Sandimirov S. Screening studies of POP levels in fish from selected lakes in the Paz watercourse / In State of the environment in the Norwegian, Finnish and Russian border area. The Finnish Environment. Finland, Jyvaskyla: Kopijyva Oy. 2007, №6.

Screening studies o f POPs in fish from the Paz watercourse 1. Introduction This report presents the results of an assessment of chemical pollutants in fish. The fish were collected throughout the Paz watercourse and at a reference site in Lake Stuorajavri (Alta- Kautokeino watercourse) (Figure 1) in 2004 - 2005. This study one part of the INTERREG project “Development and implementation of an environmental monitoring and assessment system in the joint Finnish, Norwegian and Russian border area” . The project has been divided into the three subject areas: air; terrestrial and water. The studies in the “watergroup” have been conducted in cooperation between the following partners from the three countries: Russia: Murmansk Department for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (HYDROMET); Institute of North Industrial Ecology Problems, Kola Science Centre, RAS; Institute of Biology, Karelian Research Centre, RAS; SPA “Typhoon”, Obninsk. Finland: Lapland Regional Environment Centre; Finnish Environment Institute, Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute Norway: Norwegian College of Fishery Science (NCFS), University of Troms 0 ; Akvaplan- niva, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA); Geological Survey of Norway (NGU). Smelting of copper-nickel ore at the Kola Peninsula has significant pollution effects on the environment in the border areas. The main contaminant source to aquatic and terrestrial environments is the Kola Mining Company (former Pechenganikel). Investigations carried out in the early 1990s revealed numerous acidified and heavy metal polluted lakes in the border areas (Traaen et al., 1991; 1992; Moiseenko, 1994; Dauvalter and Rognerud, 2001). Water quality monitoring in eastern Finnmark (Norway) has shown that the heavy metal concentrations in the lakes in this area has remained high during the 1990s (SFT, 2001; 2002). Heavy metal levels in fish are well studied by Russian and Norwegian scientists (Amundsen et al., 1993; 1997; Arnesen et a l, 1996; Kashulina & Kashulin, 1997; Moiseenko et al., 1995; Lukin et a l, 2003). However, smelting process is the potential source of many other different contaminants, including persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Elevated PAH levels have been detected in soil in the area around smelters (Reimann et a l, 1998), but only limited information exists on POP levels in fish from the border area. Fish from the Paz watercourse is an important food source for the people in the area. There are more than 15 species of freshwater fishes in the Lake Inari - Paz watercourse. The fish community is a mixture of eastern, western and man introduced species. The most important fish species for food consumption are whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus), trout (Salmo trutta), perch (Perca fluviatilis) and pike (Esox lucius). The fish resources are utilised commercially, in household and for recreational purposes, but the utilisation varies between the three countries (Aspholm, 2004). The Nordic Investment Bank and the Norwegian Government are now supporting the modernisation of the Pechenganikel smelter; and the goal is to reduce the emissions by 90%. In order to be able to document and evaluate the effects of possible reductions in emission levels there is a need for establishing new reference values of the environmental status prior to modernisation of the smelters. The area has been identified by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) as a “Key monitoring area,” in which pollution emissions and their effects are to be monitored. The aims of this study were to document levels of a wide range of environmental contaminants in fish and to assess their effects on fish through analyses of biochemical biomarkers. Many hydrophobic organic compounds are potential treats to organisms due to their high affinity to lipids in combination with their persistent nature. In addition, the data gathered through the Akvaplan-niva report APN 514-3365.02 4