To check the effect of possible deposition of organic contaminants in northern regions of the Earth due to atmospheric transport snow samples were collected in early March in 6 places in Russia and 4 in Finland including arctic territories. GC-MS was used as an analytical tool to identify and quantify individual organic compounds belonging to the various classes. As a result more than 250 compounds were detected. The possible presence of more than 100 other priority pollutants from the US EPA list was also screened.

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To estimate air pollution snow samples were collected in March 2001 at six sites in the vicinity of the Kostomuksha factory in Karelia. Seventy-two chemical elements and more than 200 individual organic compounds were identified by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). It was found that the levels of Li, B, Al, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Hg, Mn, Mo as well as hydrocarbons, phthalates and phenols exceeded the existing maximum allowable concentrations. A list of toxicants emitted with the factory exhausts and a list of priority pollutants for Kostomuksha were compiled. The impact of the exhausts of the Kostomuksha factory on the environment in Finland is relatively small.

Lake Baikal is the deepest and oldest freshwater lake in the world containing about 20% of the world's fresh water. The present state of its contamination with organic pollutants was studied during 1997-1998 by collecting samples of sediments, phytoplankton, Zooplankton, sponges, aquatic plants, algae, muscles of various fish species, eggs of various birds and blubber of seals. Samples were prepared and analysed using GC-MS for semivolatile priority pollutants on the US EPA list, for the presence of organochlorine pesticides and for PCBs. The results showed that there was pronounced bioaccumulation of persistent organochlorine compounds along the trophic chain, leading to substantial residues of organochlorine compounds in seals (e.g. 0.87-25.3 ppm of p,p'-DDT in blubber).

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