Active Moss Biomonitoring of Trace Elements Air Pollution in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova

Abstract

For the first time active moss biomonitoring was used to assess trace element deposition in the capital of the Republic of Moldova, Chisinau. Moss Sphagnum girgensohnii samples were exposed in bags at three sites of Chisinau from October, 2016 to March, 2017. The content of 30 elements: Na, Mg, Cl, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, As, Br, Rb, Mo, Sr, Sb, Ba, La, Ce, Cs, Hf, Th, Cu, Cd, Pb, and U in the exposed and unexposed mosses was determined by neutron activation analysis and atomic absorption spectrometry. According to the relative accumulation factor, the most abundant elements in the samples were V, Cr, Fe, Ba, La, As, Sb, U, and Pb. Such elements as Cl, K, and Rb were depleted from the moss tissue during the time of exposure. Principal component analysis was used to identify and characterize different pollution sources. The obtained results indicate that the use of S. girgensohnii moss bags is a simple and inexpensive technique to monitor major and trace element content in the air of urban area.