Safety of military men nutrition with food resources of the Arctic zone (Russian Federation)

The goal of the paper is to assess the risk of eating subarctic plants and animals in their natural habitats. Materials and Methods. The content of heavy metals (HMs) in the raw biomass of plants and mollusks was considered to be the risk marker. The analysis was performed using the atomic absorption spectrometer MGA-915M (Russia). The authors examined 8 species of higher plants, 5 species of algae, 4 species of fungi, 3 species of lichen and 1species of mussel.Results. The authors did not discover high concentrations of HMs in the food items of the examined area. A small excess of the maximum permissible limit of cadmium was noted in some fungi samples and one sample of cloudberries. The correlation between HMs in the fruits of higher plants and lichens was nearly the same. Absolute values of HM concentrations vary significantly in different habitats and among different species.Conclusion. To reduce the risk of HM intake in case of autonomous existence in the metallogenic areas it is recommended to eat various food items when possible and to avoid monophagy.