Public health and ambient air pollution in Arctic and Subarctic cities of Russia

In arctic and subarctic regions of Russia, there are 34 industrial cities where the largest metallurgic, paper, and pulp production in the world takes place. This article reviews investigations in environmental epidemiology, which are just beginning. The investigations are hindered by the absence of computer databases and by the migration of the population into other regions. Marked changes in the status of public health can be seen in Norilsk and Montchegorsk, the centers of metallurgy, as well as in cities near paper and pulp production. Improvement of epidemiologic investigations will require better analytical methods and the consideration of information from international sources, for example, the foundation of a cancer register and a register for congenital abnormalities in newborns.