Determination of traces of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and chlorinated in moss samples from Italy

The utilization of biological indicators to survay the atmoshere pollution is more and more expanding and its use i salso foreste for the legislative rules. The mosses are efficient bio-indicators of the atmospheric pollution caused by heavy metals, PAHs and pesticides. The absence of a root apparatus and the absence of a vascular system oblige the mosses to an hydric and nourishing supply bound atmosperic sediments only. We can use this structural characteristic to assess the quality of air. The polluing materials that can be measured by bioaccumulation are the heavy metals, the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and some organic persistent pollutants like pesticides. The mosses tissues can tolerate and dear huges quantities of polluying materials. The aim of this work is the determination of the contamination level of the mosses samples relatively to two pollutant classes: polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and chlorinated pesticides. The samples have been drawn from the following protected Italian areas: one site of Parco Nazionale of Abruzzo and Molise, and one site of the Parco Nazionale of Circeo. For the quantitative determination of PAHs two different techniques are used. The methods involved the clean-up and preparation steps. Separation and quantification by high performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. For the determination of chlorinated pesticides the methods involved the clean-up and the separation and quantification by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.