Trace Metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Snow Cover of the City of Nizhnevartovsk (Western Siberia, Russia)

Abstract

The city of Nizhnevartovsk is one of the centers of oil production in Western Siberia (Russia). A survey of the contents of trace metals and metalloids (TMMs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the snow cover was conducted there. It was aimed to study insoluble particles in the snow where the predominant share of pollutants in urban areas is concentrated. In contrast to the background areas, the deposition of TMMs in Nizhnevartovsk increases by 1-2 orders of magnitude. The deposition of Co, V, Mn, and As increases by 50-93 times, and the deposition of W increases at most (by 184 times on average). Abrasion of spikes of winter tires, abrasion of metal parts of vehicles, and combustion of motor fuels cause the pollution with W, Co, and V respectively. The total content of 12 EPA PAHs in the particulate fraction of snow in the urban area averaged 148.2 ng l -1 , and the deposition rate was 17.0 µg/m 2 . In contrast to the background areas, the share of high molecular weight 5-6-ring PAHs signi cantly increases in the city, especially dibenzo(a,h)anthracene (DahA).The indicative ratios of PAHs showed that the snowpack composition was in uenced by both petrogenic and pyrogenic sources. The proportion of pyrogenic sources is the highest in the low-rise residential area due to fuel combustion to produce heat and burning of household waste. The impact of motor transport is also major and is manifested in the maximum pollution in areas of heavy tra c. No emissions of PAHs from oil spills from the nearby Samotlor oil eld have been identi ed. It is concluded that the hydrocarbon pollution of the atmosphere from the eld weakens during the winter period compared to the warm season. Application of the I geo index characterizes the majority of the studied samples as unpolluted, 24% of the observation sites are classi ed as moderately polluted, and one (4%), as highly polluted.

Persistent Organic Pollutants and Suspended Particulate Matter in Snow of Eastern Siberia in 2009–2023: Temporal Trends and Effects of Meteorological Factors and Recultivation Activities at Former Industrial Area

“…The mean level of SPM in snow at the urban station for the study period amounted to 66 mg/L, which corresponded to the SPM mean for the southern area of the Irkutsk Region that was found in 2021 (61 mg/L [ 38 ]), and it was five times higher than that at the suburban station (12.8 mg/L [ 38 ]). The mean SPM level in snow at the urban station in the town of Irkutsk was lower than that in snow at the city of Khabarovsk (Russian Far East), 122 mg/L [ 66 ], and higher than the levels found in other Russian towns—Barnaul (Altay Krai, Western Siberia), 10.8 mg/L [ 67 ]; Tyumen (Tyumen Region, Western Siberia), 37.1 mg/L [ 64 ]; Izhevsk (the Udmurt Republic, Ural area), 26.4 mg/L [ 68 ]; and Nizhnevartovsk (the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Western Siberia), 17.2 mg/L [ 69 ]—and in natural reserves in the Russian Far East, where the values were 16 and 31 mg/L [ 66 ]. The mean SPM concentrations at both stations investigated were higher than those found in snow from high mountainous areas in Europe (up to 3.5 mg/L [ 70 , 71 ]); remote areas in the Ob River catchment (Western Siberia), where it was 1.47 mg/L [ 67 ]; and rural and background areas in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (8.4 mg/L [ 72 ] and Tyumen Region (7.5 mg/L [ 64 ]).…”

“…The deposition rate (DR) of SPM varied from 115 to 1273 mg/m 2 and from 1176 to 6900 mg/m 2 at the suburban and urban stations, respectively. The mean DR of SPM at the suburban station (653 mg/m 2 ) was higher than the DR of SPM in the background area, and it was lower than that in the urban area in Western Siberia (74 and 1492 mg/m 2 , respectively [ 69 ]). The mean DR of SPM at the urban station (3196 mg/m 2 ) was higher as compared to both these values.…”

“…The SPM load at the suburban station (6.5 (1.26–11.6) mg/m 2 per day) was comparable with that in background and rural areas in the Tyumen Region, where it was 5.5 (2.4–8.3) mg/m 2 per day [ 64 ]; Omsk Region, where it was 3.1 mg/m 2 per day [ 74 ]; and Moscow Region, where it was 8 (7–10) mg/m 2 per day [ 75 ]. The mean SPM load at the urban station (33 (9.1–75.8) mg/m 2 per day) was either slightly higher than that in urban areas in some settlements of Russia (the town of Nizhnevartovsk: 10.4 (1–35) mg/m 2 per day [ 69 ]; the town of Tyumen: 20 (5.4–94.3) mg/m 2 per day [ 64 ]; the city of Moscow: 27 (4–213) mg/m 2 per day [ 75 ]) or several times lower than that in urban and urban–industrial areas (the town of Ulan-Ude (Eastern Siberia): 45–966 mg/m 2 per day [ 76 ]; the town of Tomsk (Western Siberia): 63 (16–303) mg/m 2 per day [ 77 ]; the town of Omsk (Western Siberia): 132 (27.8–1007) mg/m 2 per day [ 74 ]; the town of Usol’e-Sibirskoe (Irkutsk Region): up to 250 mg/m 2 per day in 2021 [ 38 ] and 402 (20.3–3421) mg/m 2 per day in 2008–2019 [ 78 ]).…”

Traffic-Related Metals in Urban Snow Cover: A Review of the Literature Data and the Feasibility of Filling Gaps by Field Data Collection

“…The dissolved W concentration was reported as 0.6 ± 0.02 μg/l (Grinfelde et al, 2021). Finally, in Nizhnevartovsk city, West-Central Russia, the dissolved tungsten concentration was measured as 0.84 ± 0.78 μg/l (Moskovchenko et al, 2022).…”

Urban environment monitoring in industrial city using remote sensing of snow cover

“…Snow cover is a reliable indicator of urban pollution [16][17][18]. To assess snow cover pollution over large areas, a large number of ground-based laboratory measurements are needed.…”