I N I T I A L    R E P O R T
(Published January 2005)


Volkhov, Karelia, Russia

 Site Description
 Human Exposure & Health Impact
 Site Progress


Site Description 

Location & Size of Site
Volkhov is a small town on Lake Lagoda, in Karelia Province. Russia's first aluminum processing facility is located here. The plants were built in 1931 to take advantage of local bauxite from the Tikhvin deposit and to utilise the capacity of the first hydroelectric power station in the USSR, built at the same time.

Contaminant Type, Source & Quantity

No available studies. However, these the typical waste products of an aluminum plant:

Air Emissions:
•  alumina dust
•  coke dust
•  fluorides
•  sulphur & carbon dioxides
•  tar
•  carbon tetrafluoride (a greenhouse gas)
•  hydrogen chloride
•  polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
•  carbon monoxide

Water Emissions:
•  Heavy metals like manganese
•  Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
•  Ph imbalance
•  Thermal energy in lake
•  Chemical oxygen demand (COD), including dioxins, furans, & other adsorbable organic halides

Solid Wastes:
•  aluminum & silicon oxides
•  fluorides
•  cyanide compounds
•  salt slag

Transmission Pathways
Water: via emissions into Lake Lagoda
Air : via air emissions
Soil: from solid waste

Human Exposure & Health Impact 

Number of Potentially Affected People
est. 51,000

Health Impact of Pollutant
No health assessments available.

Expected impacts. based on the types of pollutants, include:

•  teeth and bone disorders, due to fluoride pollution.
•  certain types of cancer, such as bladder cancer associated with PAHs
•  respiratory illness

Site Progress 
January 2005: This site was visited by Blacksmith Institute in January of 2005. It was determined that the main problem faced by Volkhov residents was that of polluted drinking water although there is no evidence that links it directly to the Volkhov Aluminium Plant.