Contamination scale of atmospheric deposition for assessing air quality in Albania evaluated from most toxic heavy metal and moss biomonitoring

• Published in: Air quality, atmosphere and health Vol. 10; no. 5; pp. 587 - 599
• Main Authors: Allajbeu, Shaniko, Qarri, Flora, Marku, Elda, Bekteshi, Lirim, Ibro, Vjollca, Frontasyeva, Marina V., Stafilov, Trajce, Lazo, Pranvera
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-06-2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Activation analysis; Agriculture; Agrochemicals; Air pollution; Air quality; Air quality assessments; Atmospheric pollution deposition; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bioindicators; Biomonitoring; Cadmium; Chromium; Contamination; Copper; Correlation analysis; Deposition; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecological risk assessment; Emission analysis; Emissions; Environment; Environmental Health; Environmental monitoring; Factor analysis; Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; Heavy metals; Herbicides; Indicator species; Inductively coupled plasma; Industrial emissions; Lead; Mathematical analysis; Matrix methods; Metal concentrations; Metalloids; Metals; Mosses; Neutron activation analysis; Neutrons; Nickel; Pesticides; Pollution; Pollution index; Pollution load; Pollution monitoring; Pollution sources; Risk assessment; Spectrometry; Territory; Trace metals; Zinc; Albania; Ecological risk; Biomonitoring; Pollution load; Moss; Atmospheric deposition; Contamination factor; Toxic trace metals
• ISSN: 1873-9318; 1873-9326
• DOI: 10.1007/s11869-016-0453-9

Pollution characterization on atmospheric deposition is assessed through the concentration level of most toxic trace metals (Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) and metalloids (As) in moss samples to evaluate air quality of Albania. Moss biomonitoring method (
Hypnum cupressiforme
and
Pseudoschleropodium purum
collected from 44 sampling sites), followed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP/AES) and epithermal neutron activation analysis (ENAA), is used in this study for trace metal analysis. Screening ecological risk of trace metals is performed to atmospheric deposition referred to the methodology given by different authors and by using moss species as bioindicator. Model used for risk assessment was based on contamination factors (CF), pollution loads index (PLI), and the potential ecological index (RI). The CF and PLI values were both indicated a moderate to high pollution scale to the whole territory under investigation. RI values indicate the presence of a high ecological risk and the risk of human exposure to trace metals, particularly in the areas with the highest element concentrations.
Box-Cox transformation
was applied to the concentration matrix data before Pearson’s linear correlation and factor analysis (FA). The most significant factors affecting the association of the elements and their probable sources of origin were extracted from FA. Three dominant factors were extracted that represent the association of Cr, Ni, and Co with mineral particle dust, industrial local emission sources, and the use of pesticides and herbicides in agriculture particularly in the south part of the country.