IJERPH, Vol. 15, Pages 374: Monitoring Heavy Metal Contents with Sphagnum Junghuhnianum Moss Bags in Relation to Traffic Volume in Wuxi, China

IJERPH, Vol. 15, Pages 374: Monitoring Heavy Metal Contents with Sphagnum Junghuhnianum Moss Bags in Relation to Traffic Volume in Wuxi, China International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph15020374 Authors: Rong Hu Yun Yan Xiaoli Zhou Yanan Wang Yanming Fang Despite its small size, a moss bag can reveal the different temporal and spatial deposition patterns of pollutants at a particular site; therefore, researchers can use moss bags to determine pollution sources and to put forward strategies for pollution control. Although the use of moss bags to monitor atmospheric pollution has been widely reported in Europe, there are few such empirical studies in China. Thus, in this study, bags containing the moss Sphagnum junghuhnianum were used to assess the concentrations of heavy metals (chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), vanadium (V), and zinc (Zn)) at five sampling sites (four roads and a forest park) during the summer and winter of 2012. According to the relative accumulation factor (RAF) and contamination factor (CF) results, pollution in winter was heavier than that in summer, and Cr was found to be the most contaminating, having the highest mean CF. There was a significant positive correlation (p < 0.05) between traffic volume and concentration for three heavy metals (Cr, Cu, and V) in winter, whereas a significant positive correlation (p < 0.05) was observed between traffic volume and concentrati...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research