Assessment of Mercury Concentrations and Fluxes Deposited from the Atmosphere on the Territory of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area

Snow Contamination by Metals and Metalloids in a Polar Town: A Case Study of Nadym, Russia

Snow composition depends on the long-range transport of pollutants. This article examines aspects of snow composition in the town of Nadym in Western Siberia. During fieldwork conducted in 2021 and 2022, we determined dust load, concentrations and ratio of dissolved and suspended forms of metals and metalloids (MMs). Moreover, we analyzed air mass trajectories using the HYSPLIT model, and the results showed that industrial regions of the southern Urals, southeastern Siberia, and Kazakhstan were the sources of MMs. Content of the insoluble fraction was increased by 23-fold in Nadym. The dust load in Nadym was higher than that in urban communities situated in the temperate zone, even though this town is relatively small in population and has little industrial infrastructure. This significant increase in dust load led to a ten- to 100-fold increase in the content MMs. Local soils (Fe, Al), vehicles (W), building dust (Mg, Ca), and anti-icing agents (Na) were found to be the sources of pollution. We found that the high dust load is caused by meteorological factors, such as temperature inversion and a large number of calm days, which reduce the dispersion of pollution. This case study demonstrates that winter air quality in polar settlements can be worse than that in urban areas in the temperate zone, even with few local sources of pollution. Furthermore, the trend toward an increase in the number of windless days, such as observed in Siberia as a result of global climate change, increases the risk of anthropogenic pollution of the atmosphere of polar cities.

Discharge Patterns of Potentially Harmful Elements (PHEs) from Coking Plants and Its Relationship with Soil PHE Contents in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region, China

The Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region in China is a rapid development area with a dense population and high-pollution, high-energy-consumption industries. Despite the general idea that the coking industry contributes greatly to the total emission of potentially harmful elements (PHEs) in BTH, quantitative analysis on the PHE pollution caused by coking is rare. This study collected the pollutant discharge data of coking enterprises and assessed the risks of coking plants in BTH using the soil accumulation model and ecological risk index. The average contribution rate of coking emissions to the total emissions of PHEs in BTH was ~7.73%. Cross table analysis indicated that there was a close relationship between PHEs discharged by coking plants and PHEs in soil. The accumulation of PHEs in soil and their associated risks were calculated, indicating that nearly 70% of the coking plants posed a significant ecological risk. Mercury, arsenic, and cadmium were the main PHEs leading to ecological risks. Scenario analysis indicated that the percentage of coking plants with high ecological risk might rise from 8.50% to 20.00% as time progresses. Therefore, the control of PHEs discharged from coking plants in BTH should be strengthened. Furthermore, regionalized strategies should be applied to different areas due to the spatial heterogeneity of risk levels.