RUMINANT UPTAKE OF NICKEL AND OTHER ELEMENTS FROM INDUSTRIAL AIR-POLLUTION IN THE NORWEGIAN-RUSSIAN BORDER AREA

Concentrations of the elements aluminium, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium and zinc in liver, and of nickel in kidneys, were studied in reindeer, moose and sheep from South Varanger in eastern Finnmark and comparable districts in western Finnmark, Norway. The study included samples front 31 reindeer, 10 mo ose and 10 sheep from Jarfjord (South Varanger); 31 reindeer, 27 moose and 15 sheep from Pasvik (South Varanger); and 40 reindeer, 16 moose and 15 sheep from western Finnmark. Levels of arsenic, copper, nickel and selenium were much higher in reindeer from one or both areas in So uth Varanger than in reindeer from western Finnmark. Levels of chromiu m, cobalt and zinc were also significantly higher in South Varanger re indeer than in reindeer front the reference area. Within South Varange r the highest levels of these elements were invariably found in the Ja rfjord area. For the other elements studied hepatic levels in South Va ranger were similar to or lower th,zn in western Finnmark. Also in moo se, higher levels of nickel and of selenium (Jarfjord only) were found in the South Varanger samples than in samples from western Finnmark. In sheep, on the other hand, levels in South Varanger samples were sim ilar to levels in western Finnmark for all the elements studied. Compa ring the results with reports on pollution of air and vegetation, ir w as concluded that for all the elements showing higher levels in reinde er and moose from South Varanger compared to the reference areas, the effect most probably was a result of atmospheric transport of industri al pollution from the nearby Russian towns Nikel and Zapoljarnij. The geographical and interspecies differences within the South Varanger sa mples support this conclusion.