Geoecological state of water reservoirs situated near the Pechenganikel plant

Dust emissions of heavy metals and wastewater from melting furnaces, slime pits, tailing dumps, and mines of the Pechenganikel Plant are main sources of increased concentrations of Ni, Cu, Co and Zn in the water column and the top layers of sediments of lakes close to the sources. The sediments in lakes located 40 km farther south of the Pechenganikel Plant are contaminated by these heavy metals only slightly. Increased concentrations of high-toxic chalcophile elements (Cd, Hg, Pb and As) have been recorded in the upper layers of the sediments in almost all investigated lakes.