Topical issues of environmental pollution in the area of municipal cemeteries

Introduction. Taking into account the prevailing urban planning situation, the residential area has almost come close to the burial sites. Justification of the possibility of a safe interposition for the population of residential and “zones with special conditions for the use of territories”, to which the sanitary protection zones (SPZ) are referred, requires scientific and methodological study due to the lack of normative fixation of the procedure.

The purpose of the study was the hygienic assessment of burial sites as sources of environmental pollution, the development and practical testing of methodological approaches to substantiating the size of the sanitary protection zone, the admissibility (inadmissibility) of placing normalized, in accordance with the requirements of sanitary legislation, objects in the SPZ cemeteries.

Materials and methods. The design and technical documentation were studied, the analysis and assessment of the obtained data on the quality of environmental objects on the territory and boundaries of the SPZ of the cemetery for compliance with sanitary and epidemiological requirements and hygienic standards was carried out.

Results. To substantiate correctly the hygienic requirements for the conditions of burial and the safe operation of cemeteries, excluding the possibility of their negative impact on the health of the population, a comprehensive sanitary and chemical assessment has been developed with the determination of the degree of influence of burials on environmental objects. An algorithm for the formation of the evidence base for the absence (presence) of the negative impact of the fact of the location of residential buildings in the sanitary protection zone of cemeteries is proposed. A step-by-step assessment mechanism has been worked out including identification of hazards, instrumental measurements of the quality of environmental objects, selection of priority pollutants and objects (sources) that pose a threat to public health.

Limitations. The research was carried out for the territories of cemeteries, it includes an assessment of the sources of environmental pollution specific to this type of burial. The methods used for this study are used to assess soil, groundwater, and atmospheric air.

Conclusion. The proposed procedure, tested in real conditions of a large city, makes it possible to form the criteria and priorities of the evidence base for making a decision on the assessment of the hazard (safety) of the placement of residential buildings and other standardized territories within the boundaries of the existing sanitary protection zones of cemeteries.

Compliance with ethical standards. Research does not require a biomedical ethics committee’s opinion.

Contribution:
Ushakova O.V., Sabirova Z.F. — concept and design of the study, collecting material and processing data, writing the text, editing, approval of the final version of the article, responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article;
Evseeva I.S. — research concept and design, collecting material and processing data, writing the text, editing;
Vodianova M.A. — concept and design of the study.

Gratitude. The authors express their gratitude to Lyudmila V. Tolubaeva, Director of Ecosphere LLC (Rostov-on-Don), and Anton V. Manenkov, Director of the Municipal Cemetery Service MCU (Rostov-on-Don), for project materials on the justification of sanitary protection zones of the object under consideration 

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest. 

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship. 

Received: December 21, 2021 / Accepted: October 3, 2022 / Published: November 30, 2022