The aim of the study was to evaluate the airborne contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and some heavy metals (arsenic [As], cadmium [Cd], chromium [Cr], copper [Cu], nickel [Ni], lead [Pb], and zinc [Zn]) of different pollution scenarios around a solid-waste landfill in central Italy using the lichen Pseudovernia furfuracea as a monitoring tool. For this purpose, eight stations around a landfill characterized by different air pollution sources (industrial, agricultural, residential areas, and roads with different traffic intensities), together with three stations far from the landfill (control areas), were monitored using a set of 22 lichen samples (11 samples analysed for PAHs and metals after 4 months, and 11 samples analysed for metals after 8 months). After 4 months of exposure, the lichen content of all of the analysed elements was greater than that in the pre-exposed lichens. In addition, the Cu and Pb concentration after 8 months was greater than the level after 4 months. The order of metal concentration was Zn > Pb > Cu (or Cu > Pb) > Cr > Ni > As > Cd in all cases. The range of a11PAHs concentration was 634-1,371 ng/g dw (three to seven times greater than the amount in the pre-exposed lichens). The a11PAHs were dominated (> 70 %) by compounds with three aromatic rings. The comparison of the levels of air pollutants among the monitored stations shows nonrelevant spatial patterns between the landfill stations and the control areas; the levels of PAHs and metals found in the lichen samples around the landfill seemed to be more related to the general diffusion of these pollutants in that area.
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Metals in Transplanted Lichen (Pseudovernia furfuracea) at Sites Adjacent to a Solid-waste Landfill in Central Italy / Protano, Carmela; M., Guidotti; M., Owczarek; L., Fantozzi; G., Blasi; Vitali, Matteo. - In: ARCHIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY. - ISSN 0090-4341. - STAMPA. - 66:4(2014), pp. 471-481. [10.1007/s00244-013-9965-6]
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Metals in Transplanted Lichen (Pseudovernia furfuracea) at Sites Adjacent to a Solid-waste Landfill in Central Italy
PROTANO, Carmela;VITALI, Matteo
2014
Abstract
The aim of the study was to evaluate the airborne contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and some heavy metals (arsenic [As], cadmium [Cd], chromium [Cr], copper [Cu], nickel [Ni], lead [Pb], and zinc [Zn]) of different pollution scenarios around a solid-waste landfill in central Italy using the lichen Pseudovernia furfuracea as a monitoring tool. For this purpose, eight stations around a landfill characterized by different air pollution sources (industrial, agricultural, residential areas, and roads with different traffic intensities), together with three stations far from the landfill (control areas), were monitored using a set of 22 lichen samples (11 samples analysed for PAHs and metals after 4 months, and 11 samples analysed for metals after 8 months). After 4 months of exposure, the lichen content of all of the analysed elements was greater than that in the pre-exposed lichens. In addition, the Cu and Pb concentration after 8 months was greater than the level after 4 months. The order of metal concentration was Zn > Pb > Cu (or Cu > Pb) > Cr > Ni > As > Cd in all cases. The range of a11PAHs concentration was 634-1,371 ng/g dw (three to seven times greater than the amount in the pre-exposed lichens). The a11PAHs were dominated (> 70 %) by compounds with three aromatic rings. The comparison of the levels of air pollutants among the monitored stations shows nonrelevant spatial patterns between the landfill stations and the control areas; the levels of PAHs and metals found in the lichen samples around the landfill seemed to be more related to the general diffusion of these pollutants in that area.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.