Anthropogenic pollution of the southern part of the Khibiny mountain massif and foothills

Abstract

The article deals with the problems associated with the anthropogenic impact of the mining and consentrating of apatite-nepheline ores on the environment in the Khibiny mountain massif, located in the central part of the Murmansk region. Mining company is one of the largest enterprises of the region and the largest European producer of phosphate raw materials for production of mineral fertilizers, but it is necessary to remember the fact that the activity of this enterprise causes significant damage to the environment, and the impact is complex. This impact is compounded by the low resilience of local ecosystems to human impacts. Mining leads to mechanical disturbance of soils, pollution of groundwater and surface water, atmosphere, soil and vegetation, and affectes negatively on the health of the local population. Negative features of production are low level of integrated use and consentrating of extracted ores, the presence of large amounts of unused waste of mining and consentrating industries. Priority pollutants are dust particles, strontium, lead, zinc, phosphorus, iron, etc. In this paper special attention is paid to bioindication research methods using Baltic sphagnum (Sphagnum balticum) and brown sphagnum (Sphagnum fuscum), due to their ability to accumulate aerotechnogenic pollutants.