The key results of studies of benzo(a)pyrene in natural and man-made environments of the Southern Baikal region (2016–2024)

The study aims to provide a retrospective review of the results of studies of benz(a)pyrene in the natural and man-made environments of the Southern Baikal region. The study was conducted with staff, students, and postgraduates at the Department of Industrial Ecology and Railways of the Institute of Subsoil Use of Irkutsk National Research Technical University in 2016-2024. The article is devoted to the 75th anniversary of the department. The atmospheric air in the cities of Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk regions was assessed based on the results of monitoring of the content of benzо(a)pyrene. Its carcinogenic risks to public health were determined. The results of the systematic study of the sources of emissions into the atmosphere of benzо(a)pyrene and its analogues of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were analyzed. Anthropogenic and man-made (aluminum production, low-power heat sources, highways) and natural (forest fires) sources of benzо(a)pyrene release were identified by assessing its mass load. The indicators of sources of atmospheric pollution - snow cover, soils, plants - were identified. Correlations between atmospheric air pollution and health (neoplasms) of the Irkutsk region population were determined found. The distribution of benzо(a)pyrene in the systems of conjugated objects of the biosphere was studied: “source of emissions - atmospheric air - snow cover”, “soil - plant”, “water - hydrobionts”. Patterns indicating a new source of atmospheric pollution with carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - natural fires, which can affect the morbidity of the population of the Southern Baikal region - were obtained.