Assessment of heavy metal emissions from the copper-nickel industry on the Kola Peninsula and in other parts of Russia

Abstract

Published estimates for heavy metal emissions from the copper-nickel industry on the Kola Peninsula in Northwest Russia are re-examinated in the light of: a) Official Russia emission figures for 1993 and 1994, b) Modelled emissions based on calculated dry and wet deposition estimates based on data from snow and rain sampling carried out in 1994, c) Chemical data on the composition of the ores being processed by the industry. The modelled emissions, official emission figures and chemical data are compatible, one with the other for nickel, copper and cobalt and indicate that previous estimates underestimated the emissions of the major elements, nickel and copper (though within the same order og magnitude). Consideration of the published estimates in relation to the modelled emissions and to chemical data for trace elements in the ores indicate that previously published figures overestimated the emission of certain trace metals by up to several orders of magnitude, in some cases exceeding the calculated total input of these metals to the plants. These conclusions have implications for estimates of emissions from the copper-nickel industries in Siberia (the Noril' sk area) and from the metallurgical industry in the Urals; published estimates of these emissions have neglected the implications of information on the nature of the ores being processed (in the case of plants in the Urals) and on the chemistry of the ores (plants in both the Urals and at Noril'sk).