Biomonitoring of Metal Deposition in the Vicinity of Eregli Steel Plant in Turkey

Abstract

This article describes the first attempt to study the concentration of seven element (Fe, Pb, Ni, Cr, Cu, Co, and As) contaminations in the vicinity of the Eregli Iron and Steel Plant (ERDEMIR) by analysis of two pleurocarpic moss species (Hypnum cupressiforme and Scleropodium purum). Samples of H. cupressiforme were collected from May 2003 to October 2004. Unwashed, dried samples were digested with HNO₃/HClO₄, and the concentrations of heavy metals were determined by graphite–furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). In the region, general orders of heavy metal content in samples of mosses were determined as follows: Fe > Pb > Cr > Ni > Cu > Co > As. Comparisons were made between the two moss species for those elements presents at different concentrations and regression analysis were made to see interspecies relationship. H. cupressiforme and S. purum are significantly correlated for only Fe (P < 0.01) having Pearson's correlation coefficient as 0.93, indicating interspecies calibration for Fe. The ratios (Hc/Sp) were relatively better correlated with 1/Sp for As than for other metals, suggesting a saturation effect in H. cupressiforme for As. The deposition of metals due to the operation of the steel plant has been established and could be further monitored. Such information could be useful for forensic studies aiming to apportion between different possible sources of those metals.