Contents
| AIR HYGIENE REPORT no. 10 | |
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Contents |
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Literature with regard to biomonitoring of organic compounds is somewhat sparse in comparison to other air pollutants. Direct comparison of the literature is difficult due to the different techniques used. Differences exist between the use of natural or transplanted plants, the type of species used, exposure time, sampling location, sampling procedures including sampling height and sample collection and chemical techniques used.
Mosses and lichens appear to be very effective bioaccumulative tools in the detection of organic compounds. The same properties that make mosses and lichens suitable monitors of heavy metal deposition also appear to make them appropriate biomonitors of organic pollutants. These include slow growth, large surface areas, lack of a cuticle, the lack of internal transport mechanisms and a dependence on the atmosphere for nutrients.
Indigenous mosses have been used on the multi-national and national scale. Transplanted mosses appear to be more effective in the assessment of point sources of pollution but have been used in larger scale surveys. Quantifiable models correlating concentrations in moss samples to air quality data have been established for some compounds.
No literature relating to fungi and organic compounds was available at the time of this study.
Higher plants also have potential in the biomonitoring of organic micropollutants. They have an advantage over lower plants in that they display recognisable, distinguishable and often quantifiable injury symptoms to these compounds. Higher plants, particularly tree leaves and needles, can also be used as bioaccumulative indicators but as is the case for heavy metals, interpretation of results may be complicated by uptake of chemicals via the root system.
Further work in relation to the mechanisms and the accumulation of micropollutants in plants is required. This should improve the use and interpretation of results in biomonitoring of these compounds. References
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