AIR POLLUTION IN UST-KAMENOGORSK CITY AND ITS IMPACT ON PUBLIC HEALTH

Ust-Kamenogorsk city is located in the East of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Due to historical events, the city has gained industrial specialization and mainly operates at the expense of large enterprises of various technological orientations. On the territory of the city there are the largest enterprises of non-ferrous metallurgy, nuclear-industrial and rare-metal complexes, engineering, heat power complex, food industry, utilities. Such giants of industry of Kazakhstan as JSC “KazZinc”, OJSC Ust-Kamenogorsk Heat Power Plant, JSC UMP, OJSC UK TMC are located here. But in addition to the positive economic and social impact, such an abundance of large industrial enterprises in a small area has a negative impact on the environment, especially on the air conditions. Substances that pollute the atmosphere can be solid, liquid and gaseous. Of the total mass of pollutants from anthropogenic sources into the atmosphere, 90 % is a gaseous substance, a 10 % solid and liquid [1, p. 480].

Pollutants from stationary sources and vehicles, including a significant proportion of sulfur dioxide in the processing of mineral raw materials at metallurgical enterprises and in the combustion of coal at thermal power plants, as well as carbon oxides, nitrogen, chlorine, heavy metals, are emitted into the atmospheric air of the city. As a result, today the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk is one of the most environmentally polluted cities in Kazakhstan, which in turn affects the health of the local population.

Thus, this research is very relevant, as the understanding of the laws and possible relationships between air pollution and public health is the main prerequisite for improving the health of the local population.

Materials and methods. The work is based on the following materials:

• data of the Department of Public Health of East Kazakhstan region on the incidence of the population for the period 2013-2017;
• statistical data of the Statistics Department of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the East Kazakhstan region on the main demographic, socio-economic indicators for 2013-2017;
• data of the regional automated information system of industrial and environmental monitoring (RAISIEM);
• statistical data of East Kazakhstan regional medical information and analytical center;
• the data of the regional information center of ecological monitoring;
• statistic data of RSE "Kazhydromet».

To analyze the impact of air pollution on public health we used Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Pearson’s correlation coefficient is a statistical measure of the strength of a linear relationship between paired data. A value of 0 denotes no linear correlation, a value of 1 or –1 denotes strong linear correlation [2].

Correlation analysis between air pollution and population morbidity. Table 1 shows the correlation coefficients between the 3 major air pollutants and the major diseases. We see that there are both direct and inverse relationships. Some “substance-disease” pairs are characterized by stronger correlations (more than 0,4), some are medium (0,2-0,4) and some are less strong (less than 0,2). Also, table 10 shows the index N, which indicates the period (number of years) for which the correlation was considered.

Table 1

Correlation between the morbidity and air pollution for the period 2013-2017

The analysis revealed significant correlations between:

• sulfur dioxide and digestive system, characterized by direct medium correlation (0,3);
• sulfur dioxide and diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue, also characterized by direct medium correlation (0,3);
• sulfur dioxide and diseases of the endocrine system, characterized by direct strong correlation (0,5);
• sulfur dioxide and diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs, characterized by direct strong correlation (0,5);
• sulfur dioxide and diseases of diseases of the circulatory system, characterized by direct very low correlation (0,2);
• sulfur dioxide and cancer diseases, characterized by direct strong correlation (0,5);
• carbon monoxide and diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs, characterized by direct very low correlation (0,2);
• carbon monoxide and cancer diseases, characterized by direct strong correlation (0,8);
• nitrogen dioxide and diseases of the endocrine system, characterized by direct strong correlation (0,8);
• nitrogen dioxide and respiratory diseases, characterized by direct strong correlation (0,8);
• nitrogen dioxide also has medium correlation by all other analyzed diseases.

Thus, there is a strong correlation between sulfur dioxide and diseases of the endocrine system, diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and cancer diseases (Fig. 1), carbon monoxide and cancer diseases (Fig. 2), nitrogen dioxide and diseases of the endocrine system and respiratory diseases (Fig. 3).

Figure 1. Correlation between sulfur dioxide and diseases of the endocrine system, blood and blood-forming organs and cancer diseases for the period 2013-2017

Figure 2.  Correlation between carbon monoxide and cancer diseases for the period 2013-2017

Figure 3. Correlation between nitrogen dioxide and diseases of the endocrine system and respiratory diseases for the period 2013-2017

Effective improvement of the health status of the population can be achieved on the basis of national programs aimed at solving the existing problems of protection and strengthening of health, with the interaction of various departments and social responsibility of enterprises, regardless of ownership, for which we consider it necessary:

• development of a “Strategic action plan for the rehabilitation of the environment and public health in Ust-Kamenogorsk” by the state authorities in the field of environmental protection and health;
• organization in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk – the center of ecological medicine in order to identify early signs of the impact of adverse factors of production and the environment on public health, improving the effectiveness of prevention and treatment of environmentally dependent diseases;
• full implementation of environmental protection measures by industrial enterprises (inventory of emission sources, establishment of effective gas treatment plants, use of high-tech production processes, measures for improvement and greening of sanitary protection zones);
• the introduction of modern principles of rendering of medical aid to the population in areas of high anthropogenic impact;

References:

1. Hatuntsev Y. A. Ecology and environmental safety. – M.: Publishing center "Academy", – 2002. – 480 p.
2. Interpreting Correlation Coefficients [Electronic resource]. – Access mode: https://statisticsbyjim.com/basics/correlations/ (date accessed: 18.03.19)