Ecosystem and human health assessment to define environmental management strategies: the case of long-term human impacts on an Arctic lake / Moiseenko T. I., Gashkina N. A., Voinov A. A. [et al.] // The Science of the Total Environment. - 2006. - Т. 369, № 1-3. - С. 1-20.

14 TI. Moiseenko et al. /Science o f the Total Environment 369 (2006) 1-20 shows that drinking water in Monchegorsk and Apatity is polluted by heavy metal at the highest level. Drinking water after being processed in technological cycles of water treatment is only slightly better in comparison to the water from the lake. This shows that even after water treatment people get elevated concentrations of heavy metal, indicating that water treatment technologies are clearly inadequate. However comparing these heavy metal concentrations with the standards accepted in Russia (Bespamyantnov and Krotov, 1985) we find that none of these standards are in violation. It should be noted that waters contaminated by heavy metals are even more active in soft waters, Lake Imandra, with low content of calcium, and this increases their penetrating ability into the human organism (Forstner and Wittman, 1981a,b) . Metal accumulation and patho-physiology in urban population. To study heavy metal accumulation in tissues of human body we have sampled pathology in anatomical material from people living for no less than 10 years in the settlements of interest, and who have never worked at factories or other places with elevated health risks. For these analyses tissues from liver and kidneys were taken. When evaluating metal bioaccu­ mulation, similar tissues from premature and non-viable fetus were taken as control, reference sample, as a “norm” for the microelement content in organs. It was thought that trans-placenta barrier prevents metal penetration into the organism of growing fetus. Simultaneously pathology-anatomical samples were taken for histological examination and pathology-ana­ tomical postmortem examinations were evaluated to understand the consequences of chronic effects of sub­ toxic doses of metals and their accumulation for human health. Clinical, histological and laboratory data was analyzed for 110 postmortem records. The clinical components included data from health histories, results of clinical examination and pathology-anatomical find­ ings. In case of chronic alcoholism or virus hepatitis the subjects were excluded from analysis. The main objective was to find out the forms of illnesses related to liver and kidney disturbances, i.e. the reasons which were not found out in present medical histories. We hypothesized that for those illnesses etiology and pathogenesis was caused by chronic intoxication of the organism by metals. Metal content in livers and kidneys of the examined patients are presented in Fig. 7 . In comparison with the “norms” the highest metals concentrations are typical for people who died in Monchegorsk. Here, the heavy metals content is 2 to 10 times higher than the “norms”, especially for Ni, Cu, Cr, Cd and Pb. In kidneys Cr and Cd concentrations exceed the “norms” by 10-50 times. In organisms of the people who died in Apatity region, in their livers the highest concentration of Cu, Cr, Cd is observed, in livers of those who died in Olenegorsk region — Cu, Cd and Pb is highly concentrated, in Lovozero region — Cu and Cd, and in Allakurti — Cu and Pb are of highest content. Monchegorsk Olenegorsk Apatity Control group Monchegorsk Olenegorsk Apatity Control group Fig. 7. Metal content in liver and kidneys of the examined patients in cities and settlements located on Lake Imandra shores.