The Use of Snow, Soil and Lichens as Biomonitors of Contaminants in Airborne Particulate Matter in North-Eastern European Russia

Trace metal composition of snow-melt filter residues, top-soils and lichens were determined along transects through industrial towns in the Pechora Basin: Vorkuta, Inta and Usinsk. Elevated concentrations of deposition elements associated with alkaline coal fly-ash in snow-melt filter residues and soils and to a lesser extent lichens were found within 20–30 km of Vorkuta and Inta. Atmospheric deposition in the vicinity of Vorkuta and Inta, added significantly to the soil contaminant loading as a result of fly-ash fallout. Elemental concentrations in soils within 20–30 km of Vorkuta do not reflect current deposition rates, but instead, reflect an historical pollution legacy, when coal mining activity peaked in the 1960s. Evidence of zinc deposition around Vorkuta was detected in lichens and was largely attributed to local deposition of alkaline fly-ash from coal combustion. The results using the lichen Cladonia arbuscula as a bioindicator of airborne contamination around Vorkuta are consistent with previous studies suggesting that they are useful bioindicators for airborne trace metals. There was little evidence of anthropogenic metal deposition in snow, soils and lichens around the gas and oil production town of Usinsk that had no coal fired power generating plant.