Protection of drinking water sources against modern pollutants.

One of the main tasks of hygiene necessitating urgent solution is the regulation, within the framework of governmental planning, of sanitary protection against modern pollutants of sources and water works supplying the human collectivities. Pollution by pesticides, surfactants, aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons, oil waste products, phenolics, radioactive isotopes etc., is requiring particular concern. Cases of penetration of these chemical substances, especially of pesticides, oil residues and other kinds of industrial waste into ground waters have been recently observed with increasing frequency. Pollution of underground waters occurred either through the storage on the surface ground or into soil of waste products containing these substances or through their discharge into the water stream. The presence of these substances in most water supply systems the lowered effectivity of water-works in the removal of these substances, continual increase in the number of industries producing these pollutants, their participation in the origin or increased incidence of some chronic diseases characterizing the development of modern society make necessary scientific substantiation and urgent solution of the problem.