In the mid-20th century, environmental condition deteriorated sharply as a result of active industrial development, nuclear and hydrogen weapon tests, emergence of nuclear energetics, pollution of the global ocean with oil, nuclear and other waste, wide use of pesticides in agriculture, higher number of vehicles, demographic explosion, urban extension, etc.
Currently, environmental problems are studied by all areas of science; science and industry are becoming more ecologically friendly. Therefore, one of the paramount tasks of higher education is ecological training of all specialists, irrespective of their major, because they should possess minimum knowledge to be able to apply it in their work.
Depending on the major, the content of ecology differs, but the objective is the same: ecologically friendly solution of professional tasks, protection of the environment from negative impact of human activity.
The textbook introduces the basic notions and laws of the general ecology: environment, ecological factors, ecosystem and its components, cycle of matters, fundamentals of Vernadsky’s theory, etc.
Any chemical enterprise, including chemical and pharmaceutical enterprises, is a source of environmental pollution: air pollution with atmospheric emission of pollutants, water bodies pollution with contaminating wastewater, and soil pollution with industrial waste.
Pollution of the environment with harmful substances in industrial wastewater and atmospheric emission and with solid industrial waste is described.
The textbook discusses chemical and physical-and-chemical methods for analysis of contaminants in waste water [chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), iron, zinc, oil products, cobalt, etc.] and atmospheric emissions (medical aerosols — novocaine, sulfanilamides, analgin, some antibiotics, etc.) as well as some gases (ammonia, nitrogen oxide and dioxide, hydrogen chloride, sulphur dioxide).
The issue of environmental pollution with heavy metals, pesticides, radionuclides is addressed as well; it requires close attention from a soon-to-be pharmacist, since pollutants enter the human body not only with water and food, but also with medicines.
The textbook contains current information on the basic groups of food additives, their classification, hygienic rating in foodstuff, analytical methods, and use.
Nowadays, alternative sources of nutrients are used, including medicinal plants, non-traditional seafoods, products of biological and, more rarely, chemical synthesis. Regular consumption of the latter in addition to the basic diet as a part of specialized food and biologically active supplements is economically and scientifically justified.