In 1996 a program was started, financed by the Environmental Ministry of Portugal and IAEA, aiming to study the inorganic atmospheric pollutant dispersion in Sado Estuary. Gent PM10 air samplers were used for air particulate matter sampling. Three sampling sites were chosen, forming a triangle around the fuel power station of Setubal. Transplants of Parmelia sulcata Taylor were suspended in nylon bags within a rectangle 15 km wide and 25 kin long on a 2.5 x 2.5 km grid. Two sets of four transplants were hung in each of the 47 locations, one set facing the wind and the other set opposing the wind. The transplants were suspended in December 1997 for a 1-year period; every 3 months, one transplant of each set was collected. Both lichen transplants and PM 10 filters were analysed by INAA and PIXE. A comparative study of results obtained for the two sampling procedures is presented in this work. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.