Air quality study by PIXE method and mosses as bioindicators

The aim of this work was to demonstrate the applicability of different atomic and nuclear methods to environmental monitoring. Mosses are particularly effective biomonitors of atmospheric heavy metal contamination because of their bioaccumulative properties. These plant groups are amenable to biomonitoring because they are widespread, easy to handle and they lack a cuticle and root system thus reflecting directly atmospheric heavy metal deposition. The ability of moss to accumulate elements in very high concentrations aids chemical analyses of the tissues and may facilitate the detection of elements present in very low concentrations in the environment. High bioaccumulation ability, particularly for heavy metals, where metal concentrations reflect deposition without the complication of additional uptake via a root system, is a chief reason for using moss in air pollution monitoring. Our study was focused on the town of Targoviste and neighboring area, where industrial activity is the main source of pollutants. The main polluting industries in the area under investigation include: a stainless steel mill (Targoviste), cement and related materials production (Fieni), glass and lighting sources production (Targoviste, Fieni), chemicals makers (Targoviste, Doicesti), coal mining and thermal power station (Doicesti), oil drilling (Targoviste, Moreni, Gaiesti). Determination in the samples of environmentally important elements like: Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Ni and Zn, was carried out using the PIXE method by means of a 3 MeV proton beam extracted from the TANDEM accelerator at IFIN-HH Magurele, Bucharest. The quality of the chemical analyses will be checked by means of appropriate international certified reference materials. The authors of the project expect to extend their study beyond these few towns to the entire Dambovita County. The results of the study will be used for establishing correlations between environmental and epidemiological data in the examined area. (authors)