title: Monitoring of heavy metal concentrations in home outdoor air using moss bags.
abstract: One monitoring station is insufficient to characterize the high spatial variation of traffic-related heavy metals within cities. We tested moss bags (Hylocomium splendens), deployed in a dense network, for the monitoring of metals in outdoor air and characterized metals' long-term spatial distribution and its determinants in Girona, Spain. Mosses were exposed outside 23 homes for two months; NO₂ was monitored for comparison. Metals were not highly correlated with NO₂ and showed higher spatial variation than NO₂. Regression models explained 61-85% of Cu, Cr, Mo, Pb, Sb, Sn, and Zn and 72% of NO₂ variability. Metals were strongly associated with the number of bus lines in the nearest street. Heavy metals are an alternative traffic-marker to NO₂ given their toxicological relevance, stronger association with local traffic and higher spatial variability. Monitoring heavy metals with mosses is appealing, particularly for long-term exposure assessment, as mosses can remain on site many months without maintenance.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology CREAL, Barcelona, Spain. arivera@creal.cat
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rivera
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zechmeister
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Medina-Ramón
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Basagaña
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Foraster
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bouso
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: Pascual
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Solanas
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.forename: Gunda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Köllensperger
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Deltell
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vizcaya
authors.forename: Nino
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Künzli
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D019068:Bryopsida / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide / Q000032:analysis; D013030:Spain; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D001335:Vehicle Emissions; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide