Study of factors affecting the environment of the disturbed areas of the earth’s surface of existing tailings dumps

Taking into account the geochemical and mineralogical features of “tailings”, as well as the duration and conditions of their storage (wet, covered with water – in the initial stages and dry, open to wind erosion – in the future), the tailings repository is constantly a powerful negative factor of intensive impact on the environment. Operating experience shows that it is almost impossible to ensure underwater stacking of tailings over the entire area of tailings storage facilities. Even in alluvial tailings, surface beaches are formed, which are constant sources of dust in dry and windy weather. As the starting materials of the study, the recommendations set forth (in the original language) in the “Compendium of industry methods for calculating emissions of harmful substances into atmospheric air during inventory, reporting on Form No. 2 TP (air) and development of standards for maximum permissible emissions for industrial enterprises and organizations of the Dnipropetrovsk region” and in literary sources. At the same time, tailings are considered as unorganized sources of warehouse-type emissions during static storage of materials. The calculation is carried out using coefficients that comprehensively reflect the specifics of this process. The results of field observations and laboratory studies carried out in the course of scientific research allow us to conclude that the environmental protection measures applied at the relevant enterprises do not have the necessary effectiveness during periods of adverse meteorological conditions, and the man-made load in the region remains significant. Thus, the need to develop and implement an automated program of comprehensive environmental monitoring of the tailings area and the development of the most effective operational methods of response and dust suppression in conditions of intense wind load remains relevant.