Assessment of the spread of pollution in the riverbed of the Neva River as a result of an emergency at a toxic waste landfill

Abstract

The catchment area of the Neva River, which includes the largest European lakes Ladoga, Onega, Ilmen and Saimaa, located in Finland, has an area of 183,300 km2. The quality of water in the Neva River is determined by the characteristics of the water masses of Lake Ladoga, as well as by point and non-point sources of pollution on the tributaries of the Neva. One of the potential sources of pollution is the Krasny Bor landfill for storing highly toxic waste of hazard classes I – V. In the event of an emergency at the landfill, toxic wastewater can enter the Izhora River, and then into the Neva River, 7 km above the water intakes of St. Petersburg. Using the methods of mathematical modeling, the calculation of the spread of toxic substances in the hydrographic network of the catchment area, and then in the channel of the Neva River was carried out under various scenarios of the development of an emergency at the landfill. A full-scale experiment was carried out to confirm the adequacy of the model of impurity spreading in the channel of the Neva. An assessment of the features of the transport of suspended particles and dissolved impurities in the direction of the water intakes of St. Petersburg is given.