INFLUENCE OF ANTHROPOGENIC AND NATURAL FACTORS ON THE CONTENT OF POLLUTANT METALS IN MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE MIDDLE PRE-URAL REGION (ZAKURYE ISLAND IN CHUSOVOY)

According to the estimates of the World Health Organization, the share of medications based on medicinal plant materials is increasing from year to year. Along with industrial drugs, the population widely uses medicinal plants harvested on their own. However, medicinal plants growing in unfavorable environmental conditions can cause serious harm to health. Thus, it is necessary not only to control raw materials but also to study the areas where harvested medicinal plants grow, which in most cases are located in the immediate vicinity of industrial facilities. The purpose of this work was a comprehensive study of the ecological state of Zakurye Island in the town of Chusovoy and its plant communities. When planning the research work, the study area was zoned in accordance with the distance from the alleged source of pollution. In the process of work, we used standard methods of preparation and drying of medicinal plant materials, sampling of soil and water. Chemical analysis was carried out with the use of generally accepted and approved methods. A conclusion is made about a significant degree of pollution with pollutant metals of the surface and deep layers of the Chusovaya River, as well as of soil and medicinal plants near Zakurye Island. Most likely, environmental pollution is associated with poorly maintained dumps of blast-furnace slag from the Chusovoy Metallurgical Plant, located along the river bank.