Regional contamination in lakes from the Noril'sk region in Siberia, Russia

Sediment and water chemistry data were collected from ten lakes within a 11 0 km radius of Noril'sk in Siberia, the largest smelting complex in the wor ld. Metals showing the most pronounced increase in enrichment near the smel ters were Cu, Ni, Co, B, and Zn. Cu and Ni appear to be as or more enriched in lake sediments around Noril'sk compared with levels previously reported for other locations. Although SO4 concentrations were highly elevated in t he areas closest to the smelting complex, lake water pH remained elevated d ue to high concentrations of base cations in the waters. Sediment mercury e nrichment was high in sediments near the smelting complex, but not more so than in other parts of the Arctic, suggesting that Hg either is not a major smelting product at Noril'sk, or that Hg is transported greater distances than other metals due to its longer atmospheric residence time.