Atmospheric deposition of trace elements biomonitoring study at the territory of the Republic of Belarus

In 2015 for the third time in the Republic of Belarus the moss biomonitoring technique was used to study atmospheric deposition of heavy metals and other trace elements. Samples of moss species of Hylocomium splendens and Pleurozium schreberi were collected at 86 sites over the Gomel, Vitebsk and Minsk Regions. Collection was carried out according to the sampling strategy adopted by the UNECE ICP Vegetation program on long-range atmospheric transport in Europe based on moss analysis (ICPVEGETATION, 2015). The moss samples were subject to instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) at the IBR-2 reactor of FLNP JINR in Dubna. A total of 36 elements were determined (Na, Mg, Al, Cl, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, As, Se, Br, Rb, Sr, Mo, Sb, I, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Sm, Tb, Yb, Hf, Ta, W, Hg, Th, U). Additionally, Cd, Cu and Pb were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The principal component analysis allowed distinguishing soil, plant, and anthropogenic components in the moss, and apportioning the main pollution sources..