Unfortunately, the impact of the chemical and petrochemical industries on the environment remains significantly negative. And this issue is still being debated among environmentalists around the world. According to many scientists, the petrochemical industry has a significant impact on global warming, which in turn affects other natural processes.

Chemical and petrochemical enterprises produce a wide range of products to meet the needs of other industries, agriculture, and the population. The chemical complex of any country, as a rule, consists of chemical, petrochemical, agrochemical and microbiological industries. The variety of oil products and plastic products, a wide range of technologies and raw materials form a wide range of air pollutants, water basins, and soils. Many industrial pollutants enter the atmosphere in significant amounts and are highly toxic. Nevertheless, the current situation tends to be more satisfactory. It’s about the introduction of innovations in the production of petroleum products and plastic products, as well as the decline in production and the implementation of environmental measures.

The major source of harmful emissions into the atmosphere in the industry in the petrochemical and plastics industry is the producing of such products as:

• acids
• rubber products
• porcelain
• oil cracking, etc.

Moreover, the ecological issue solution becomes aggravated by the circumstances of operation of a significant number of worn-out equipment. However, this industry still maintains a high level of purification of emissions of harmful substances (more than 70%).

The production of chemical, petrochemical and plastic products is characterized by the emissions of the metal mercury, vanadium and chromium oxide belonged to the 1-st class of substances of hazard.

Chemical contamination

To the grope of chemical pollutions relates:

• solids, gases, and liquids,
• chemical elements and compounds of artificial origin

All these pollutants enter the biosphere and disrupt the natural processes of matter and energy circulation. The emissions of the most dangerous compounds in the chemical industry occur in the process of production of the following items:

• plastics
• rubber products
• organic solvent
• artificial fibers
• fertilizers

The most dangerous emissions in the chemical industry are carbon monoxide, sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide, and ammonia.

Petrochemical pollution

The most negative result of refineries activity is pollution (emissions to air and water). Also, a very serious problem in the petrochemical industry is waste, which is stored in specialized storage ponds. Often from such storage ponds transpire the leaks and it leads up to the serious soil contamination. In addition, the petrochemical products in the sedimentary ponds are flammable, they can catch fire at any time. Extinguishing them is a very difficult task.

In order to streamline and make safe all technological processes in the chemical, plastic and petrochemical industry, new regulations are applied and developed. These regulations provide for the rules of storage, transportation, sale, use and disposal of chemical, petrochemical and plastic products.