The Impact of Air Pollution on Human Health: Focusing on the Rudnyi Altay Industrial Area

Abstract

Problem statement: Air pollution in Kazakhstan is significant environmental problem. The air pollution level of cities and industrial centers remains rather high. The highest level of air pollution is registered in Ridder, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Almaty, Zyryanovsk, Aktau, Atyrau, Shymkent, Taraz, Petropavlovsk and Temirtau. The enterprises of the Rudnyi Altay, Pavlodar Oblast and enterprises of oil and gas complex in West-Kazakhstan, Atyrau and Mangistau Oblasts play the negative role in air pollution. About one third of industrial enterprises have no sanitary protective zones of standard sizes. A considerable part of the population of industrial centers live in the zone of a direct impact of harmful industrial factors emissions of polluting substances into the air, noise, vibration, electrical magnet fields and other physical factors (Dahl et al., 2001; Kaiser and Pulsipher, 2007; Farmer and Farmer, 2000). Under the conditions of the air polluter impact there is high morbidity and mortality from cardio-vascular diseases, respiratory disease, nervous system and sensory organ disturbances, gastrointestinal disease and circulatory disease. Poor air quality has been cited as a factor in these conditions (Jensena et al., 1997; Namazbaeva et al., 2010). Then we provide details a correlation between the level of disease of malignant tumors and the emissions from stationary sources in Rudnyi Altay industrial area. To reveal the quantitative relationship between the disease of malignant tumors and the change in the quantity of emissions was carried out regression analysis and model. Regression analysis and model confirms a significant direct correlation between the incidence of malignant tumors and the amount of emissions from stationary sources (correlation coefficient R = 0,6). Analysis of vital statistics revealed the increased disease rate. Conclusion: Health status of the populations is negatively affected by the unfavorable environmental situation, emissions in general and technogenic hotspots. Airpollution- related health effects can be reduced through policies that curb emissions. Among measures that can be undertaken to achieve these reductions is the use technology in industry and programs to increase public awareness. However Kazakhstani society is more concerned about social problems; government does not want to disturb people, because environmental problems are far from a positive decision.