IP02 Ecological Risk Assessment and Management of Smelters
B115 & B116
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Monday
(IP012) Heavy metal contamination in the Taimyr Peninsula, Siberian Arctic.
Allen-Gil, S1, Ford, J2, Monetti, M3, Lasorsa, B4, Vlasova, T5, Landers, D6, 1 Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, USA2 Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Corvallis, OR, USA3 US Department of Energy, NY, Ny, USA4 Batelle Marine Science Laboratories, Sequim, WA, USA5 Extreme North Research Institute, Norilsk, Russia6 EPA-NHREEL, Corvallis, OR, USA
ABSTRACT- The Taimyr Peninsula is directly north of the world's largest heavy metal smelting complex (Norilsk, Russia). Despite this proximity, there has been little research to examine the extent of contamination of the Taimyr Peninsula. We analyzed heavy metal concentrations in lake sediments, soils, lichen (Cetraria cucullata), moss (Hylocomium splendens), freshwater fish (Salvelinus alpinus, Lota lota and Coregonus spp.) and collared lemming (Dicrostonyx torquatus) from 13 sites between 30 and 300 km from Norilsk. Element concentrations are low in both C. cucullata and H. splendens. Enrichment factor analysis of lichens and moss indicated that arsenic (As) and vanadium (V) are primarily derived from soils (i.e. substrate) whereas copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and especially cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) have a significant atmospheric component. A lake sediment core from the eastern Taimyr Peninsula indicated no recent enrichment by atmospherically transported elements. Tissue concentrations of heavy metals in fish and lemming were not elevated relative to other arctic sites. Our results show that the impact of the Norilsk smelting complex is localized, rather than regional, and does not extend northward beyond 100 km.
Key words: vegetation, arctic, fish, Russia