Monitoring soil pollution in the town of Monchegorsk: Causes and consequences

Soil pollution in residential areas is a key point of the analysis of ecological situation in Subarctic Russia. The problem is particularly acute in monotowns of the North. In this connection, the soil pollution monitoring was carried out in the town of Monchegorsk. The adverse impact of Kola Mining and Metallurgy Company performance shows up in the physicochemical properties of test soil, including the acidity level, as well as the contents of heavy metals and organic substances. The revealed concentrations of copper and nickel greatly exceed the allowable maximum, which is reflective of a cumulative damage caused to the environment in the test area. As a result of monitoring, the soil pollution maps are created. A decreasing trend is observed in the soil pollution after closure of metallurgical works and earlier phytoremediation. The study results allow recommending phytoremediation as the most ecologically and economically promising method of polluted soil restoration.

Danilov A. S., Kremcheev E. A., Lozovaya A. S., Gaydak V. O. Monitoring soil pollution in the town of Monchegorsk: Causes and consequences. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2025;(9):53-66. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2025_9_0_53.

The study was carried out under state contract with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, contract no. FSRW-2024-0005.

A.S. Danilov¹, Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Senior Researcher, e-mail: Danilov_AS@pers.spmi.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2108-2781,
E.A. Kremcheev, Dr. Sci. (Eng.), Professor, HSE University, 198088, Saint-Petersburg, Russia, e-mail: kremcheev@mail.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-3195-6641,
A.S. Lozovaya¹, Intern Researcher, e-mail: allex13lllozovaya@mail.ru,
V.O. Gaydak¹, Engineer, e-mail: gaidakver@gmail.com,
¹ Empress Catherine II Saint-Petersburg Mining University, 199106, Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

A.S. Danilov, e-mail: Danilov_AS@pers.spmi.ru.

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