Moss Biomonitoring of Atmospheric Pollution with Trace Elements in the Moscow Region, Russia.

Pavel Nekhoroshkov,Konstantin Vergel,Dmitrii Grozdov,Omari Chaligava,Inga Zinicovscaia,Nikita Yushin

doi:10.3390/toxics10020066

Abstract

For the first time, moss biomonitoring covering the territory of the entire Moscow region, without including Moscow, was performed in 2020. Moss Pleurozium schreberi collected at 156 sampling sites were analyzed using neutron activation analysis and atomic absorption spectrometry. A total of 34 elements were determined in moss samples. Obtained data were compared with the results of the moss surveys performed in the Vladimir and Yaroslavl regions in 2018 and with the data of moss surveys conducted in the Moscow region on a limited number of sampling sites in 2004 and 2014. The Moscow region showed to be more polluted than the Vladimir and Yaroslavl regions. In the the Moscow region, the decrease of the content of the main part of the elements over time was noted. Trace elements emission sources were identified and characterized using factor analysis. Contamination Factor, Pollution Load Index, and Ecological Risk were calculated to assess the level of the region contamination and elements effect on human health. In general, the Moscow region can be characterized as unpolluted to moderately polluted with a low ecological risk of human exposure. The cities satellites around Moscow were determined to experience particular environmental stress, even in the period of the COVID-19 restrictions.

Highlights

Environment pollution with heavy metals is a pressing problem for many countries in the world and its solution is addressed by different national and international organizations
The third study of atmospheric deposition of trace elements in the Moscow region and the first covering the territory of the whole region, without including Moscow, using moss biomonitoring technique, was performed in 2020
The content of 35 chemical elements was determined in moss samples using neutron activation analysis and atomic absorption spectrometry

Summary

Introduction

Environment pollution with heavy metals is a pressing problem for many countries in the world and its solution is addressed by different national and international organizations. Within the LRTAP convention, the European Moss Survey, based on the basic research conducted by Rühling and Tyler, using naturally growing mosses as biomonitors of atmospheric deposition of trace elements has been conducted since 1990 every five years [1,2]. Mosses accumulate trace elements from the atmosphere, retaining and storing them throughout life. It is possible to determine the elemental composition of atmospheric deposition at the sampling site and to quantify the concentration of a given pollutant accumulated by moss over a certain period of time. The use of mosses as indicators of atmospheric pollution has significant advantages over traditional methods since the collection of samples is simple, does not require expensive equipment for air and precipitation sampling, and the process of moss collecting, transporting, and storing is less laborious

Methods

Results

Conclusion