Environmental problems of Russian metallurgy

Abstract

Scientific and technical progress in the modern world is being accompanied by a sharp rise in the consumption of natural resources. At the same time, industrial and household wastes are also being generated at accelerated rates. The quantity of such wastes created in the industrially developed nations has increased between two- and threefold over the last 20 years. The amount of solid wastes generated annually per capita is 744 kg in the U.S., 881 kg in Austria, 635 kg in Canada, 449 kg in the Netherlands, and 344 kg in Japan. The problem of making efficient use of wastes is closely related to the efficiency of industry in general and to the protection of the environment.

Interest has never been greater in the processing, use, and removal of wastes: these matters are being examined very seriously in the development of new product standards, in the strategic planning of industrial companies, and in the mass media. Presented below is an article by Academicians L. I. Frantsenyuk and P. I. Yugov which discusses the possibilities of having metallurgical plants recycle and make efficient use of their own waste products.