HYGIENIC EVALUATION OF THE DISLOCATION AND STATE OF RECREATIONS FOR CHILDREN IN THE CITY OF SAINT-PETERSBURG

Abstract

Introduction. Children’s playgrounds are an integral part of the infrastructure of urban and rural settlements, a place of active recreation and development of children. Analysis of the regulatory framework governing the location and environmental condition of the territory of children’s playgrounds, the order of their operation allowed establishing the absence of a single document that permits to control their content. Material and methods. Sanitary-and-epidemiologic condition of playgrounds were assessed according to their location relative to residential development and roads, the extent of landscaping, the levels of pollution of atmospheric air and soil, the level of gamma radiation, the effective specific activity of natural radionuclides in the sand of the sandbox. Microbiological contamination of soil and sand of sandboxes was estimated by the content of pathogenic microorganisms and worm eggs in them. A total of 82 sites were surveyed: 38 in the historical part of the city and 44 in the areas of the modern development of St. Petersburg. Statistical analysis of the research results was carried out using the program Statistica 8. Results. The emissions of vehicles polluted the air of playgrounds with nitrogen dioxide It was found to be by 3 times higher than the maximum permissible concentrations (MPC) in the Central part of the city and 2 times - in the areas of modern development. The concentrations of lead in the soil exceeded MPC by 5-10 times in the historical part of the city and by 1.1 - 3 MPC in the modern districts, the complex index of soil pollution with Zc accounted for 64-128 and 16-32, respectively. According to sanitary and bacteriological indices, the studied soil samples were classified as “clean”. The specific effective activity of natural radionuclides in samples of sand sandboxes ranged from 46 ± 12 - 320 ± 35 Bq/kg There was common a violation of the integrity of the sites and acts of vandalism. Conclusion. The results of the study convincingly prove the need to create a single regulatory document defining the structure responsible for the choice of the territory for children’s playground, its maintenance, operation of equipment, as well as the rules of control and supervision.