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Active biomonitoring of palladium, platinum, and rhodium emissions from road traffic using transplanted moss

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Abstract

The use of transplanted moss (Pleurozium schreberi) in active biomonitoring of traffic-related emissions of Pd, Pt, and Rh was studied. Moss mats were transplanted to three locations along highway E75 (in Oulu, Finland) at three different distances from the highway. Five samples were collected from a background site after the same exposure period. Mass fractions of Pd, Pt, and Rh as well as mass fractions of 18 other elements were determined in these samples. The results indicated that P. schreberi is well suited for active biomonitoring of Pd, Pt, and Rh. Mass fractions above the background values were observed in the samples exposed to traffic-related emissions. When the results were compared with those of the other elements, high correlations of Pd, Pt, and Rh with commonly traffic-related elements (e.g., Cu, Ni, Sb, Zn, etc.) were found. It was also found that the amounts of Pd, Pt, and Rh in moss samples decreased when the distance to the highway increased. This trend gives evidence for the suitability of P. schreberi for active biomonitoring of Pd, Pt, and Rh. Furthermore, it can be concluded that the mass fractions determined in this study provide valuable evidence about the current state of Pd, Pt, and Rh emissions in Oulu, Finland.

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Acknowledgments

T. Suoranta is grateful for the funding provided by the Advanced Materials Doctoral Programme of the University of Oulu Graduate School and by the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Central Fund. The authors wish to thank Montanuniversität Leoben for the use of research facilities; the staff of Paljakka Environmental Specimen Bank for pretreatment of the moss samples; and Jouni Karhu (Natural Resources Institute Finland) for revising the statistical treatment of the results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Unit of Sustainable Chemistry, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 3000, 90014, Oulu, Finland

    Terhi Suoranta, Matti Niemelä & Paavo Perämäki

  2. Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Management and Production of Renewable Resources, Paavo Havaksen tie 3, P.O. Box 413, 90014, Oulu, Finland

    Jarmo Poikolainen & Juha Piispanen

  3. General and Analytical Chemistry, Montanuniversität Leoben, Franz-Josef-Str. 18, 8700, Leoben, Austria

    Syed Nadeem Hussain Bokhari & Thomas Meisel

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  1. Terhi Suoranta
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  2. Matti Niemelä
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  3. Jarmo Poikolainen
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  4. Juha Piispanen
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  5. Syed Nadeem Hussain Bokhari
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  6. Thomas Meisel
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  7. Paavo Perämäki
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Correspondence to Paavo Perämäki.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

(Table 6).

Table 6 Pearson’s correlation coefficients for the elements determined in active biomonitoring moss samples
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Suoranta, T., Niemelä, M., Poikolainen, J. et al. Active biomonitoring of palladium, platinum, and rhodium emissions from road traffic using transplanted moss. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 16790–16801 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6880-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6880-1

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