Available Stories

Trucking Cold on Siberia's Winter Roads
Shishmaref A Casualty of Global Warming
Dogs of the
Snow and Ice
The Emperors of
Snow Hill
Arctic Meltdown
A Reindeer in the Family
Jokkmokk Winter Market
Horses under the Whispering Stars
Moose Medicine
500 Years of Russian Vodka

NORILSK. Pollution Cpital of the Arctic

It was a stormy night, and outside Norilsk's airport terminal I pulled up the hood of my parka against the bitter wind as I waited for a taxi into town. Despite its remote northern location, Norilsk is a major industrial centre with a population of 250,000. The town began as a prison camp back in 1935 after the discovery of substantial deposits of nickel, coal and copper. Hundreds of thousand of men and women prisoners were sent to this remote area. They lived in appalling conditions and endured Norilsk’s severe climate with winter temperatures as low as -56? Celsius and 130 days of blizzards each year, it is not surprising that over 20,000 of these slave labourers perished.

Today, Norilsk may be famous for its mineral wealth but it has also achieved considerable notoriety for having the worst air pollution of any town in Russia.

A street scene in Norilsk during a winter storm. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0063-04		 A woman struggles to walk against the wind during a winter storm in Norilsk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0063-10		 Workers leaving the copper foundry in Norilsk at the end of a shift. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0064-04
Figures in a winter street scene in the centre of Norilsk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0072-16		 Smoke containing sulphur dioxide belches from the chimney of a nickel foundry at Norilsk, W.Siberia,Russia
RWS0066-18		 Smoke containing sulphur dioxide belches from the chimneys of a nickel foundry at Norilsk, W.Siberia,Russia
RWS0067-24
Smoke containing sulphur dioxide belches from the chimneys of a nickel foundry at Norilsk W.Siberia, Russia
RWS0067-28		 A giant digger loads ore into the back of truck at an open mine near Norilsk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0069-14		 The town of Norilsk viewed from Bear Mountain. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0070-05
A woman having computer diagnostics of her lung functions at the hospital in Norilsk. W.Siberia, Russia.
RWS0072-04		 A woman having computer diagnostics of her lung functions at the hospital in Norilsk. W.Siberia, Russia.
RWS0072-11		 Warmly dressed women walking on a street in the centre of Norilsk. Western Siberia. Russia.
RWS0072-21
Workers in the nickel foundry at Norilsk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0074-16		 A worker uses a respirator against sulphur dioxide gas in the copper foundry in Norilsk. W. Siberia, Russia.
RWS0075-12		 The converter aisle in the copper foundry at Norilsk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0076-08
The converter aisle in the copper foundry at Norilsk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0076-11		 A worker in the nickel foundry at Norilsk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0077-10		 A vehicle transporting ore at the October Mine near Norilsk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0078-05
An engineer at work maintaining machinery at the October mine near Norilsk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0080-02		 A woman miner rides in a train to the pit face at the October mine near Norilsk. W.Siberia, Russia.
RWS0081-05		 Workers in a lift at the end of their shift at the October Mine near Norilsk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0082-02
Red hot slag from a nickel foundry in Norilsk glows at dusk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0083-19		 Red hot slag from a nickel foundry in Norilsk glows at dusk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0084-09		 Red hot slag from a nickel foundry in Norilsk is poured onto a heap. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0066-05
A worker is silhouetted by red hot metal at the copper foundry in Norilsk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0086-05		 A worker is silhouetted by red hot metal at the copper foundry in Norilsk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0086-06		 Sparks shower into the converter aisle at the copper foundry in Norilsk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0087-05
The converter aisle at the copper foundry in Norilsk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0087-13		 A driver in the cab of an underground train in the October Mine near Norilsk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0090-29		 Sparks shower into the converter aisle at the copper foundry in Norilsk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0088-03
Children play outside in a school break in Norilsk. Western Siberia, Russia.
RWS0089-12		 Two warmly dressed young women walking on a street in the centre of Norilsk. Western Siberia. Russia.
RWS0089-16