The article substantiates the need to assess the energy efficiency of energy production from various types of fuel. The most significant indicators for assessing the environmental efficiency of the use of fuel for electricity production are established. A methodology for assessing the environmental efficiency of using various methods for the production of electricity is proposed. Research results are presented.

The necessity of monitoring the condition of water bodies is substantiated. The method of environmental monitoring of the water surface using radar systems is considered. The results of online monitoring, rapid monitoring technologies, and an integrated environmental monitoring system of water surfaces using radar methods were processed. The comparison of various results of water surface monitoring was carried out to determine the adequacy of the data obtained as a result of radar monitoring. Recommendations for expanding the capabilities of radar monitoring are proposed.

The features of soil pollution control in different districts of St. Petersburg are considered. A method for comparison of pollution in various urban areas has been proposed and experimentally implemented. Studies of the state of soil in three zones of Kirovsky and Moscovsky districts of St. Petersburg have been carried out. It is established that consideration of the factors of migration of polluting elements is necessary to establish the causes of significant pollution and develop measures to improve the environmental situation.

The study of the ecological condition of soils in small towns as a factor of sustainable development of territories is substantiated. Various samples were collected from the territories of small towns in the Leningrad Oblast (Russian Federation) and the suburbs of St. Petersburg (for example, the town of Pushkin). The influence of the city size and population number on the processes of soil pollution is considered on the basis of the generalized data. Quantitative information about the accumulation of metals by soils in different categories of settlements is given. The concentration of certain elements in soils in the cities grouped by the number of inhabitants is determined, as well as the environmental hazards of pollution. The ecological hazard of the accumulation of chemical elements in soils and the primary role of Pb and Zn as pollutants in all cities are considered. The accumulation in the soil cover in significant concentrations of Cd, Co and Ca, which significantly change the ecological and geochemical situation in urban landscapes, has been noted. It was determined that such elements as As, Cu and Cl are the key ecological-geochemical pollutants in four groups of settlements. Groups of settlements with different values of the absolute variation of element concentrations have been established.

The environmental condition of the granite stone quarry dumps and the adjacent areas of Kuznechnoye village in the Leningrad Region of the Russian Federation was evaluated based on the results of field measurements of dust concentrations in the air (fraction size 1-10 microns) and analytical determination of chemical element contents in soil samples by spectral emission analysis and X-ray spectrometry methods. It has been established that dusting of unreclaimed dumps under conditions of humid climate, which is observed most of the year, and high pH values of soils leads to the formation of polyelement technogenic geochemical anomalies of Pb, Zn, Cu, Ba and Sr. The data obtained can be used in the selection of the most effective method of reclamation of dumps.