Biomonitoring of 210Po and 210Pb using lichens and mosses around coal-fired power plants in Western Turkey

Mosses and lichens are useful biological indicators of environmental contamination for a variety of metals and radionuclides of both natural and artificial origin. These plants lack a well-developed root system and rely largely on atmospheric deposition for nourishment. Therefore in the study, different lichens (Cladonia convoluta, Cladonia foliacea) and mosses (Homalothecium sericeum, Hypnum lacunosum, Hypn urn cupressiforme, Tortella tortuosa, Didyinodon acutus, Syntrichia ruralis, Syntrichia intermedia, Pterogonium graciale, Isothecium alopecuroides, Pleurochatae squarrosa) were collected around the Yatagan (Mugla), Soma (Manisa), Seyitomer - Tuncbilek (Kutahya) coal-fired power plants and investigated for potential use as biomonitors for Po-210 and Pb-210 deposition. While the activity concentrations of Po-210 and Pb-210 in lichens are in the ranges of 151 +/- 7-593 +/- 21 and 97 +/- 5-364 +/- 13 Bq kg(-1), for mosses the ranges for Po-210 and Pb-210 are 124 +/- 5-1125 +/- 38 and 113 +/- 4-490 +/- 17 Bq kg(-1), respectively. In the study, the moss samples were observed to accumulate more Po-210 and Pb-210 compared to lichens. While the most suitable biomonitor was a moss species (H. lacunosum) for Yatagan (Mugla), it was another moss species (S. intermedia) for Soma (Manisa) and Seyitomer - Tuncbilek (Kutahya) sites. Po-210 concentrations were found higher than Pb-210 concentrations at the all sampling stations. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.