After the tragedy of February 14, 2004, when the cupola of Transvaal aquapark collapsed in Moscow, there appeared a number of alarming publications dealing with the problem of stability of the capital's engineering structures. "The Big City" weekly published an article by A. Makeev and A. Lyuty abounding in facts of accidents in residential houses. The biggest one took place in December 1967: a five-storied house collapsed in Osipenko street, and 147 people died. According to the conclusion of the special commission, it resulted from the domestic gas explosion. However, it was also pointed out that "in 1932 at this same place a baker's shop blew up without any visible reasons and in 1902 a house for rent fell through, though neither of these buildings were gasified". On the basis of these and similar mysterious happenings, the authors asserted that "Our city's location is rather unhappy. According to some specialists, peculiarities of the geological structure of Moscow bowels stipulate various catastrophes and accidents in the city." According to A. Makeev and A. Lyuty, from time immemorial people tried to avoid territories somehow attracting misfortunes. The 18th century naturalist M. Lomonosov allegedly taught to recognize them: "Godforsaken places are distinguished by trees that are crooked, rotten and seem older than they really are." Undoubtedly there are such places in the vast Moscow region. However, it was confirmed in the 20th century that vegetation anomalies are explained almost exclusively by peculiarities of geochemical situation that is dependent primarily on technogenic factors. The above-mentioned great scientist pointed out some typical features that allow to find deposits of chemically active raw materials: "Mountains rich in ores or other minerals, are usually characterized by trees that are unhealthy, i.e. their leaves are pale and they themselves are low, crooked, brownish, with many boughs, rotten and dry early." It is believed that initia ... Читать далее