URINARY NICKEL EXCRETION IN POPULATIONS LIVING IN THE PROXIMITY OF 2 RUSSIAN NICKEL REFINERIES - A NORWEGIAN-RUSSIAN POPULATION-BASED STUDY

The Russian nickel refineries located in the cities of Nikel and Zapol yarny close to the Norwegian border are responsible for extensive sulf ur dioxide and nickel pollution, as well as severe ecological damage i n both countries. The aim of our study was to investigate human nickel exposure in the populations living on both sides of the Norwegian-Rus sian border. The design was a cross-sectional population-based study o f adults aged 18-69 years residing in Sor-Varanger municipality, Norwa y and Nikel and Zapolyarny, Russia, during 1994 and 1995. Individual e xposure to nickel was assessed by measurements of nickel in urine usin g electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. For controls, urine w as collected from adults in the Russian cities of Apatity and Umba (Ko la Peninsula) and the Norwegian city of Tromso, all of which are locat ions without nearby point sources of nickel. Altogether 2,233 urine sp ecimens were analysed for nickel. People living in Nikel had the highe st concentrations (median 3.4 mu g/l), followed by Umba (median 2.7 mu g/l), Zapolyarny (median 2.0 mu g/l), Apatity (median 1.9 mu g/l), Tr omso (median 1.2 mu g/l), and Sor-Varanger (median 0.6 mu g/l). Regard less of geographical location, the Russian study groups all had a high er urinary-nickel average than those in Norway (p<0.001). With the exc eption of Nikel, neither the Russian nor the Norwegian urinary-nickel levels were associated with residence location near a Russian nickel r efinery. We concluded that industrial nickel pollution alone could not explain the observed discrepancy between Norway and Russia; we also d iscuss other possible nickel exposure sources that may account for the high urinary levels found in Russia.