S I T E   D O S S I E R    

Rudnaya Pristan & Dalnegorsk, Russia

 Site Description
 Human Exposure & Health Impact
 Site Progress


Site Description

Location & Size of Site:
Dalnegorsk is a small industrial town near a lead mine, in the south of Russia's Far East— in the Dalnegorskyi District. It is connected by railway to the village of Rudnaya Pristan, which is a port on the coast on the Sea of Japan. The closest major city is Vladivostok, 450km away.

The Rudnaya Pristan lead smelter is at the mouth of the Rudnaya river, about 1.5 km from the bay into the Sea of Japan. It is located next to a residential area and half a kilometer away from a public school.

Contaminant Type, Source & Quantity
Lead from mining, transport, and smelting is the major contaminant, though other heavy metals are also found.

Lead is mined underground in Dalnegorsk and processed into raw concentrate, then shipped in open containers to Rudnaya Pristan (30km away), where it is smelted. Used batteries are also smelted in Rudnaya Pristan. There are no effective pollution controls at the smelting plant.

The smelter, which covers about 6 acres (2.5 hectares), opened in the 1930’s and technology has barely been updated since then. Local contacts say the plant produces approximately 25,000 tonnes per year of antimonial lead (Antimonial lead is used in grid metal for lead acid storage batteries). However, conversations with plant officials lead us to believe production is winding down due to lack of profitability. This is the only smelter currently processing raw concentrates in Russia.

Other contaminants include:
• Cadmium
• Mercury
• Sulphur Dioxide from stack emissions.
• Arsenic
• Carbon monoxide
• Particulates

Detailed soil sampling work has been done and is on file. All areas poor, those by smelter very bad.

Transmission Pathways
Air, soil and water.

AIR: Heavy metals, arsenic, sulphur dioxide & particulates are discharged from the smelter’s smoke stacks.

SOIL: Railroad through town transports lead concentrate in open cars, spilling out along the way. Dust by the tracks measures up to 200,000 ppm (parts per millions), versus the EPA’s recommended standard for acceptable lead levels in soil of an average of 1,200 ppm. Crops are grown in soil that contains up to 10,000 ppm of lead.

WATER: Wastewater from the smelter contains lead, zinc, copper and arsenic.

Contamination is further spread by the practice of burning old railroad ties as firewood, and collecting rain water in discarded submarine battery casings. A sample of rusty dust from one such casing yielded 293,000 ppm of lead, the highest concentration found in the area.

Notes
The smelter was founded in the 1930's by the family of the late actor Yul Brynner. One in three of Russian bullets used in WWII were manufactured there. The plant was nationalized by the Soviets in 1932, and, according to the Far Eastern Health Fund (FEHF), a local NGO, few technological improvements have since been made. One of the few updates was the installation of a mechanized forklift in 1970, to replace hand labor to stir the ore.

There is some local knowledge of lead dangers, but clearly insufficient. No local education program.

A report by the FEHF states that the plant appears to be in abject disrepair, with few health or safety precautions. Interior ventilation fans are frequently turned off to conserve electricity, making working conditions particularly intolerable.

Human Exposure & Health Impact

Number of Potentially Affected People
90,000 in Dalnegorsk & Rudnaya Pristan, including many children.

Health Impact of Pollutant
Rudnaya Pristan ranks first in the region in rate of respiratory diseases & cancer of stomach, lung and blood forming tissues.

Limited and unavailable blood work done. Sampling of pre-school children’s hair in 1986 showed lead concentrations of 9.6 microgram/gram compared to 0.44 microgram/gram.

According to reports, the average morbidity level in Dalnegorsk during 1987 to 1989 was 1.2 times higher than average levels in the Primorye region.

Diseases seen included:
• Respiratory disease;
• Endocrine disease & cancer (highest rates in Primorye region);
• Malignant neoplasms (Rudnaya Pristan had twice background rates);
• Tumors of lungs and stomach (4.9 times background);
• Tumors of lymphatic and blood-forming tissues (33 times).

Lead affects the central nervous system, particularly in children, and can lead to lower cognitive abilities. At high levels, lead may decrease reaction time, cause weakness in fingers, wrists, or ankles, and possibly affect the memory. Lead may cause anemia, a disorder of the blood, and can also damage the male reproductive system.

Site Progress

February 2004: Site nominated by Far Eastern Health Fund.

September 23 & 24, 2004: Site visited by Polluted Places staff.

Met with representatives of local government, industry and Far Eastern Health Fund. All parties eager for progress on the site. It was agreed that a blood testing program, along with education on the dangers of lead poisoning, was needed. Further remediation will be designed for when the smelter closes.