Loskutova Ekaterina

Abstract

Introduction

Donetsk area which has the highest in the country and in Europe density of population and the biggest saturation of powerful industrial enterprises, as evaluated by the basic indexes of danger (technogenic, hydrometeorological, dangerous geological phenomena) is determined as a region of Ukraine with the critical danger level of extreme technogenic and natural situations rise.

Mining is certainly accompanied by pumping of mine and quarry waters, delivering gobs, extrass of dust and harmful gases on the surface, and also deformation of coal-containing breeds and earth surface, and thereby it leads to the pollution of water resources, atmosphere and soils, essentially changes hydrogeological, engineer-geological, atmospheric and soil conditions, in the areas of underground mining extraction appear depressed craters from ten to hundred square kilometres, rivers and brooks become shallow, and sometimes  fully disappear, undermined territories are flooded or swamped, a soil layer is dehydrated and salted; this, in its turn, inflicts a great damage to the water and land resources, the structure of air gets worse, the Earth’s surface changes. Enterprises, which conduct the exploration of mineral fields, occupy about 20 thousand ha of all lands in Donetsk area. Under coal dumps and industrial areas of mines are occupied about 25 thousand ha. This enormous territory is a source of permanent  pollution of atmosphere, underground and surface waters, soils. In spite of deep land damage of area by dangerous exogenous ecological processes (landslides, karst, abrasion, underfloodings and other), all its territory is determined as an area of the first category. In the last decades man-caused ecological problems gained dimensioned character in old mining regions. Because of the long intensive process of extractive works appeared a necessity of soil developing at a great depth, this makes this activity unprofitable today. The considerable decline of production in coal industry does not result in the substantial improvement of ecological situation in the area.

The aim of this research is a choice and substantiation of ecological and technological decisions on the rational use of coal as a resource in the conditions of mine "Sheglovskaja-Glubokaja".

To achieve the set goal it is necessary to execute the following tasks:

1.                    To analyse a climatic, geological and ecological situation in Donetsk area.

2.                    To describe coal as a resource and directions of its use.

3.                    To ground ecological directions on the rational use of coal as a resource.

On the basis of the above-said, one can say that a mine is a source of coal, gas, water and solid. The mining industry is a basis, which means that the analysis and scientific researches in this brunch are very important in Donetsk region, and researches in the brunch of diminishing of negative influence of coal industry on the environment are especially important.

Influence of coal production on the environment

The necessity of soils exploration at great depth appeared as a result of long intensive process of extractive works. And this makes this unprofitable today. The considerable decline of production in coal industry does not result in the substantial improvement of ecological situation in the area.

As statistical data state from the reports about the state of lectures about the state of the natural environment (further NE) of Donetsk region, which are printed in “Earth of our anxiety” magazine, the persistent process of the technogenic loading on the NE continues.

The analysis of these data is presented in table 1, and the influence of coal enterprises on the NE is represented in the form of diagrams in image 1 presented.

Table 1 – The Analysis of Ecological Situation in Donetsk region for 1998-2005 years according to the data of “Earth of our anxiety” magazine.

Notes:

1) * common data of coal, power and metallurgical industry;

2) - ** - no data.

As indicated in table 1, harmful industrial emissions from stationary sources average to 1.590 thousand t annually (and this index grows), and the emissions of coal industry make almost 30% of common emissions of the industry. The water consumption of industry equals to 1.239 million m³. About 4% of them are consumed by the coal industry, and about 16% of all volume of industrial emissions in the region (1.370 million m³ a year) are thrown by this brunch of industry

About 43 million t of wastes appear in the industry annually, and 60% of these wastes are dumped by the coal industry. There are about 600 soil terraces of coal mines and coal-cleaning plants on the territory of Donetsk region, 130 of which are fire banks. The waste banks, which now amount to 125, occupy 0.2% of all the territory of the area, which makes 53 km². Not touching the great costs of labour and material resources for transportation and warehousing of such an amount of solid, its placing on a surface requires alienation of land, and the presence of combustible mass in the solid has very negative influence on the NE.

Decline directions of soil terraces influence on the NE

Possible decline directions of solid terraces influence on the NE are:

1. Surface:

- extinguishing of conflagrant dumps;

- reformation of conical dumps into flat ones;

- isolations of dump layers and surface by inert materials;

- reclaiming of dumps surface;

- the use of recrements in the national economy.

2. Underground:

- the exposure of solid formation sources and directions of its use;

- development of the projects on the erection of artificial buildings using the solid.

Localization of solid terraces influence during the extinguishing and reclaiming, passing to the flat form of warehousing of solid do not provide the necessary degree of ecological safety, though even these works are conducted rarely. The Mentioned facts mentioned above point to the importance and national economic magnitude of the search of technical decisions directed to the costs reduction on solid works, volumes of its distribution and warehousing. Instability of solid quality and difficult laboratory works directed to its determination practically eliminates the necessity of solid as a resource for the production of build materials and other. That’s why the technical policy of a mine should be based on the use of solid for its needs, which can be brought into life with the help of the method of complete stowing of mine-out space, which provides decrease of the amount of solid which is worked out, and also its returning in the bowels of the earth.

Work is on the stage of planning and is not finished.

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