Russia's Cauldron Of Despair

At high noon there's only a faint twilight glow over the horizon in Nikel, Russia - a cold, dreary outpost of civilization that is just emerging from months of absolute winter darkness.

Through the darkness, the 40,000 Russians stuck in the deep freeze are struggling against economic depression and an ecological nightmare that has turned the area from a winter wonderland into a wasteland.

Russian laborers came to Nikel during Soviet times to mine metal-rich ore dug from a giant quarry, and to work in huge metal-working factories belonging to Rao Norilsk, a Russian company that produces two percent of the world' s nickel.

Factory workers were promised big salaries to compensate for the difficult Arctic conditions. But with work at the factories drying up, single-industry communities like Nikel -- a company town located only 30 minutes from the quarry - are slowly dying.

A worker in Nikel's metal plant uses a hose to breathe.

According to the factory manager, the dull, gray feinschtein is purified at another location, turned into pure aluminum, nickel, copper and platinum.

Ninety percent of the raw materials will be sold to the West for hard currency on the London metal exchange to companies like Krups and Avesta Sheffield, where they will eventually end up as stainless steel frying pans and electrical components.

But the by-products of the smelting process don't make it to the West. Instead, poisonous sulfur dioxide gas blows out of the factory's chimneys and pours into the surrounding countryside and the town itself.

For more than six miles in every direction, plant life has been virtually destroyed.

In the winter, one sees only scattered bushes and black polluted snow. In the summer, locals say what was once lush Arctic forest now looks like a lunar landscape.

The health effect on humans is also raising concern.

Choking City, Choking People
"This sulfur gas really burns the sinuses, eyes, nose, throat and stomach," says Marina Korin, an employee of the federal emissions monitoring agency. "The most horrifying thing is that the sulfur gases carry very many heavy metals -- carcinogens like nickel and copper. These accumulate in the lungs and often result in cancer."

The workers in the smelting plant get the worst sulfur dioxide exposure. The employees' protection consists only of a breathing hose and an air filter. According to Korin, these people will lose most of their eeth due to the gas by the time they are 40 years old.

But despite the risks and a meager salary of $200 a month, they are considered lucky to have jobs in a country stuck in the grips of a devastating financial crisis.

Several years ago, Rao Norilsk conducted a controversial study which concluded the local population had no health problems directly related to factory pollutants - a claim disputed by a local doctor.

But few in Nikel dare speak out directly against the factory or the company that runs it. Rao Norilsk employs 8,000 people in this region, production has been dropping sharply. Over the past 7 years, the company's payroll has shrunk by 5,000 workers.

Pollution Crosses The Border
Russians aren't the only people affected by the pollution.

Rao Norlisk's directors say they abide by an international agreement on movement of polluting gasses across frontiers, but Norwegians in the neighboring town of Kirkenes - just across the border - have reason to be suspicious.

Local pharmacist Alisa Schempke says her side of the border - only 40 miles from Nikel's factory - is reporting more cancer than before, in addition to rises in asthma and skin problems.

"You can see the gas in summer if you have the right wind from the south," she says.

By Ivan Watson
©1999, CBS Worldwide Inc., All Rights Reserved