Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), in particular benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), are priority organic pollutants coming from various anthropogenic sources. The levels of accumulation and the spatial distribution of BaP in urban soils, road dust and their PM₁₀ particles (with a diameter of less than 10 microns) were for the first time determined for various land use zones and roads of different size in the cities of Crimea—Alushta, Yalta and Sebastopol. The average content of BaP in soils and road dust in Alushta is 60 and 97 ng/g, in Yalta—139 and 64 ng/g, in Sebastopol—260 and 89 ng/g, respectively, which considerably exceeds the background level (1 ng/g). The BaP concentrations in PM₁₀ particles of soils and dust are up to 11 and four times higher, respectively, than the total contents; they concentrate 35–70% of amount of the pollutant. The accumulation of BaP in soils and dust depends on the type of land use and size of roads. The exceedance of BaP standards in soils and road dust indicates a hazardous environmental situation in three cities of Crimea. The most dangerous are PM₁₀ particles, which form anomalies with extreme levels of BaP contamination.

To properly evaluate the data received during the ecological monitoring of space-rocket activities, it is necessary to make allowance for the natural variability of the chemical properties of soils that are common for the territories used for landing separated parts of launch vehicles. This paper presents the results of the soil and geochemical studies in mountain and tundra landscapes in the Republic of Altai in the impact zone where the second stages of launch vehicles fall. Based on the obtained results and data from laboratory experimental investigations, the ecological soil buffer capacity in relation to rocket fuel is quantified for one of the monitored sites.

Ecologo-geochemical investigations are conducted within the framework of ecological monitoring of ecosystems experiencing the effects from rocket and space activity, on territories used for landing of detachable portions of carrier rockets. Results from soil-geochemical and geobotanical investigations in areas of Northwestern Altai where the second rocket stages fell back to Earth are presented. The data obtained serve as a basis for assessing the effects of rocket and space activity on the region’s ecosystems.

The actual vegetation in the territory of the Baikonur Cosmodrome (the Republic of Kazakhstan) has been mapped for the first time. The potential resistance of edificators and plant associations to the impact of space-rocket activities has been estimated based on this. Weakly and moderately resistant phytocenoses, comparatively resistant phytocenoses, and resistant ones have been ascertained to occupy 43, 18.5, and 38% of the cosmodrome’s territory.