9-13 July 2012
Africa/Johannesburg timezone
<a href="http://events.saip.org.za/internalPage.py?pageId=11&confId=14"><font color=#ff0000>SAIP2012 PROCEEDINGS AVAILABLE</font></a>

Biological Monitoring of Air Pollution with Plants: results from a pilot study in the Western Cape, South Africa

11 Jul 2012, 11:35
20m
Oral Presentation Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation Physics NPRP

Speaker

Ms Ntombizikhona Beaulah Ndlovu (Department of Physics, Stellenbosch University)

Would you like to <br> submit a short paper <br> for the Conference <br> Proceedings (Yes / No)?

Yes

Apply to be<br> consider for a student <br> &nbsp; award (Yes / No)?

Yes

Level for award<br>&nbsp;(Hons, MSc, <br> &nbsp; PhD)?

PhD

Main supervisor (name and email)<br>and his / her institution

Prof. R.T. Newman
rtnewman@sun.ac.za
Stellenbosch University

Abstract content <br> &nbsp; (Max 300 words)

Biological monitoring with plants is a low-cost, effective method to estimate levels of air pollutants and their impact on humans and animals. Plants show an integrated response to air pollution. Plants such as lichens and mosses possess efficient accumulation capacity for many air pollutants (Markert et al., 2008; Steinnes, 2011). Lichens and mosses do not possess roots and therefore their primary sources of nutrients are directly from atmospheric deposition. The processes by which atmospheric deposition occurs include wet/dry deposition and gaseous absorption. The results from biomonitoring complement traditional air quality data obtained using, for example, air filters and pumps. In our pilot study in the Western Cape area, about 30 samples of lichens and mosses were collected during March-April 2012. Fourteen of these were subjected to ion-coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in the Central Analytical Facility of Stellenbosch University (SU). The concentrations of major, minor and trace elements were determined. Descriptive Statistics and correlation analysis allowed revealing geochemically bound elements as well identifying the sampling sites with elevated elemental concentrations. Multi-element non-destructive instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) at JINR, Dubna (Frontasyeva, 2011), will be performed for the whole set of collected samples thus facilitating an intercomparison of the results obtained by ICP-MS and INAA.

This study was undertaken in the framework of a JINR-South Africa co-operative program with SU.

References

B. Markert, S. Wuenschmann, S. Fraenzle et al. On the road from environmental biomonitoring
to human health aspects: monitoring atmospheric heavy metal deposition by epiphytic/epigeic plants: present status and future needs. Int. J. Environment and Pollution, Vol. 32, No. 4, 2008, p. 486-498.

E. Steinnes, T. Berg, H.T. Uggerud. Three decades of atmospheric metal deposition in Norway as evident from analysis of moss samples. Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 412-413, 2011, p. 351–358.

M.V. Frontasyeva. Neutron activation analysis for the Life Sciences. A review. “Physics of Particles and Nuclei”, 2011, Vol. 42, No. 2, p. 332-378.

Primary author

Ms Ntombizikhona Beaulah Ndlovu (Department of Physics, Stellenbosch University)

Co-authors

Prof. Marina Frontasyeva (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna) Dr Peane Maleka (Department of Nuclear Physics, iThemba LABS) Prof. Richard Newman (Department of Physics, Stellenbosch University) Ms Rossouw Riana (Central Analysis Facility, Stellenbosch University) Mr Ryno Botha (Department of Physics, Stellenbosch University)

Presentation Materials

There are no materials yet.