“Moreover, Stalin had no compunction about arresting scientists and forcing them to work for the state in slave labor camps... and scientists there slaved to extract a good portion of the toxic metals on the periodic table, including arsenic, lead, and cadmium”
Norilsk, Siberia, one of the world’s coldest, darkest, and most polluted cities, 250 miles north from the Arctic circle, is just at the edge of the world. The city was founded under Joseph Stalin, formally as a Gulag slave camp center. Surprisingly, the prisoners also included contemporary captured scientists who were forced to extract heavy metals from the mines. The reason for this is because the city is enriched with huge amount of metals and minerals that need to be worked under extreme low temperatures, usually approximately -80 degrees Fahrenheit. The area has a permanent smell of sulfur because sulfur forms compounds that are normally volatile. Therefore, scientists are exposed to extremely concentrated amount of toxic metals of which include arsenic, lead, and cadmium.
Arsenic's toxic effects largely depends on its chemical and physical properties depending on short or long terms exposure. Throughout history, arsenic has always been considered and used as poison, however, it has the ability to replace elements associated with the essential processes of cells. For example, arsenic is very likely to bond with sulfur. Certain enzymes in human body involved in metabolism use sulfur atoms of a cysteine amino acid to carry out their function. If sulfur is bonded with arsenic, these enzymes will start to behave abnormally and lose their ability to function. Arsenic, in the form of arsenate, can also resemble phosphate, which is used by cells for energy and signaling. By displacing phosphate in enzymes or signaling proteins, arsenic has the ability to block energy production and normal cell signaling. On the other hand, fish and other species actually contain highly methylated form from methylation, a process in which the body denotes the addition of a methyl group on a substrate, or the substitution of an atom (or group) by a methyl group, of arsenic called arsenobetaine or "fish arsenic", which is essentially non-toxic and is readily eliminated by our bodies. Although fish may have high amounts of arsenic in them, it is primarily in a form that is not a health risk to humans.
Soft, malleable, and easy to work with, lead melts with modest heating, resists corrosion, and last for long time. These features have made it ideal for fashioning bullets and guns to pipes and fishing sinkers. Although the U.S. is trying to remove lead products, however lead shots, lead bullets lead fishing sinkers are still in common use. These products have caused widespread lead contamination in lakes, streams, and other bodies of water, and lead is working its way through the food web. In most cases, people are exposed to relatively low levels of lead over long periods of time, so symptoms accumulate slowly, in a manner that makes them hard to connect to the source of the problem. Additionally, effects can differ for each victim, varying by age, gender, and nutritional status. These conditions are most likely present in low-income children, since they are most likely effect as a result of malnutrition. Individuals vary enormously in how their bodies respond to lead poisoning. Some develop severe reactions at relatively mild doses while others develop an assortment of these at the same time. The risk for developing each type of symptom is highly dependent upon the person's age.
In adults, lead poisoning can look like gout, arthritis and other disorders. Symptoms may include numb joints, difficulty moving, feelings of heaviness, sleeplessness, intestinal distress, or constipation. Reproductive problems, memory impairments, concentration problems, and high blood pressure can also occur. The human body does not metabolize lead, but rather absorbs it directly into the bloodstream. If lead gets into an adult body through the skin or digestive tract, the amount of lead absorbed into the blood is generally about 20 percent of the amount ingested. If it is inhaled into the lungs, where exhaling is the only method of excreting waste, a body can absorb up to 100 percent of lead into the bloodstream. Once lead gets into the bloodstream, it circulates through the body with red blood cells and plasma. It is the small amount of lead in blood plasma that gets transferred into soft organs, like the brain and the liver, and mineralizing tissues like the bones and teeth. Lead finds a home in bones and teeth because the body treats this mineral as much as it would with calcium. In fact, some molecules in our bodies incorporate lead as easily as they incorporate calcium. Replacing calcium with lead results in calcium deficiency in the body, which could possible lead to osteoporosis, a condition in which the bones become weak and brittle. Its primary effects are on the peripheral and central nervous system, kidney function, blood cells, and the metabolism of Vitamin D and calcium. But lead can also cause hypertension, reproductive toxicity, and developmental effects. Lead interferes with the body's ability to make hemoglobin, the filling for red blood cells. It does this by inhibiting two processes necessary to make heme, the part of hemoglobin that feeds oxygen to the cells.
Cadmium is odorless and tasteless, and chemical analysis is often required to detect its presence. Since it readily reacts with other elements, cadmium is rarely found in its pure, or elemental, form. Cadmium is normally coupled with other elements in a variety of compounds, including some that are extremely toxic. It can be spread through the air by natural processes such as erosion, or through the combustion of cadmium-containing ores in volcanic emissions. Airborne particles of cadmium settle onto the ground and waterways as dust. Cadmium is also emitted into the atmosphere from fossil fuel burning, waste incineration, and steel production. As a result, soil and water near industrial areas or waste sites may contain higher concentrations of cadmium. An estimated 4,000 to 13,000 tons of cadmium are released into the environment every year as a result of human activities. Cadmium plays a critical role in several cutting-edge technologies, such as solar cells, through applications that take advantage of its unique physical properties. Some of the earliest cases of cadmium poisoning were reported in Belgium in 1858 in workers who inhaled cadmium dust as a result of polishing silver with cadmium carbonate. This kind of exposure can cause severe respiratory distress, emphysema, and even death.
Public awareness of cadmium toxic effects rose with the post-WWII outbreak of the “Itai-Itai” Disease (“Ouch-Ouch” Disease) in Japan, which had been caused by a release of cadmium into the run-off water from the Kamioka mine. Farmers in the region used the run offs to irrigate rice patties and other crops. Cadmium quickly became concentrated in the crops and local women began to experience pain in their bones and joints, which eventually became so excruciating that they were bedridden. It was later found that cadmium had interfered with calcium metabolism, leading to reduction in calcium content and the density and strength of the bones. Simple movements may have cause, in some cases, the weakened bones to break. The toxicity of cadmium is attributed to its ability to accumulate in living things. Cadmium is rare in nature and consequently plants and animals have not evolved with efficient means of metabolizing large amounts of the metal. Small amounts of the metal are bound up by the protein metallothionein and are removed from the body. However, since organisms are unable to isolate and remove large amounts efficiently, long-term exposure to high levels can result in accumulation in body tissues. Under these conditions, cadmium can remain in the body for years. Most of the metal accumulates in the bones, liver, and kidneys, where it can damage the functioning of those organs. Cadmium is known to accumulate in the kidneys, and some scientists believe that damage to kidney tissue may lead to kidney disease, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Calcium related kidney damage leads to calcium deficiencies in the rest of the body, particularly in the skeleton. As the "Itai-Itai" syndrome made clear, in extreme cases cadmium can contribute to aching bones and joints, progressing to extreme deformities and brittleness of bones. Excessive cadmium exposure may weaken the body's immune system and it is also believed to be linked to lung cancer. Some studies suggest that it causes prostate enlargement. Some scientists suspect that cadmium may be a reproductive toxin. Furthermore, animals that are exposed to high levels of cadmium have a higher incidence of premature birth, low birth weight, stillbirth and spontaneous abortion. Animal studies also suggest that cadmium exposure is linked to behavioral problems and learning disabilities. A short-term exposure to cadmium in the air can cause bronchial and lung irritation and workers who have unknowingly done welding on cadmium alloys have even died from these complications. Cadmium in air presents a serious hazard because it is difficult to detect until significant damage to the lungs has occurred.
A lot of prisoners died working under such conditions and through the process, considering the toxins surrounding them. Moreover, these huge amount of metals activities not only affected the prisoners but also the environment and even the weather. The area around Norilsk have a permanent smell of sulfur from diesel fumes, which is toxic, killing all species and nature around, meaning that the presence of oxygen in Norilsk is rare. Home to the world's largest heavy metal smelting complex, more than 4 million tons of cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, arsenic, selenium, and zinc are released into the air every year. Air samples exceed the maximum allowance for both copper and nickel and mortality from respiratory diseases is much higher than in Russia as a whole. Today, residents in Norilsk have already adapted and found a way to live under similar conditions as in the 20th century while it was still a slave labor camp and are proud to call it home.
