2.13. Pilot Project: Developing Healthcare Improvement Recommendations for Indigenous People Exposed to Intensive Adverse Impacts from Contaminated Environment in the Russian Arctic

 

The Project Goal was to (i) assess changes in the intensity adverse effects of POPs on people living in the Chukotka AO, and (ii) develop implementation recommendations on methods - adapted to the conditions of polluted arctic communities - of assessing and planning corrective and rehabilitation measures.


Figure 41. Medical Screening Indigenous People from Communities of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug

The project was implemented by FGU Northwest Public Health Research Center of the Federal Service for Supervision in the Area of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare.

The Project Duration                        25 May – 30 November 2010

The Project Activities

To meet the Project goal, the Project:

  • Conducted another health survey of a cohort of indigenous people including 30 women and 30 men living in indigenous communities of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (CHAO), participants of the 2001 survey;
  • Described and carried out a comparative analysis of the temporal trends in the formation of human exposure to lead, mercury, cadmium compounds and other pollutants:
    • In the settlements of CHAO, where land remediation activities were carried out in accordance with the internationally approved recommendations of the 2001 GEF/AMAP Project (the villages of Kanchalan, and Lorino);
    • In the control villages of CHAO that did not participate in the implementation of the 2001 GEF/AMAP Project recommendations (the villages of Tavaivaam, and Ualen);
  • Developed implementation recommendations for the improved methods of (i) assessing the socio-economic efficiency, and (ii) planning measures aimed at protecting the population the Russian Arctic from the adverse effects of pollutants.

The Project Outcomes

The pilot project generated new research data allowing for (i) the evaluation of changes that occurred since 2001 in the intensity of the adverse effects of persistent pollutants on people living in CHAO, and (ii) development  of a set of additional recommendations on the application of corrective and rehabilitation measures adapted to the conditions of polluted Arctic communities.


Figure 42. Changes in the Content of Main POPs in the Blood of Mails, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Between 2001 and 2010

1. The health and ecological survey of 30 men and 30 women, which was carried out in accordance with the protocol similar to that applied in the survey of these persons in 2001, showed that in the subject cohort of the indigenous people of CHAO, the body levels of the vast majority of persistent toxic substances entering the Arctic through global transport of pollutants displayed a statistically significant downward trend.

2. However, over this period the blood levels of pollutants entering the environment from mostly local sources - primarily, PCBs and lead - showed a substantial increase among males, despite the implementation of recommendations on reducing the risk of adverse effects from persistent toxic substances (POP), as developed by an international panel of experts of AMAP.

3. The 2003-2006 special training workshops for indigenous people of CHAO failed to significantly raise their awareness with respect to the risks of adverse effects of POPs and measures for their prevention.

4. In CHAO, there was a substantial increase – especially over the last three years – in total mortality and, in particular, in the cumulative trend of frequency of diseases associated with adverse human impacts of PCBs. At the same time, there was little change with regard to the trends in the frequency of diseases that did not appear to be associated with adverse effects of the above group of POPs.

5. There appeared to be a weak positive correlation between the average performance of students in primary schools and PCB cord blood levels of at birth. This correlation was higher in the cohort of children living in those communities, which did not participate in the recommended program for the reduction of adverse effects of POP.


Figure 43.Diseases Potentially Linked to Persistent Toxic Substances

6. The pilot project was not tasked to determine the causes of observed changes in the intensity of the adverse effects of POP on the indigenous population. However, we can assume that the poor performance of the interventions for the remediation of POP- contaminated communities was caused by accelerated "opening up" of hazardous waste dumps due to the ever growing thawing of permafrost soils and increased ingress of such waste into the environment in connection with the observed climate changes. An indirect evidence of this might be the observed traces of the growing share of PCBs on the inner surface of housing constructions in indigenous communities.

7. The pilot project also identified the priority environmental risk of loss of health among the population of the Russian Arctic, assessed the contribution of specific diseases to poor demographic patterns and quality of life, discussed some questions related to possible causes of the poor performance recommendations on reducing the risk of adverse effects from persistent toxic substances (POP), as developed by an international panel of experts of AMAP and implemented in 2003 - 2009.


Figure 44. Discussing Indigenous People Screening Results with Local Healthcare Workers

8. The information on the poor performance of the programs served as a basis to develop additional recommendations on (i) the application of improved methods of assessing the socio-economic efficiency and planning measures aimed at protecting the population in the Russian Arctic from the adverse effects of pollutants; (ii) provision of the sanitary-epidemiological safety of population, including the improvement of measures to prevent health disorders associated with an exposure to POPs.

9. The fact that the community based training was given a poor rating indicates the need to radically change the training methods, which should be systematic (ongoing) and also cover children of school age (kindergartens, schools).

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