electrochemical equipment of the MULTEST series (Russia): an ion meter (IPL-101-1) and a conductometer (KSL-111), respectively. The study of the toxicity of aerosol suspensions was based on measuring the development of tested objects (Lr, cm); the study of the dispersed composition of aerosol particles, their quantity and mass fraction were carried out according to GOST R (All-Russian State Standard) 56929-2016. Results. The studies allowed assigning the ecological status of “an environmental crisis” to the territory of the residential area in Srednyaya Akhtuba as of the spring and summer of 2018. Conclusions. Sources of pollution must be identified and environmental actions must be developed to protect the residential area of the settlement from aerosol particles with a diameter of less than 10 microns (PM10).