Monitoring Industrial Contaminants Release to Russian Arctic Rivers.
Abstract
Reports suggest that over 100 billion metric tons of mixed industrial wastes have been dumped or disposed of in the Northern and Arctic regions of the former Soviet Union in crude landfill facilities or directly into rivers. These materials were dumped in such a manner that they may have been transported to the Arctic ocean basin. Initial contaminant transport estimates from simple Russian physical hydrographic (circulation) models suggest transport across the Russian Arctic Ocean in 3-5 years. GERG has undertaken studies in two of the principal river systems transporting contaminants from large watersheds to the Arctic Ocean and Kara Seas, and has obtained samples of sediment and biota for analysis. In the current phase of the study, 20 surficial sediments down each of the axis of the Ob and Yenisey Rivers into the Kara Sea were analyzed for industrially derived trace organic compounds (hydrocarbons, pesticides, PCBs) and trace metals. Twenty sediments from the two rivers were subjected to high resolution OCIMS analysis for dioxins, furans and coplanar PCBs to determine the concentrations of these industrial pollutants. In addition, similar analyses were conducted on 10 tissue samples (fish and other invertebrate animals) down the axis of each river.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA307151
Entities
Organizations
- Texas A&M University