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Biomarker response of Spanish moss to heavy metal air pollution in the low country of the Savannah River basin

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Abstract

The biomarker response of Spanish moss was investigated along the Savannah River basin including inland villages, low traffic, and high traffic areas using instrumental neutron activation analysis. When comparing the high-traffic areas of Savannah to the low-traffic areas, a considerable increase in heavy metal concentration, of the order of 6–8-fold, was noticed. However, low- traffic regions of urban cities showed a little enhancement in heavy metal concentration as compared to rural areas. The most significant heavy metal pollutants in the air caused by vehicle traffic were identified (Cr, Zn, Ba, Sb, and Cd) using principal component analysis.

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Acknowledgements

This research is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Evans-Allen project number SCX-312-07-20.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA

    Krishnakumar Nangeelil, Christina Hall & Zaijing Sun

  2. McClellan Nuclear Research Center, University of California Davis, McClellan Park, CA, 95652, USA

    Wesley Frey

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  1. Krishnakumar Nangeelil
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  2. Christina Hall
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  3. Wesley Frey
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  4. Zaijing Sun
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Correspondence to Zaijing Sun.

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Nangeelil, K., Hall, C., Frey, W. et al. Biomarker response of Spanish moss to heavy metal air pollution in the low country of the Savannah River basin. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 331, 5185–5191 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-022-08580-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-022-08580-y

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