Environmental contamination in the central part of the Kola Peninsula: History, documentation, and perception

The central part of the Kola Peninsula, severely affected by emissions from a nickel-copper smelter at Monchegorsk, represents a perfect object for en vironmental studies. We survey the information collected in this region, wi th special attention paid to earlier works by Russian researchers. Although some sources are difficult to access, and some of the data should be used with caution, the benefits to be derived from the inclusion of the already collected information in forthcoming environmental projects are obvious; it provides a historical (dynamic) view of landscape deterioration and elimin ates redundant work. The perception of environmental contamination by local communities changed from acceptance in the 1950s to ignorance in the 1970s and 1980s; the active protests of the early 1990s have been terminated by economic factors, which have drawn public attention away from problems of t he environment and of public health.