In the Kola Subarctic, a mining industry has developed, which is a source of environmental pollution with heavy metals. The objects of study were the tailings of three large mining enterprises in the region: apatite-nepheline, complex and loparite ores. The geotechnical characteristics were studied, and the granulometric composition of the samples was established. The main minerals that make up the material of ore dressing tailings have been determined. Using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, the content of trace elements, in particular heavy metals and rare earth elements, has been established. The enrichment factor, the geoaccumulation indexes, the potential ecological risk index factor and the potential environmental hazard index have been calculated. Priority pollutants characteristics for specific objects have been identified. It is noted that the finely dispersed material of the tailings of loparite and complex ores is 1.5–3 times enriched in heavy and rare earth metals in comparison with the total material of the tailings. In laboratory conditions, experiments were carried out to simulate the process of interaction of dust particles with soil solutions containing different amounts of dissolved organic matter and at average seasonal temperatures. It was found that a decrease in the pH of the solution and an increase in the amount of organic carbon and temperature lead to the mobilization of heavy and rare earth metals from the tailings.

The increase in demand for rare earth metals and the depletion of natural resources inevitably causes the need to search for alternative unconventional sources of rare metal raw materials. The article presents the results of a study of the composition and properties of the beneficiation tailings of currently produced loparite ores. Sieve, mineralogical, chemical, and radionuclide analyses were carried out. The average content of loparite in tailings was determined. Using scanning electron microscopy, minerals-concentrators of rare earth elements in the loparite ore beneficiation tailings were diagnosed. The distribution of valuable components and thorium in the tailings was determined depending on the particle size class. The radium-thorium nature of radioactivity was established, the values of the effective specific activity of the samples were calculated. We concluded that it is necessary to develop an integrated technology for processing the beneficiation tailings of loparite ore, due to the complex and heterogeneous mineral and chemical composition of the tailings material.

The article presents a study of the environmental impact of dusting tailing dumps of rare-metal ore dressing in the Murmansk region of Russia. The purpose of the study was to establish patterns in the atmochemical halo migration of the dust pollution of loparite ore dressing tailings. The geotechnical characteristics and material composition of the tailings material have been investigated. Potentially dusty areas identified. Models of dispersion of inorganic dust under different meteorological scenarios are constructed: at low wind load, normal and unfavorable meteorological conditions. The modeling of the spread of pollutants in the area exposed to dust at the storage site was carried out in the program for modeling atmospheric pollution Ecolog-4.60. Calculation of the dispersion of inorganic dust containing 20–70% SiO₂ showed that the atmochemical halo of tailings dust pollution spreads over tens of kilometers, and already at a wind speed of about 8 m/s, the concentration of suspended solids at the border of the enterprise sanitary protection zone exceeds the maximum one-time maximum permissible concentration is 3–3.3 times, and under unfavorable meteorological conditions—Dusting reaches the boundaries of the residential area (inhabited locality Revda), located in the north-west of the enterprise, and exceeds the MPCm.o. 1.5 times.

Mining activities create disturbed and polluted areas in which revegetation is complicated, especially in northern areas. For the first time, the state of the ecosystems in the impact zone of tailings formed during the processing of rare earth element deposits in the Subarctic have been studied. This work aimed to reveal aspects of accumulation and translocation of trace and biogenic elements in plants (Avenella flexuosa (L.) Drejer, Salix sp., and Betula pubescens Ehrh.) that are predominantly found in primary ecosystems on the tailings of loparite ores processing. The chemical composition of soil, initial and washed plant samples was analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Factor analysis revealed that anthropogenic and biogenic factors affected the plants’ chemical composition. A deficiency of nutrients (Ca, Mg, Mn) in plants growing on tailings was found. The absorption of REE (Ce, La, Sm, Nd) by A. flexuosa roots correlated with the soil content of these elements and was maximal in the hydromorphic, which had a high content of organic matter. The content of these elements in leaves in the same site was minimal; the coefficient of REE bioaccumulation was two orders of magnitude less than in the other two sites. The high efficiency of dust capturing and the low translocation coefficient of trace elements allow us to advise A. flexuosa for remediation of REE-contained tailings and soils.

В книге рассмотрены экологические проблемы Кольского полуострова, касающиеся процессов формирования поверхностных и подземных вод Балтийского щита и влияния антропогенной нагрузки на морские воды окраинных морей российского Севера. В работе представлены оригинальные данные химического состава вод Кольского и Кандалакшского заливов. Рассмотрены особенности взаимодействия нефти с морскими и пресными водами. Основныезадачипроведенного исследования —разработка новых подходов, направленных на исследование форм миграции металлов в природных водах и формирования новообразованных фаз, прогнозтрансформации форм металлов, поступающих в организм человека, как прекурсоров возможных заболеваний, что позволит разработать научные основы корректировки нормативов качества вод и методов водоподготовки. Методологической основой работы является междисциплинарный подход, сочетающий современные гидрохимические и геоэкологические методы, дополняемые термодинамическими расчетами и применением аппарата физико-химического анализа к медико-экологическим исследованиям. Такой комплексный подход представляет мощный инструмент в решении нового класса задач по оценке безопасности здоровья населения Арктической зоны РФ.Для специалистов в различных областях применения компьютерных методов для решения задач химической термодинамики: геохимии, экологии, химической технологии, медицины, а также аспирантов указанных специальностей.

This paper presents an assessment of the effect of various reagents on the qualitative indicators of anti-deflationary single-species sowing phytocenosis on enrichment waste from rare earth ores. It has been established that tailings of loparite ores are not suitable for biological reclamation due to low values of hygroscopic moisture (0.54–2.85%) and clay particles (17.6 ± 0.6%) and high content of bioavailable forms of aluminum (504 ± 14 mg/kg). Seeds of red fescue (Festuca rubra L.) were grown on the tailings of loparite ore enrichment with the addition of opoka (O), brucite (B), and vermiculite (V). The quality of the seed cenosis was assessed by the dry biomass of the above-ground parts of the plants and the plant height. A positive effect (one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s HSD test (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01)) of the considered combinations of reagents on the growth of above-ground biomass from 31.5% (V) to 70.3 (V + O), 82.4% (V + B), and 81.8% (V + O+B) and on plant height from 53.8% (V) up to 78.6 (V + O), 83.8% (V + B), and 75.4% (V + O+B) was revealed. The use of a combination of V + O and V + B reagents made it possible to significantly reduce the content of Al (by 19.0% and 52.8%), Sr (by 16.5% and 12.9%), La (by 65.2% and 40.6%), and Ce (by 66.8% and 41.9%) in the aerial part of the sowing phytocenosis compared to control. The results obtained here can become the basis for development of a combined sorption technology for the reclamation of technogenically disturbed lands.