Estimating Environmental Contamination and Element Deposition at an Urban Area of Central Italy
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Area and Sampling Design
2.2. Lichen Transplants
2.3. Chemical Analysis
2.4. Data Elaboration
- (1)
- The first step consisted of the definition of an “effect detection limit” (EDL) [13], i.e., a threshold background value for each element, based on the calculation of the limit of quantification (LOQ) of pre-exposure samples [14], consisting of the mean +10 times the standard deviation, thus accounting for both the analytical noise and the noise associated with the methodology of the transplant technique. EDL values were used to quantify element bioaccumulation by the calculation of exposed/pre-exposure (control) ratios (EC ratios, as defined by Frati et al. [15]). Elements were regarded as accumulated in the study area if the EC was >1 in at least 50% of sites (median EC >1), thus minimizing the risk of type I errors [6];
- (2)
- Since several studies have showed that the concentration of some elements in lichens may increase due to the accumulation of resuspended soil particles [16], in the second step, to evaluate the airborne or soilborne origin of elements, concentrations in lichens were normalized to those in soils (using Al as reference) by calculating enrichment factors (EFs) for each element [16] according to the formula:
- (3)
- In the third step, to allow each sampling site to be characterized by a synthetic value, a contamination index (CI) was calculated as the geometric mean of those elements with median EC >1 and median EF >10. The interpretation of CI values was based on the scale suggested by Cecconi et al. [10] for lichens transplanted for 12 weeks.
2.5. Estimation of Deposition Rates
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Element | EDL | EXP | EC | EF |
---|---|---|---|---|
Al | 1717 | 570 ± 125 | 0.33 | ---- |
As | 0.32 | 0.24 ± 0.05 | 0.72 | 0.8 |
Cd | 0.17 | 0.09 ± 0.01 | 0.53 | 13.5 |
Ce | 3.6 | 1.2 ± 0.2 | 0.33 | 1.7 |
Cr | 1.6 | 1.8 ± 0.3 | 1.10 | 1.6 |
Cu | 7.9 | 10.1 ± 2.4 | 1.17 | 21.6 |
Fe | 678 | 495 ± 81 | 0.72 | 1.3 |
Ni | 6.2 | 2.7 ± 1.2 | 0.36 | 4.6 |
Pb | 2.7 | 2.4 ± 0.2 | 0.87 | 7.2 |
S | 1145 | 694 ± 90 | 0.60 | 82.3 |
Sb | 0.10 | 0.31 ± 0.17 | 2.59 | 17.3 |
Zn | 80 | 36 ± 7 | 0.44 | 31.8 |
Site | Cu | Sb | CI | Int |
---|---|---|---|---|
S 1 | 1.28 | 1.14 | 1.21 | 2 |
S 2 | 1.13 | 1.31 | 1.22 | 2 |
S 3 | 1.15 | 3.01 | 1.86 | 3 |
S 4 | 1.81 | 5.81 | 3.24 | 4 |
S 5 | 1.53 | 2.92 | 2.11 | 3 |
S 6 | 1.02 | 2.11 | 1.47 | 2 |
S 7 | 0.79 | 1.18 | 0.96 | 1 |
S 8 | 1.50 | 5.15 | 2.78 | 3 |
S 9 | 1.63 | 5.36 | 2.96 | 3 |
S 10 | 0.88 | 1.56 | 1.18 | 2 |
S 11 | 1.12 | 2.54 | 1.69 | 2 |
S 12 | 1.35 | 3.06 | 2.03 | 3 |
S 13 | 1.60 | 1.55 | 1.58 | 2 |
S 14 | 1.55 | 4.96 | 2.77 | 3 |
S 15 | 1.02 | 1.93 | 1.40 | 2 |
S 16 | 1.79 | 6.56 | 3.43 | 4 |
S 17 | 1.35 | 4.01 | 2.33 | 3 |
S 18 | 1.15 | 2.36 | 1.64 | 2 |
S 19 | 0.79 | 1.66 | 1.15 | 2 |
S 20 | 1.17 | 2.86 | 1.83 | 3 |
S 21 | 1.13 | 2.59 | 1.71 | 2 |
Element | Min | Max |
---|---|---|
Al | 328 | 401 |
As | 0.14 | 0.17 |
Cd | 0.052 | 0.060 |
Ce | 0.69 | 0.81 |
Cr | 1.1 | 1.2 |
Cu | 5.7 | 7.1 |
Fe | 293 | 340 |
Ni | 1.4 | 2.1 |
Pb | 1.4 | 1.6 |
S | 418 | 471 |
Sb | 0.15 | 0.25 |
Zn | 20.8 | 25.1 |
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Loppi, S.; Corsini, A.; Paoli, L. Estimating Environmental Contamination and Element Deposition at an Urban Area of Central Italy. Urban Sci. 2019, 3, 76. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci3030076
Loppi S, Corsini A, Paoli L. Estimating Environmental Contamination and Element Deposition at an Urban Area of Central Italy. Urban Science. 2019; 3(3):76. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci3030076
Chicago/Turabian StyleLoppi, Stefano, Adelmo Corsini, and Luca Paoli. 2019. "Estimating Environmental Contamination and Element Deposition at an Urban Area of Central Italy" Urban Science 3, no. 3: 76. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci3030076