Nikolay A. Kashulin

Airborne contamination by heavy metals and aluminum in the freshwater ecosystems of the Kola Subarctic region (Russia)

Abstract Airborne contamination by heavy metals and aluminum in freshwater ecosystems of the Kola Peninsula in subarctic Russia has resulted from smoke emissions from large plants such as the Severonikel and Pechenganikel smelters and the Kandalaksha aluminum plant. Negative effects are intensified by acidic precipitation. Nickel is a primary technogenic effluent in surface waters of the Kola North. The area of highest nickel concentrations in water and lake sediments is limited to a 30-km zone around the copper-nickel plants; a similar situation exists for copper. Lake acidification increases the concentration of all metals in water, particularly aluminum. During flood times, a redistribution of metal speciation occurs that increases the concentration of more toxic metal species. We determined that there is a high intensity of metal accumulation in the organs of fish, and we discovered toxic effects, including specific pathologies and fish dysfunction. Based on this information, we estimated the critical levels of metals in freshwater ecosystems of the Kola North.

Assessment of copper-nickel industry impact on a subarctic lake ecosystem

The Kuetsjärvi lake ecosystem has been subject to intensive pollution generated by the Pechenganickel Company activities for more than 50 years. This article considers the effects of emissions from the copper-nickel smelter, that uses out-of-date technology, on a subarctic lake ecosystem. Six years of investigations revealed changes occurring at all ecosystem levels. It was found that the content of heavy metals (Cu, Ni, etc.) in lake sediments was dozens of times higher than the background values. Phyto- and zooplankton communities were in an unstable condition, while fish had pathologies of functionally important organs (gill, liver and kidney). The concentration of nickel in zoobenthos and fish was correlated its accumulation in sediments.

Chemical composition of lake sediments along a pollution gradient in a Subarctic watercourse

Sediment cores were collected from seven lakes in the Subarctic Pasvik watercourse, polluted by sewage waters and air emissions from the Pechenganickel Metallurgical Company, in order to study chemical composition and estimate the intensity of pollution by taking into account background concentration of elements and the vertical and spatial distribution of their contents in cores and surficial layers of sediments. Sediment samples were analysed by atomic-absorption spectrophotometry for 18 elements (Ni, Cu, Co, Zn, Cd, Pb, Hg, As, Cr, Sr, Mn, Fe, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Al, P). Maximum concentrations of all investigated heavy metals (Ni, Cu, Co, Zn, Cd, Pb, Hg, As) were found in the surficial sediment layers of Lake Kuetsjarvi situated directly below the metallurgic smelters. Decreased contents of heavy metals were observed in surficial sediment layers further downstream in the Pasvik watercourse, although pollution remained rather high. Considerable increase in the contents of the heavy metals emitted into the atmosphere in significant amounts by the Pechenganickel Company (Ni, Cu, Co, Zn), was not observed in surficial sediment layers of lakes upstream in the watercourse polluted only by air contamination and household sewage, but substantial increase of the concentrations of chalcophile elements (Pb, Cd, Hg, As) was revealed. The increase in P contents towards the sediment surface in some lakes may suggest a development of eutrophication processes. Our studies reveal that the metallurgic processing of the Pechenganickel Company has resulted in comprehensive heavy metal pollution and contaminations of lakes sediments in the Inari-Pasvik watercourse. The pollution impact on the sediments is most severe in Lake Kuetsjarvi in the vicinity of the smelters, intermediate in lake localities in the main watercourse downstream the metallurgic enterprises and least in lake localities in the upstream part of the watercourse.

Specific features of accumulation of Cu, Ni, Zn, Cd, and Hg in two whitefish Coregonus lavaretus (L.) morphs inhabiting the Inari-Pasvik lacustrine-riverine system

The spatial regularities of the accumulation of heavy metals in two ecological morphs of whitefish of the Pasvik River (northern Fennoscandia) under long-term pollution have been investigated. It was revealed that the accumulation of priority pollutants (Ni and Cu) in fish declines the further you go from the source of pollution. The concentration of Hg in the tissues of fish from the Pasvik River was determined for the first time. It was found that metal accumulation depends on the ecological morphs of the fish, the natural conditions of the waterbodies, and the intensity of pollution. The specific features of heavy-metal distribution in the “bottom sediment-fish organism” system were determined. These may indicate the heterogeneity of the pollution processes of the Pasvik system of waterbodies.

Selected aspects of the current state of freshwater resources in the Murmansk region, Russia

ABSTRACT Aspects of reducing the resource potential of surface waters of the Murmansk region in the global climate change and the environment and their irrational use have been considered. Increase of aquatic environment toxicity, drastic restructuring of the structural and functional characteristics of aquatic communities, changes in trophic status of lakes, reducing the stability of freshwater ecosystems, increasing the risk of catastrophic degradation have been shown. Taking into account the regional peculiarities, some indicators of surface water quality in the Murmansk region have been proposed.

Chemical Composition of Bottom Sedimentary Deposits in Lakes in the Zone Impacted by Atmospheric Emissions from the Severonickel Plant

Water bodies are collectors of all types of contami� nation. Bottom deposits (BD) in water bodies provide a record of fluxes of chemical elements in the bio� sphere during the historic period [1, 2] and are a source of important information on past climatic, geochemical, and ecological conditions that existed in the drainage area of a given water body and in this water body itself. This information makes it possible to estimate the current ecological conditions of the atmosphere and hydrosphere. Chemical composition of BD in lakes occurring in the zone impacted by air pollution by the Severonickel plant (SNP) of the Kola Mining and Metallurgical Company were carried out at the Monchegorsk refer� ence area (Fig. 1 in [3]. The chemical composition of atmospheric fallouts and surface waters in the area are described in [3, 4]. Our studies were focused on the evaluation of pol� lution in lakes situated in the influence zone of intense atmospheric pollution by SNP and were based on the results obtained on BD. In order to evaluate the pollution of water bodies in the Monchegorsk area and the effect of atmospheric emissions from SNP, we sampled BD in Moncheoz� ero, Malevoe, and Pagel’ lakes, with the sampling sites occurring at distances of 7.5, 9, and 12 km, respec� tively, from SNP. The methods of sampling and the analytical techniques were described in much detail in [5–7]. Samples of BD were analyzed by atomic absorption for Ni, Cu, Co, Zn, Pb, Cd, Hg, and As, which are the major contaminants of atmospheric emissions from SNP. We also determined the concen� trations of Fe and Mn, which play an important role in the adsorption of heavy metals in BD. The contamina�

Assessment of the Ecological State of the Arctic Freshwater System Based on Concentrations of Heavy Metals in the Bottom Sediments

The ecological state of the Inari Lake–Pasvik River system, the largest in northern Fennoscandia (in the near-border territories of Russia, Norway, and Finland) was assessed based on studying concentrations of heavy metals (HM) in the bottom sediments (BS). The water body (Kuetsjarvi Lake) contaminated with liquid wastes from the Pechenganickel smelter contains the highest HM (Ni, Cu, Co, Zn, Pb, Cd, Hg, and As) concentrations in the uppermost BS layers. In water bodies down and up the Pasvik River of the discharge site of waste waters from the smelter, the uppermost BS layers do not contain elevated concentrations of contaminating HM typical of the area (Ni, Cu, Co, Zn) but do contain higher concentrations of chalcophile elements (Pb, Cd, Hg, and As), which come mostly from trans-border sources. In the lakes receiving domestic wastes, phosphorus concentrations increase up the vertical section of the BS, which may suggest the development of eutrophication processes. They result in reducing conditions in the bottom waters and uppermost BS layers and, consequently, the transfer of ionic species of elements susceptible to variations in the redox potential from BS to waters. This process leads to depletion of the uppermost BS layers, first of all, in Fe and Mn and also in HM adsorbed on the surface of Fe and Mn oxides and hydroxides. In the water bodies that have preserved their oligotrophic nature, the uppermost BS layers were determined to accumulate Fe and Mn, whose concentrations are up to 50 times higher than the Earth’s crust average and the background values. Quantitative parameters of the factors and degrees of contamination are determined, as also are the ecological risk indexes for the contamination of the water bodies with HM, using the L. Håkanson method adapted to the regional conditions. The nonessential metals Hg and Cd, which are the most toxic and dangerous for hydrobionts, are determined to be the most ecologically hazardous in all of the water bodies. Nickel is a highly ecologically hazardous element in a single water body: Kuetsjarvi Lake. In all other water bodies of the Inari Lake–Pasvik River system, elements emitted and discharged by the smelter (Ni, Cu, Co, Pb, and As) are moderately and low ecologically hazardous for the aquatic systems.

Coregonus lavaretus lavaretus (L.) (Coregonidae) in Babinskaya Imandra (Imandra Lake)

This study investigated changes in the structure of catches and growth rate of whitefish in the background regions of Lake Imandra (Babinskaya Imandra) in different periods of the lake’s transformation (1996–1997 and 2011). A reduction in the number of age groups with a reliable increase in the observed size-weight characteristics and back-calculation of fish lengths (TL) has been found. The increase of growth rate, in turn, has led to the naturally earlier achievement of optimal linear dimensions of the first spawning fish and to an earlier age of entry of males and females in the spawning population. No effect of whitefish puberty on the growth rate has been shown.