title: The use of conifer needles as biomonitor candidates for the study of temporal air pollution variation in the Strasbourg region.
abstract: The continuous emission of polluting chemicals into the atmosphere requires the implementation of monitoring of ambient air quality. The use of vegetation for environmental monitoring can be considered as a simple monitoring technique by providing a cheap and accessible matrix. In this study, needles of two conifers (Pinus nigra and Cedrus atlantica), were used for the consecutive biomonitoring of multipollutants such as pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in an urban area in Strasbourg (France). The extraction was performed by accelerated solvent extraction, solid-phase extraction, and solid-phase microextraction and was followed by gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry analyses. The results obtained for conifer samples collected in 5 successive weeks (April 09-May 07, 2015) show a similar variation of the different types of pollutants. A pollution peak was observed during the second week of analysis, and the concentration of all pollutants then decreased to complete disappearance at the end of the sampling period. PAHs were the most concentrated with a total concentration of about 35.87 ng g-1, and naphthalene was, among these pollutants, the most concentrated with a total concentration of about 15.1 ng g-1. The analysis of meteorological data during this period suggests that the results correlated with climatic conditions that widely vary during this period of the year. The results show that the concentration peak was obtained when no precipitation was detected.
authors.affiliation: Azm Center for Research in Biotechnology and Its Applications, Doctoral School of Science and Technology, Lebanese University, El Mittein Street, Tripoli, Lebanon; Institute of Chemistry and Processes for Energy, Environment and Health, ICPEES UMR 7515, Group of Physical Chemistry of the Atmosphere, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Josephine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Al-Alam
authors.affiliation: Azm Center for Research in Biotechnology and Its Applications, Doctoral School of Science and Technology, Lebanese University, El Mittein Street, Tripoli, Lebanon; Faculty of Sciences III, Lebanese University, Tripoli, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Ziad
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fajloun
authors.affiliation: Azm Center for Research in Biotechnology and Its Applications, Doctoral School of Science and Technology, Lebanese University, El Mittein Street, Tripoli, Lebanon; Faculty of Public Health III, Lebanese University, Tripoli, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Asma
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chbani
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemistry and Processes for Energy, Environment and Health, ICPEES UMR 7515, Group of Physical Chemistry of the Atmosphere, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France. Electronic address: mmillet@unistra.fr.
authors.forename: Maurice
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Millet
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000032:analysis; D028203:Cedrus; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005602:France; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis; D028223:Pinus; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry*; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis; D052616:Solid Phase Extraction
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D010575:Pesticides; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Conifers; Meteorological variation; OCPs; PAHs; PCBs; Pesticides