Ithaca College

Susan Allen-Gil presented "Heavy metal contamination in the Taimyr Peninsula, Siberian Arctic." and chaired two sessions: 1) Undergraduate Education in Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, and 2) Migration: The Role of Biota in Contaminant Transport at the Fourth World Congress of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Portland, Oregon. November 2004.

Abstract

The Taimyr Peninsula lies north and east of the world's largest heavy metal smelting complex (Norilsk, Russia). We analyzed heavy metal concentrations in lichen (Cetraria cucullata), moss (Hylocomium splendens), soils, lake sediments, and freshwater fish (Salvelinus alpinus, Lota lota and Coregonus spp.) from 13 sites between 30 and 300 km from Norilsk. Element concentrations are low in both C. cucullata and H. splendens. For example in H. splendens, Pb ranges from only 1.41 to 3.27 mg/kg dw. On the other hand, concentrations of Al, Fe, Cu, Ni, and Pb in both species are significantly (p