In the article we considered the effectiveness of public administration in the field of environmental safety on the example of industrial regions of the Russian Federation: Chelyabinsk region, Sverdlovsk region and Krasnoyarsk region.The analysis showed that in these regions there is an unfavorable situation with an increase in mortality from neoplasms and respiratory diseases; and also that there is a correlation between the mortality rate from respiratory diseases and the amount of pollutant emissions into the atmosphere and the discharge of polluted wastewater. In the considered regions, there is also a general increase in the industrial production index, exceeding the growth in environmental protection costs.These data allow us to talk about inefficiency in some aspects of public administration in the field of environmental safety.The revealed dependencies can be used to justify some recommendations: the need to involve public organizations, movements and the population in environmental protection, toughen environmental standards, and increase regional powers in the field of environmental safety.