Modeling of mercury load on ecosystems of different territories of Crimean Peninsula using USEtox model
In international practice one of the approaches to assess the environmental situation is mathematic modeling, based on the official data on wastes and emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere as primary information. The aim of this project was to determine the mercury load on ecosystems of different territories of the Crimean Peninsula using the approach proposed by USEtox model. Numerous waste-related data was collected from the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Crimea and from «Reports on generation, processing, utilization, transportation and disposal of production and consumption waste for 2018 by large, medium and small scale enterprises» to identify class I hazardous waste for each enterprise. Based on these data, the mass fraction of mercury-containing wastes in their total volume was calculated, which was equal to 0.02%. Mercury fraction in these wastes was further computed to the amount of mercury contained in the specific type of products like mercury fluorescent lamps and mercury thermometers in accordance with the manufacturer's passport of this items. The calculations of mercury migration in the environment revealed the greatest load of mercury ions and sulfide (usually not exceeding recommended level) for aquatic ecosystems - fresh and marine water; the least - for atmospheric air and agricultural soils. According to modeling data, the maximum load approaching the maximum permissible level, was recorded in Kerch and Feodosia aquatic ecosystems; the mercury trace in fresh water bodies was approximately the same throughout the peninsula. It is recommended to continue the research to study all possible sources of mercury input into the ecosystems of the Crimean Peninsula.