Results of multiyear studies on the dynamics of pollution of lake Baikal by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the area waste water discharge from the Baikal Pulp and Paper Plant

Abstract

Start up of the Baikal Pulp and Paper Plant (BPPP) in 1965 posed the problem of preserving the ecosystem of the Lake Baikal most urgently. Baikal was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1996. Despite the executive orders directed at protect ing the ecological system of Lake Baikal, by reducing the anthropogenic influence on the ecological system of the lake that was developed in the USSR and Rus sian Federation, great success was not achieved. The lake is still polluted by substances from the river, atmo sphere, and, over 50 years, from waste discharge.Since the first year of the plant's existence, the Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring Agency has monitored the waters of the lake in the area of the plant, and in 1969 it developed a system of permanent hydrochemical, geochemical, and hydro biological monitoring that incorporates the water sys tem, bottom sediments, atmospheric precipitation, and rivers flowing into the lake. Studies were carried out with use of several hundred stations located over the lake and on its northern and southern banks (impact area of the Baikal Amur railway) in the Selen ginsk shallow waters at background points where pol lution was relatively weak.Development of chemical analyses of complex organic compositions allowed scientists to make the first determinations of polycyclic hydrocarbons in the water of the lake, waste waters of the plant, and bottom sediments since the 1980s.The main objective of monitoring is to determine the total concentration of the PAH and benz(a)pyrene, the most toxic PAH, which is the most dangerous for the lake environment. The latter is an indicator in the waste waters of the plant, water of the lake, and bottom sediments in the area of the waste water discharge of the BPPP (polygon). Benz(a)pyrene is not the main polluting substance in the area of anthropogenic influ ence caused by waste waters from the sulfite cellulose industry of the plant on the ecological system of the lake. However, benz(a)pyrene is formed directly in the process of thermal processing of wood under tempera tures of 300-400°C , and in the course of monitoring, it is an important indicator of pollution of bottom sed iments in the described polygon of the plant [1].Samples of bottom sediments in the area of the waste water discharge of the plant in the polygon with area of 20 km 2 were collected at 9-40 stations with use of the Ocean 0.05 dredge (made of stainless steel) from the surface layer of bottom sediments (pelogenous) at a depth of 20-500 m. Samples were placed into plastic pockets and immediately delivered to the laboratory. Then samples were dried at a temperature of 105°C and stored at room temperature before the analyses. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were extracted from the samples of bottom sediments with use of benzol over 8 hours in the Soxhlet device. Benzol was distilled off with the use of a rotary evaporator, and extraneous impurities were removed from the residue with use of the method of thin layer chromatography. Hydrocar Abstract-New data o...

Composition, Concentration and Origin of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Waters and Bottom Sediments of Lake Baikal and Its Tributaries

“…The lowest concentrations (20-70 ng/g) were characteristic of the littoral zone (Figure 8), whereas the highest concentrations (100-700 ng/g) were characteristic of the pelagic zone (Figure 9). The higher PAH concentrations in sediments of the pelagic zone were probably due to the higher proportion of silt and clay particles [29][30][31] in relation to sediments of the littoral zone. The results obtained in the present study are somewhat different from those published earlier [35].…”

“…It was shown that the highest PAH concentrations in the air are characteristic of urban and industrial areas of the Lake Baikal watershed. At the beginning of the 2000s, articles concerned with the PAHs in the bottom sediments of Lake Baikal and its tributaries [26][27][28][29][30][31][32] began to appear in Russian and international academic journals. The results of these studies showed that the highest concentrations of PAHs in riverine and lacustrine sediments were observed in areas located in big cities and near industrial enterprises.…”

Objects of Accumulated Environmental Damage as Raw-Material Base for Building Materials Manufacture

“…At the Baikal Pulp and Paper Plant, not only easily oxidizable substances but also difficult-oxidizing compounds were removed from wastewater [4,5]. For this purpose, in addition to the biological treatment facilities at the plant, a chemical cleaning method was used.…”

Preparation and characterization of environment friendly used rubber powder modified pulp sediments composites

“…Pure pulp sediment is high hardness and easy fragile. At present, it is important to produce packing box [14], the environmental protection bags [15], paper handicraft [16], low-level paper [17], and pulp molding industry [18]. As poor toughness and strength of pulp sediments products [19], the used rubber powder toughened pulp sediment and sawdust reinforced pulp sediment were studied in this work to make full use of pulp sediment.…”