engleski

Moss as a bioindicator of radioactive contamination in Croatian nature parks

Bioindicators are used for the detection of heavy metal pollution since the late 1960s on land and since the 1970s in the sea. Among different bioindicators, molluscs, especially mussels, are popular bioindicators of heavy metal pollution of waters. Mosses are among the more often used bioindicators of heavy metal pollution of air and soil. Mosses are well suited to be used as indicators of radioactive contamination. They receive water and nutrients predominantly through atmospheric deposition. Mosses have been proven to accumulate radionuclides from fallouts after nuclear tests and after the Chernobyl accident. We sampled moss at 26 locations in and around Papuk Nature Park and at 40 locations in and around Kopački Rit Nature Park. Using gamma-ray spectrometry, we measured radionuclides. Of special concern were two radionuclides: Cs-137, predominantly a result of the Chernobyl accident, and Pb-210, Rn-222 progeny and the only radionuclide in uranium or thorium decay chains with a half-life of more than days expected to be present in larger quantities in atmospheric deposition. The results show that the activity concentrations of Cs-137 measured in Papuk Nature Park and especially in Kopački Rit Nature Park are low compared to the activity concentrations of Cs- 137 measured at other locations in Europe, including Plitvice Lakes National Park. As for Pb- 210, the measured activity concentrations are largely in line with other measurements in Europe. We can conclude that especially Kopački Rit Nature Park, and to a lesser extent also Papuk Nature Park, can be considered places with very low Cs- 137 background, and as such a suitable detection site for atmospheric deposition of radionuclides even in cases of smaller of far-away accidents.

bioindicators ; radioactivity ; .gamma-ray spectrometry ; Cs-137 ; contamination

nije evidentirano