Ecology and community health in the north

Health of a nation is a sensitive barometer of the environmental situation, especially in the North, where vulnerable nature cannot resist intensive industrial development. The geographical location and severe climatic conditions of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) significantly sharpen any negative impact of industrial activity on the state of the environment. The impact of ecological factors on the health of population has been studied in the case of a diamond province (Vilyuy region), where a complex of chemical pollutants from diamond mining, products of wood decay in places of flooding of the water reservoir for the Vilyuisk power station, highly mineralised underground waters and consequences of underground explosions have caused a substantial negative effect on the environment and people. Studies on the health of the population in the Vilyuy region has shown that sickness and morbidity rates of viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, pathologies during pregnancy and other diseases are higher in comparison to rates in the Republic as a whole, a feature which has been attributed to environmental degradation in the area.