Comparative-Cartographic Method of Rationing Pollutant Loads on Geosystems Using the Example of Fluorine

Abstract

The increase in the capacity of aluminum production enterprises poses a threat to environmental safety in a large area. This is especially true in the conditions of the steppes, where the loss of grassy vegetation is not visually traced due to its greater stability when compared to coniferous trees of the taiga zone. In this regard, there is a need for special comprehensive studies of the components of the natural environment and an assessment of their geochemical transformation. Based on the materials of long-term experimental landscape–geochemical studies on the territory exposed to dust and gas emissions from aluminum production plants in Khakassia, the group of the main pollutant elements of geosystems (F, Na, Al, and Ni) has been identified. For all analyzed indicators, including toxicity, fluorine is identified as a priority pollutant. Its forms of presence in natural conditions are established. The characteristics and indices of the total pollution of soluble and poorly soluble substances of snow water by chemical elements are given, which remain quite high at a distance of 5–10 km from the plants. The mapping method shows the territorial distribution of loads of the most active water-soluble form (F^–), as well as the levels of its accumulation in soils over a 35-year period and the total content in the green plant mass. The degree of fluorine anomaly in soils and plants in relation to its background values has been established. In order to normalize the loads of the toxicant element, a comparative cartographic method was used, which made it possible to establish the criteria for soil pollution: permissible, critical, and unacceptable, as well as the corresponding loads of fluorine in soluble and slightly soluble form. The potential geoecological situation is assessed as high and dangerous.